El Cadejo

El Cadejo

A Folktale from Nicaragua provided by Wilberth Medrano 2008

Photos from Museum of Legends and Traditions, Leon, Nicaragua

León also brings you another character from Nicaraguan mythology, this time a large hound with brilliant eyes that makes a distinctive sound as it goes down the street, the claws on its paws scraping the ground. Some talk of the white cadejo. One man from León told me he saw an enormous white one, one night back in the 1970s. It is believed that the hound is guarding those who are out late at night, but this version doesn’t convince everyone.

Others tell of a black cadejo, similar in size to the white one, but this one kills those it finds along its way in the dark of night and silence of places off the beaten track. Many are the testimonies of León residents who have seen someone die because of this animal, its very color symbolizing evil.

Grandparents and parents alike have drawn on this demon of the dark, perhaps to warn us away from staying out too late at night as we are won´t to do. Or could it be real? Let’s just hope that the next time we are out late it does not come round the corner, especially the black one.