The mixing of Aztec mythology, and Greek mythology in Cherrie L. Moraga’s “The Hungry Woman: A Mexican Medea” really peaked my interest. Especially the similarity between the two myths that intertwine almost to perfectly. Because there are so many variations of La Llorona, for this reason it is difficult to pin-point one universally known narrative. That being said, the story of La Llorona, the wailing woman, has existed for centuries, dating back to the time of the Aztecs, who referred to this apparition as the Cihuateteo. In Aztec culture woman who died in child-birth, like fallen soldiers, were highly regarded, as child-birth was considered a battle. These woman, would be “transformed into hummingbirds and follow the sun on its eternal journey through the sky”(Ramos). However, occasionally one of these woman would transform back into a strange apparition and haunt the land of the Aztec, waiting at crossroads to find a replacement for there loss during childbirth (Ibid). This early, La Llorona narrative is similar to the way, Medea is haunted by the loss of her son Chac-Mool, haunted so strongly that she even believes to see him. As she sits in the mental institution, she like the Cihuateteo mentioned earlier is yearning to replace what she has lost. Around the same time period as the Cihuateteo, we have another La Llorona narrative, this is the version I was told, and was able to find in an essay by Bacil Kirtley,
“She was a pretty but humble maiden named Luisa, with whom a rich young man of high society fell in love. He did not marry her, but according to custom furnished a casita, a love nest, for here, where they were happy for many years. His friends visited and respected her, and they had three children. Finally his family prevailed upon him to marry a girl of his own class. He told luisa he was going to marry and she made a scene; he stopped visiting here. She was an univited guest at his wedding in the big cathedral. She came home maddend with grief and sen a dagger into the tender bodies of each of her children, one after another. Then, horror stricken, she ran wildly through the streets, calling for her little ons, sending terror into the hearts of all who heard her.” (156)
This narrative, similar to The Hungry Woman play shows the downward spiral of a strong woman. In the play, Medea seems to live a decent life, although she is residing in the land of the banished. She has the love of her partner Luna, and son. But as the title suggest this is not enough, her insatiability leads her down a more destructive path. Like Euripides’ Medea, Moraga’s Medea, in spite of her husband Jason’s love to another woman slays her young son, Chac-mool. But Moraga’s Medea like La Llorona, soon realizes her transgression and must wander the realm of her dreams and thoughts trying to make sense of it all. Like La Llorona, the Greek Medea, who this character closely mirrors, seeks her lost child.
I found this rather fascinating because the Greeks and the Aztecs were literally a world apart, yet both cultures have a myth so similar in composition. The story of a horrendous act of empowerment or of madness. It would be interesting to see if this Greek myth could have been brought over during the Spanish Conquest and adopted by the Aztec’s as there religious tendencies often involved the absorption of other practices and deities.
Works Cited:
Gonzalez, Tanya. “THE (GOTHIC) GIFT OF DEATH in Cherríe Moraga’s “The Hungry Woman: A Mexican Medea (2001).” Chicana/ Latina Studies 7.1 (2007): 44-77. Web.
Kirtley, Bacil F. “”La Llorona” and Related Themes.” Western Folklore 19.3 (1960): 155-68. Web.
Ramos, Octavio. “Monster of the Week: Cihuateteo.” Examiner.com. Web.