{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_51040/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_51040","id":"gutenberg_51040","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51040","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Folklore -- Cuba"],"text":"CUBAN FOLK-LORE\n\n                           L. ROY TERWILLIGER\n\n                                 HAVANA\n                   AVISADOR COMERCIAL PRINTING HOUSE\n                            30, AMARGURA ST.\n                                  1908\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSUPERSTITION AND WITCHCRAFT IN CUBA\n\n\nNowhere will one find such a mass of superstitious customs practiced,\nas in Cuba; especially among the black and mestizos, and even the\neducated whites, while not admitting their belief in witchcraft have\na wholesome fear of the Brujo or witch doctor.\n\nIt is probable that most of these queer practices were introduced by\nthe blacks who brought their strange beliefs from Africa. The belief\nin the Evil Spirit was doubtless the result of their early contact\nwith the aboriginal Cubans, who worshipped the devil.\n\n\u00d1a\u00f1iguismo is a form of superstition in which Catholicism and\nwitchcraft are mingled in bewildering confusion.\n\nThe society of \u00d1\u00e1\u00f1igos was first introduced in Cuba in 1836 by a\ncabildo of the Carabal\u00ed nation; many conjectures as to its origin have\nbeen put forward, but it is most probable that a priest or Chief of the\nAfrican institution called \u00d1anguitua, was brought to Cuba as a slave\nand here resumed his official character among his enslaved countrymen.\n\nThe first Juego or chapter was founded in Regla and called the Apapa\nEpi; it was officially sanctioned and licensed by the government.\n\nThe African order disbelieved in God and the worship of idols and\nfetiches prevailed: in fact was one of the principal causes of the\norganization of the society. Brujos or members of the order who\nwere supposed to possess supernatural powers were consulted in all\ncases of sickness. Slave holders claimed that \"the gente de naci\u00f3n\n(imported slaves) refused to be doctored by other means than their own\nbrujos and corporal punishment was absolutely necessary to overcome\ntheir stubbornness\".\n\nWhites and even mulatoes were at first refused admission to the\nsociety, but in 1863 a traitor to the original chapter sold for twenty\ncents the secrets of the order to a society of white and mulatoes who\nby means of the secret pass words and signs gained admittance to the\nhall where an initiatory session was in progress and demanded that\ntheir chapter be recognized by the head Juego. A severe battle was the\noutcome of this high-handed manner of securing the administration of\nthe initiation rites, but eventually resulted in the formation of the\nOcolio \u00d1\u00e1\u00f1igos, an order in which whites and half castes were admitted.\n\nMany catholic rites were introduced in the new order, which however\ndid not entirely displace their belief in their former idols.\n\nThe \u00d1\u00e1\u00f1igos about this time began to assume a vicious character\nand soon became a serious menace to society; the degenerate whites\nwho became \u00d1\u00e1\u00f1igos soon displaced the old negro kings or chiefs and\nintroduced many new customs, most of which were not to be desired in\na civilized country.\n\nIt is a curious fact that the avatism or reversion of half breeds\nalmost always result in excesses. Religious dances of an indecent\ncharacter were introduced and more revolting rites of initiation\ninstalled.\n\nRivalry among the different chiefs sprung up and dissensions among\nthe various orders soon assumed a bloody aspect.\n\nSanguinary battles among the negros and half castes were common every\nfeast day and resulted in stringent laws being passed against the\nentire organization.\n\nAfter the entrance of whites and mulatoes in the different orders\nthe cross became one of the most important symbols of the order.\n\nThe great seal was used only by the head chapter at Regla, each\ndistrict having a different symbol.\n\nAll initiatory rites were performed by the chief of the district\nand the Carabali tongue was used exclusively. The novice was marked\non the forehead with blood in the sign of the cross + on the breast\n+/o|o/+ and on the back o/o|o/o after which he was struck several\ntimes with the palo Mocongo, a cane covered with skin and mounted with\nprecious metals; this was to test his courage; many other ceremonies\nwere practiced.