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The viejitos, old folks, in western Honduras, especially in Copán Ruinas, tell of a being called El Duende, the goblin. El Duende is referred to as an evil being. It is said that he is a little dark-skinned man, of very short stature, always dressed in an elegant green suit, and always wearing a big hat or sombrero.
It is said that the Duende only appears to single women, either on remote roads to rural villages, underneath the nance trees (a shrub native of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua related to the plant family Malpigiaceas, and which produces a delicious yellow fruit about the size of the fruit of a coffee bean), or when women are alone in their houses. The viejitos in Copán, such as Don Felipe Aldana who is of Mayan descent, tell that the duende is an enamorado, playboy, who offers many gifts and wealth to the girls so that they go away with him. If a girl does not recognize the duende and accepts any thing he offers her, then she will remain enchanted by the evil powers of the duende.
It is said that because of the tricks of the duende some girls have become mute and even mentally impaired. If the girls do not pay attention to the duende, then he chases them about, he throws little rocks to their windows at night, and also throws cow dung on them.
It is said that if the duende appears to a girl, the best thing than she can do is to remain calm, to act in a friendly way, and when the duende offers wealth to her, the girl must ask him to bring her something impossible. The most common thing is to ask the duende to bring a basket filled with water from a river. As it is impossible to fill a basket with water, then the duende will disappear due to the frustration and he will never return to bother the girl who requests such a gift from him.
In Copán Ruinas, families used to sit on the curb in front of their houses in the evenings to converse between family members or with neighbours. Once, when I was very little, I was sitting on the sidewalk with my family as usual, and suddenly there was a blackout and the town was shrouded in darkness. After a while one of neighbours came shouting that we should go inside the house, close the door, and we should be careful not to open the door to anyone because the duende had appeared to a girl in the town. It is because of cases like this that the viejitos do not like it when young girls walk by themselves in the streets or when they spend time alone in their houses, for fear that the duende will appear to them.
El Duende: Evil entity or protector?
“Beware,” a Latin American mother told her children before they went to bed. “He’s out there waiting for the right moment. El Duende will take you away in the middle of the night to his cave in the middle of the forest. He’ll keep you there, and no one will know because you’ll be deep in the forest where nobody can hear you scream!”
Where does the El Duende creature live?
Based on that motherly advice, El Duende sounds like someone (or something) no child wants to mess with. And, further investigation of El Duende seems to confirm this. According to legend, this elf-like creature either dwelled in the forest or lived inside children’s bedroom walls. It is said that when the opportunity arises, El Duende will lead children deep into the forest to his cave or will come out of the walls to clumsily clip a sleeping child’s toenail—most often taking the entire toe off!
It’s no wonder why El Duende is feared; after all, with such a warning, El Duende should be viewed as an evil entity...but nothing is black and white with this legend.
“And if you get lost and need some help,” another mother may say. “El Duende will be there to guide you to safety!”
In other words, the same entity that is viewed as evil and/or mischievous by some is considered a good spirit who protects lost hikers, children, and critters in the forest.
The Legend of El Duende
If the story of El Duende is not strange enough, to this day, many believe that El Duende is an actual creature—akin to famous cryptids such as the chupacabras and Big Foot—lurking in the night throughout the countryside.
Whether good, evil, or mischievous, the legend of El Duende has been garnering a lot of attention on the Internet and in Hollywood. Is it possible that this beast of lore from Latin American countries is going to follow in the same way the legend of Chupacabras? It’s possible. Then again, El Duende is a legend, and nobody is sure how many are out there.
What is a cryptid?
A cryptid is an animal that has been claimed to exist, but its existence has never been proven. Examples of cryptids are Big Foot, the Loch Ness monster, and others.
From Youtube clip in which someone claimed to have have caught El Duende in Argentina.
Cryptozoologists Look for the “Real” El Duende
The website BigFootEncounters.com states that people in Belize were talking about an entity called Dwendi. The name is derived from the Spanish word Duende, meaning goblin. The site goes on to explain that the Dwendi (or El Duende) was different from another famous cryptid: Big Foot.
The site claims the writer Michael Cremo first detailed the eye-witness accounts in a book entitled Forbidden Archaeology. Also, he included writings from Ivan Sanderson, a “researcher” who collected the accounts from “dozens” of “men of substance who worked for responsible organizations” (mainly the Forestry Department).
Sanderson wrote in 1961 that a junior forestry officer had “described in great detail two of these little creatures that he had suddenly noticed quietly watching him on several occasions…near the foot of the Maya Mountains.”
The description seemingly matches those of a spider monkey (although the size given doesn’t match the actual species).
What does El Duende look like?
The description of the creatures was that of being three to four feet tall, with heavy shoulders, long arms, brown hair, flat yellowish faces, and long hair down the back of the neck and back.
Who else does El Duende look like?
Interestingly, Belize is the home of several primate species, such as the spider monkeys and howler monkeys. The description seemingly matches those of a spider monkey (although the size given doesn’t match the actual species).
However, there are more descriptions that match the Duende of legends. BigFootEncounters.com reported that Sanderson also wrote that some eye-witnesses saw the Dwendi carrying or wearing dried palm leaves that looked like some hat.
El Duende: The History of the Legend
Sanderson stated in his account that the Mayans believed in a deity that looked like a very small man wearing a big hat and nothing else. According to their myths, this deity roamed the forest. This being supposedly came out of hiding to place gifts before temples.
While this version of the Duende legend gives one the impression that it is a myth among the tribal people of Central America, the truth is that the Duende legend has many of its roots in Europe.
El Duende’s origin was the Iberian peninsula. He was a magical being who either did good or bad. Most often, he was mischievous. He was akin to elves, woodland spirits, goblins, and leprechauns.
Most notably, he was three feet tall and wore a big red hat and clothing made from animal hide. Also, as mentioned before, he either lived in a cave deep in the forest or somewhere in the walls of a child’s bedroom.
On top of that, he whistled, usually while strolling through the forest. As legend has it, if one were to hear him whistle, he or she better get out of the forest or be lost in it forever.
El Duende in History
As Spanish and Portuguese colonists began expanding their empire into the new world and beyond, they spread the stories of El Duende to the indigenous people. As a result, El Duende became a worldwide phenomenon that supplanted or was combined with folklore from the indigenous people of Latin and South America, The Philippines, and Guam.
And, depending on where the stories are told, El Duende is either a benevolent force or an evil entity. In places such as Guam or Belize, he will kidnap kids. In other places, he is protecting them. In other cases, he’s guarding the forest and animals from wrong-doers.
Some physical features were also added. He had a cane or a long beard. Also, he had no thumbs (in fact, in Belize, legend has it that children can escape from El Duende by hiding their thumbs in the palm of their hands. This will trick him into believing that the children are related to him in some fashion).
Most often, El Duende served as a warning to children who misbehaved or didn’t listen to their parents, as was expressed in Angel Nunez’s article entitled “El Duende – San Pedro Folklore.”
El Duende: Latin American Folklore
It’s highly likely that the Dwendis of Belize are probably howler monkeys or spider monkeys. Still, this misidentification has spawned a new twist to an old legend. The Internet has helped to raise the possibility of an actual “Duende” running around the forest.
Is Duende a legend such as elves and leprechauns, or is he a legendary modern creature such as Bigfoot or chupacabras?
In the meantime, the elusive El Duende has managed to garner other forms of attention. Recently, a Disney Channel show Elana of Alvador dedicated an episode to them. They weren’t exactly the nicest creatures, however.
So, what does the renewed interest mean for El Duende? The likelihood is that El Duende will endure as a legend, whether that is literally or figuratively true.
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