\n\nThe novice being declared a fit candidate for membership, blood was\nmixed with aguardiente and drunk by the new member and a wild scene\nof revelry wound up the ceremony.\n\nUnder the severe laws passed, \u00d1a\u00f1iguismo shrunk to insignificant\nproportions and the different chapters were supposed to have been\nbroken up.\n\nDuring the last few years it has been on the increase, the character\nhowever having somewhat changed.\n\nBut little can be learned of this society, at present a recent\ncriminal cases brought to light the fact that the very rites of\ninitiation were criminal in their character, a novice in the society\nmust wound some stranger and drink the flowing blood before the last\nrites are administered.\n\nThe Society is governed by a King, who is represented in each district\nby a \"Father of the Community\" or Chief Doctor, who has at his command\nthe Brujos or Conjurors.\n\nSanta Baraba, the patron saint of the order is no less than a savage\nidol with a Catholic name.\n\nThere are annual fiestas in honor of this Saint, where only members\nof the Society are admitted, but I was fortunate enough to witness\nfrom a friendly roof the sacred dance and battle with the devil.\n\nClothed only in long strings of feathers, the Brujo who played the\npart of \"leading man\", prostrated himself before the sacred image\nand lighted the sacrificial flames.\n\nGoats, black cocks and other animals were brought forward by the\ndevotees and beheaded. Fruit also was offered.\n\nThe nature of the sacrifice most acceptable to the Mabruja is\ncommunicated in advance to each of the Saint's followers, through\nthe medium of the Brujo.\n\nIt is certain that most of the time the exigencias of the saint\ndo not pass the sacrifice of a fat cock, or a goat whose head is\nconsumed by the flames (while the father of the community eats the\nrest of the victim), but cases have presented where the dagger or\npoison, have been ordered to remove some obstruction from the path of\nprivate individuals, whose money has influenced the saint to decree\ntheir death.\n\nSacrificial dances are always at night and the weird, scantily clad\nfigure of the officiating priest can easily be likened to that of\nsome demon tending the infernal fires.\n\nAfter the sacrifice, the low monotonous moaning of the tom-tom\nannounces that the ball has opened.\n\nTwisting his body in painful contortions, the brujo dances about\nthe sacred fire, gaining momentum with each round until he at last\nresembles a human pin-wheel; now slower and slower he dances, scanning\nthe faces of his fear-stricken followers for a victim, until at last\nhis hypnotic eye fixes upon an aged negress, who falls screaming to\nearth in convulsed fear. She is possessed of a Mabruja or Evil Spirit,\nwho has inconsiderately taken possession of the old lady's person,\nwithout her leave, and the \"doctor\" wants to extract it; apparently\nthe operation becomes painful to the old lady, who would doubtless\nhave much rather been left in quiet possession of his satanic majesty.\n\nAfter much manoeuvring, the doctor announces that the Mabruja was\nvanquished and has left his country woman, who still sits in comical\namazement where she had fallen; to one who has really entered the\ninner life of the country districts of Cuba this is no strange sight.\n\nOne of the most abhorrent practices of witchcraft is the use of\nLove Philters composed of ingredients of a nature too horrible to\nmention. It is needless to say that this custom is practiced almost\nsolely by the lowest class of society, but in so great respect and\nfear are its results held that almost the first advice one receives on\narriving in Cuba, is to never accept refreshments in a strange house,\nfor fear that they may contain this concoction; many tales are told\nof young men who by means of this drug have been lured into attachment\nfor women of shady complexion and still more shady reputation.\n\nThe Piedra Im\u00e1n, a sort of lodestone, plays an important part in the\npractice of witchcraft; sacrifices of animals are made to this stone\nwhose absorbent qualities cause it to greedily suck the blood of the\nvictims. In sickness and love this stone is always in evidence. Are\nyou dying of unrequited love? No need to worry while a dozen old\nwitches are aching for the opportunity of relieving your heart (and\npocket). For gold a small stone will be placed in your possession\nand if you carefully follow directions, luck will attend your affairs\nwith Cupid.\n\nTo succeed it is necessary to secure a strand of hair (pulled, not\ncut) and the parings of your loved one's nails; these are mixed with\nsteel filings and placed with the \"stone\" in a metal box. On Mondays\nthe \"stone\" is strictly teetotal and only water may be offered, but\nas Friday draws near, the \"God\" develops a taste for strong liquor\nand wine must be given it. Woe betide the mortal who neglects the\n\"little God's\" taste in drinks.\n\nHas disease laid its foul hand on your person? No need to worry;\nany witch doctor will recommend the following recipe.\n\n\n           Rx  1 Pair half burned candles.\n               7 Grains of corn.\n               7 Copper pennies.\n               7 Clean pebbles.\n               1 Head of a black cock.\n               7 Pieces glass.\n\n\nWrap carefully in red cloth, this enclose in black cloth, over all\nwrap a large white handkerchief and place in public highway, await\ndevelopments.... An innocent wayfarer comes down the highway, sees\nthe ownerless package and gleefully makes off with it. Oh joy! you\nare already feeling better, and the one who so fondly imagines he\nhas found a fortune wrapped up in a napkin, has only brought down\nupon his head the load of your disease!\n\nBarrenness need no longer bring grief to those who long for the patter\nof little feet about their home.\n\nSecure a white child and with the help of a brujo extract its heart\nand take in small doses!!\n\nIt is impossible to dispute the fact of this and other horrible\ncannibalistic practices to which the superstitious negros are addicted;\nthe public can scarcely have forgotten the developments of the noted\n\"Gabriel Case\" when a number of Brujos were sentenced to long terms\nof imprisonment and one at least received the death penalty.\n\nNot only in the greater joys and griefs of life is witchcraft used,\nbut in the petty annoyances of everyday life.\n\nThe dread combination of sprinkling salt in an old shoe and placing it\nupon an upturned broom, has caused many an unwelcome guest to hasten\nhis departure.\n\nSome of the common superstitions are: never twist an empty chair.\n\nNever read by the light of two candles; you are mocking death.\n\nA moth flying about you at night means that you are to receive\na letter.\n\nA match which continues burning after being thrown away will bring\nyou money.\n\nA dog scratching the floor of a house is digging his master's grave. He\nwill soon die.\n\nIf a hearse passes a person twice during the same funeral, he will\nbe its next occupant.\n\nNever cross the arms over the head; your mother or nearest relation\nwill die.\n\nNever sweep the crumbs from a table with a paper; it will bring\ndisgrace to your family.\n\nIn former years, when the milk man brought his cows along to town and\nmilked them before your door, there was a curious belief that if a\ncow bawled in front of a house where a sick person lay, that person\nwould die.\n\nIf a mass is not said for the repose of a soul, the newly dead will\ncome at night and pull the feet or carry off the blanket of the\nnearest relation.\n\nA black moth flying at night means that there will be a death in\nthe house.\n\nShould an eyelash fall, you will receive a visit from a long forgotten\nfriend.\n\nIf an owl hoots as it flies over a house, somebody in that house\nwill die.\n\nThat there is \"something\" in witchcraft it is impossible to deny. The\nfear and reverence in which the brujos are held is far more powerful\nthan their fear of the law, as has been shown in several recent\ncriminal cases.\n\nIs it not possible that the something, is mesmerism, that the subjects\nare mesmerized by their own belief in the brujo, or that the brujo\nhimself has acquired the power of hypnotism though unconscious of the\nsource or nature of this power, a \"power\" that makes him different\nfrom other men?\n\nSuperstition is a serious menace to the advancement of Cuba.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE PRIMITIVE INHABITANTS OF CUBA\n\n\nFortunately for history, most early Spanish expeditions were\naccompanied by such observers as Las Casas, Cort\u00e9s, Gomara and Oviedo,\nwho although differing in minor details and unreliably eulogistic of\ntheir own expeditions and leaders have agreed on their accounts of\nthe habits of the Indians as found at the time of the discovery.\n\nBartolom\u00e9 Las Casas in particular made a study of the Indians and in\nso far as possible sought to relieve their sufferings.\n\nSeparated by but a narrow stretch of water from the other islands\nof the West Indies, Cuba was inhabited by an entirely different\nrace of men. The Caribes, who infested the smaller islands, were a\nwarlike tribe of anthropophagi who terrorized the shores of Cuba by\nfrequent and bloody excursions, carrying off many captives for their\ncannibalistic feasts.\n\nThe Indians of Cuba were of the Siboneyes tribe, excepting those\nabout Bayamo and Baracoa, who were of the Caribe nation. In these\ntwo localities deformed skulls have been found identical with those\ncollected at Guadalupe, the principal seat of the Caribes.\n\nSeveral hypotheses have been given of the origin of the Siboney\nIndians. Some writers claim them as descendants of the Mayas of\nYucatan, but Bachiller y Morales disposes this on the radical\ndifference of the characters of the two tribes. With the exception\nof the Floridians and the Araucanians of Chile; the Siboneyes are\nunlike all other American Indians.\n\nAbbe Don J. Ignatius Molina writing of the Araucanian about the year\n1800 says, \"The natives of this part of the New World being of a mild\ncharacter, much resembling that of the Southern Asiatics,\" and again:\n\"The features of both (hill or plain tribes) are regular; they have\nround faces, small animated eyes full of expression, a nose rather\nflat, a handsome mouth, even and white teeth, muscular and well shaped\nlimbs and small flat feet.\"\n\nOf the Siboneyes Bachiller y Morales says: \"They did not present the\nrobust muscularity of the North American Indian nor did the expression\nof their faces assume the bloody instincts of the Caribe. In color\nlight olive, they were tall straight limbed men of peaceful disposition\nwho lived mainly by the chase and agriculture.\"\n\nOn the strength of this resemblance some writers have concluded that\nthe Siboneyes were descendants of the Araucanians. This disagrees\nwith the traditions of the Siboneyes themselves who claim to have\nimmigrated from Florida; first driving from the island the males of\na nation who were inferior to themselves in number and civilization;\nmoreover the Indians of Cuba long had tradition of the wonderful land\nof Cantio or Florida.\n\nWashington Irving in his \"Spanish Voyages of Discovery\" says: \"The\nbelief of the existence in Florida, of a river like that sought by\nJuan Ponce, was long prevalent among the Indians of Cuba, and the\ncaciques were anxious to discover it.\"\n\nGeographical conditions would also favor the theory of the Siboneyes\ncoming originally from Florida.\n\nEvidence of an earlier race in Cuba has been discovered in the caves\nof the eastern part of the island. Skulls differing greatly from both\nthose of the Siboneyes and Caribes have been found, as well an stone\nimplements, which most authors agree were not used by the Siboneyes.\n\nIt is probable that the Siboney tradition of their coming originally\nfrom Florida is correct.\n\nAt the time of discovery, Cuba was divided politically into thirty\ndifferent states as follows:\n\nSabeneque, Cayaguaya, Manibon, Bani, Barajogua, Sagua, Baracoa on\nthe north coast; Hanamano, Jagua, Guanjaya, Magon, Omapai, Guanaros,\nCueiba, Cucanajani, Macaca, Boyuca, Bajatiquiri and Masi on the\nsouth coast; Cuanajami, Guanejuanica, Marien, Habana, and Canauei\ntouching both coasts; Macoriges, Calacon, Bayamo, Maeye and Cuamaj\nin the interior.\n\nEach state was independent and was governed by a king or cacique who\nwas absolute ruler of the nation: subject to no laws and holding the\npower of life and death over his subjects, this power was seldom used\narbitrarily, the cacique appearing more in the role of a father to\nhis people.\n\nThe subjects of the kingdom were called tainos probably signifying\ncitizens or subjects; they were of different rank; the naitains\nor naitanos formed the nobility or commanding part, the naboris or\nanaboris the vassals or laboring class, who were divided into different\ngroups, each group under the authority or command of a naitains.\n\nAs a mark of distinction the nobles wore the hair tied high up on the\nhead and on feast days adorned themselves with feathers, gold shells,\netc. The hair of the vassal was cut straight about the ears.\n\nThe national laws were few and severe, theft being the crime most\nseverely punished.\n\nThe convicted thief was impaled on a large stick and suspended between\ntwo upright posts until life was extinct.\n\nAs among many uncivilized races most of the manual work was performed\nby women. Among the Siboneyes married men were exempt from agricultural\npresents, but assisted in gold washing, etc. They were obliged however,\nto live separate from their families for some time before going on\na gold hunting expedition.\n\n\"Los hombres casados iban en busca de oro \u00e1 los r\u00edos como los dem\u00e1s,\npero se absten\u00edan de la cohabitaci\u00f3n y trato mujeril antes, para que\nno se les turbara la vista\".\n\nThe primitive Cubans were of an amorous disposition, somewhat\nindolent. Polygamy was permitted, but seldom practiced except among\nthe ruling classes; promiscuous intercourses and unnatural crimes were\nascribed to the Siboneyes by the early settlers. Narvaez gave this\nas his excuse for the massacres of the entire Indian village of Caonao.\n\nTheir acts were very ceremonious especially when receiving a visit\nfrom a neighbouring cacique. The receiving cacique was borne forth in\na litter preceded by a number of women who were slightly clothed, and\nwho scattered palm leaves before the approaching guest. A visit was\nalways attended by great feasting, where nobles acted as servants to\nthe visiting cacique, during the feast the women entertained their\nlords by songs and dancing; a number of young girls were always\nappointed to the service of a welcome visitor as a peace offering.\n\nThey in common with other West Indian nations had a tradition of the\nformation of the world. Lucuo (God) formed the world, we know he\nmade all things; he came from a country beyond the clouds peopled\nby spirits and souls. The world was first formed without mountains\nor water, but under the influence of the sea sunk forming mountains\nand bringing fair water.\n\nLucuo formed the first man of wheat; when he was finished he touched\nthe image on the stomach with his foot changing it into two grand\nLucayos, male and female to whom nine divine offsprings were born.\n\nThe first Nounm (the moon) was very proud and boastful of his\nbrilliancy but when Huin (the sun) was born and showed his shining\nface Nounm became ashamed and hid himself only coming out at night\nwhen Huin is absent.\n\nThe other offsprings were given charge of the elements.\n\nCuasima was chief of the Cemi inferior gods who were the offsprings\nof Lucuo and the first woman.\n\nLucuo lived a long time with his people and taught them the first\nprinciples of agriculture.\n\nTaking an old man aside he buried a stick in the ground and told him to\ndig in the same place after nine months had passed; at the end of this\nperiod the old man dug up the place as directed and found yuca growing.\n\nThe Behique or doctors of the tribe exerted an important\ninfluence. They were charged with the perpetuation of the nations\nhistory or traditions, which were taught to the children of the\nnobility in the form of songs which were chanted by them on feast days.\n\nThe Behique was also at the head of their religion. Their prayers\nwere directed not to the creator by but to the Mabuya or bad spirit\ntheir belief being as \"God is good it is not necessary to gain his\nprotection; the devil is bad and it is therefore better for us to\nadore and propitiate him so that he will work us no ill.\"\n\nTheir intercessions were made through the medium of the Cemi inferior\nGods of whom stone images were erected, and who acted as messengers\nto the greater Gods. Each Behique had his own particular Cemi called\nCochexi who was solely at the command of that special Behique; the\nCochexi of some Behique, were regarded as superior to others. The\nCemi also had charge of all natural objects such as the springs,\nthe rain, thunder, and dew.\n\nDiseases were very rare and also very violent among the Siboneyes;\nthe Behique cured their followers by medical preparations of herbs and\nroots, together with magical symbols and by blowing upon them; after\nfasting and pretending to hold direct communication with their Cemi.\n\nTwice a year great religious feasts were held when the Behiques fasting\nweeks in advance living only on the juices of certain grains appearing\nweak and emaciated. After the usual sacrifices to the Cemi they worked\nthemselves into a religious ecstasy; while in this condition they were\nquestioned on subjects of interest, such as the probability of war,\nbattles and death, their answers being received as coming direct from\nthe Gods.\n\nAt their fiesta or Gloritas wonderful dances were held several taking\nhold of each other's hands then moved themselves to the rhythm of\na slow chant and the music of the tom-tom, a hollow trunk of a tree\ncovered by the skin of some wild animal. It was their custom to dance\nuntil so exhausted that they fell to the ground. During the dances\nwine was passed from one to another and drunk without spilling or\ninterrupting the dance. Men and women danced together only on the\noccasion of a great victory or on the birth or death of a cacique,\nwhen no wine was drunk.\n\nThe Siboneyes were armed with the bow and arrow, dart and mace; the\narrow and dart were tipped with fish bones; the mace was a heavy club\nmade of hardwood and seems to have been their favorite weapon. They\nalso construed clever traps to ensnare game.\n\nThey had a primitive idea of weaving and wove cloth from the wild\ncotton plant that appears to have been indigenous to Cuba.\n\nFire was made by rubbing a piece of hard wood between two pieces of\nsofter wood.\n\nFishing was one of their pursuits many of the houses of the noble\nwere built upon piles along the shores of streams; this was probably\na means of securing themselves against surprise by the cannibals.\n\nThe hardships to which the Siboneyes were subjected has caused them\nto rapidly disappear, with the exception a possible few among the\nmountains of Santiago. The race has entirely disappeared even as early\nas 1532 but 5,600 of the original population of two hundred thousand\n(according to Las Casas 1.000.000) remained in 1511. Moreover in 1553,\nFray Luis Beltran writing of the travels in Cuba in 1551 claims they\nwere entirely exterminated.\n\n\"Los 200.000 indios que entonces conten\u00eda ser\u00edan exterminados por\nlos tratamientos de que eran v\u00edctimas.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSOME CUBAN SHRINES\n\n\nIn Cuba as in all pro-Catholic countries the natives have a host of\nsaints to whom they attribute various supernatural powers; they are\nheld in greater or less esteem according to the miraculous cures they\nhave achieved or the concessions they have granted their followers.\n\nEach family or individual has a special saint to whom they appeal\nin times of trouble or sickness. Sometimes however when a saint\nhas repeatedly proved inefficient or has failed to grant the wishes\nof a devotee, it is cast aside or exchanged for one that has been\nrecommended by a friend. It is no unusual thing to hear one lady\nadvising another to try such and such a saint. \"Rece \u00e1 San Jos\u00e9, \u00e9l\nme ha concedido todo lo que yo le ped\u00ed\". Pray to San Jos\u00e9 he grants\nall I ask him.\n\nThere are also a number of saints who are specially efficient in\ncertain diseases or conditions. One always prays to San Blas to cure\nthroat trouble, and young ladies know that San Nicolas with gladly\nassist them to secure good (rich) husbands, San Ram\u00f3n protects them\nduring pregnancy and San L\u00e1zaro during child-birth. Sta. B\u00e1rbara makes\ntimid hearts brave in times of war; Santo Domingo cures fever, Santa\nLucia looks after the eyes, San Antonio protects from fire; and so in\nevery case that may be presented there is some saint (or saintess) who\nhas taken that disease or ill for their special power of benefaction.\n\nWhen an article is lost San Antonio de Padua is in disgrace until it\nis found. The figure of the saint is placed head-down-wards and if\nsome time elapses without the lost object being recovered the image\nis bound to a chair back and severely whipped for failing in his duty;\nif the lost object still remains undiscovered the infant which always\naccompanies the saint is cut away from the image and the following\ncouplet repeated\n\n\n               \"San Antonio Bendito\n                si no me concedes lo que te pido\n                no te devuelvo tu ni\u00f1o.\"\n\n\n\"Blessed San Antonio if you do not grant what I ask, I will not return\nyour child\" this last resource rarely fails in causing the recovery\nof whatever is missing.\n\n\"El Se\u00f1or Milagroso\" the miracle worker, is an image treasured as\none of the most valued religious possession of Matanzas. Although\nthe church has offered many thousands of dollars for its possession,\nand its owner is in comparatively poor circumstances, it still remains\nin the hands of a private family.\n\nIt has been handed down through many generations of the Castro family\nand is at present in the possession of Sr. Arturo Castro who has\nbuilt a shrine where all are welcome to visit and revere the saint.\n\nThis saint is supposed to instantly answer the prayer of those who are\nin great danger. A curious story is connected with the image of a snake\ntwined about the body of a man that is placed before in the saint.\n\nDuring the revolution of 1868 when many well to do families were\ntemporarily reduced to needy circumstances an old man was accustomed\nto visit his married son about the time of the mid-day meal. The\nson who found it difficult to fill the all too many mouths of his own\nhousehold one day ordered the meal to be kept back until his father had\ngone. The father came and failing to see the usual preparations for\nbreakfast in progress inquired if the meal had already been served,\nhe was given to understand that it had and left the house somewhat\nnettled as was natural. The dish was now ordered to be placed on the\ntable with the least possible delay. As moments passed and no food\nappeared the master of the house went to the kitchen to inquire the\ncauses of delay and there found the servant struggling to lift the\ncover from a kettle. Angry at the inability to perform so apparently\nsimple a task he gave the cover a pull ... and then slowly from the\nboiling liquid appeared the shining coils of a monstrous serpent,\nwhich wound itself about the body of the selfish son! ... imagine\nthe confusion and consternation in which the household was thrown on\nseeing their master in the coils of this huge monster.\n\nThe master finding it impossible to release himself from the coils\nof the serpent and realising that this was the punishment of God for\ndeceiving his parent vowed to present the Se\u00f1or Milagroso a silver\nimage of the incident.\n\nEl Santo Sudario is a saint out-lawed and unrecognized by the\nauthorities of the church; persons found wearing the reliquary\ncontaining the prayer to the saint are accounted rebels against the\nchurch and are excommunicated.\n\nThis saint is the patron of robbers and assassins, and of people who\nare in constant danger of death by violence or drowning.\n\nEl Santo Sudario or Just Judge protects its followers against fire,\nwild animals, bullets, death by drowning, and hanging, it is in great\nrequest by soldiers or sailors.\n\nDuring the Spanish regime in Cuba it became a misdemeanor to have\nan image of the saint in one's possession it being believed by\nthe authorities that it gave criminals immunity against detection\nor arrest.\n\nA laughable accident in connection with the saint happened to the\nknowledge of the writer. During the last political unpleasantness an\nofficer of the government forces was pressed to accept a present of a\nreliquary of El Santo Sudario to protect him against the dangers of\nbattle incredulous of its power but willing to please his friend he\naccepted the gift and placed it about his neck. The reliquary encased\nin a red silk bag to prevent its chafing the skin was soon forgotten.\n\nWhile taking account of the casualties after a very active skirmish the\nofficer was astonished and somewhat frightened to have his attention\ncalled to an apparently severe wound he himself had received in\nthe breast. Glancing down sure enough a huge stain of blood had\nappeared on the front of his uniform. Feeling no pain and the wound\nappearing in such a vital place the officer imagined himself booked\nfor the long voyage. Frantically tearing open his clothing in haste\nto stop the bleeding he found to his surprise that the red silk bag,\ncontaining the reliquary was dripping with perspiration and had run\nthrough his clothing.\n\nThe Shrine of La Santa Imagen in the Hermitage of Monserrat, Matanzas,\nis the Mecca of the Spanish residents of Cuba, who annually in the\n8th of November journey from all parts of the Island to attend the\nfiesta of Monserrat.\n\nThis saint is supposed to have the power to grant three wishes to\nthose who fulfill their vows during the year. The many offerings of\ngold and silver about the altar offer eulogiastic proof of the faith\nand esteem in which the saint is regarded. These objects are vowed to\nthe saint in times of sickness or despair and usually take the form\nof a miniature representative of the parts of the body that are made\nwell by the intercession of the saint.\n\nVows of humility are also made to the saint. One devout more believer\nhas passed the whole of each fiesta on his knees for than 20 years,\nin fulfillment of a vow made when he received intelligence of a fatal\naccident to his only daughter that happened while he was far from\nhome. He vowed to the Holy Image that if he were allowed to reach the\nbedside of the child before she passed away he would perform this\nact of humility as long as he lived in gratitude for the saint's\nintercession in his behalf.\n\nFor some special favor shown young girls will promise Our Lady Carmelo\nto use no other dress for a certain period than that prescribed by\nthe Order of the Sisters of Carmelo, a dusty brown with black girdle.\n\nLa Se\u00f1ora del Cobre is the patron saint of Cuba. This saint is a\nwooden image placed on El Cobre hill near Santiago of Cuba.\n\nThis Image has a touch of the wanderlust often disappearing during\nthe night and returning, covered with sand and sea weed. Once some\naccident befell it and it was picked far out at sea by a fishing boat\nand returned to its place.","title":"Cuban Folk-Lore","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":5355}