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Latin American folklore is the study of the informal beliefs, customs and cultural traditions common in the countries in Latin America. For ancient folklore and myths of Latin America, see Category:Native American religion .
In North American mythologies, common themes include a close relation to nature and animals as well as belief in a Great Spirit that is conceived of in various ways. As anthropologists note, their great creation myths and sacred oral tradition in whole are comparable to the Christian Bible and scriptures of other major religions. [1]
According to legend, the various groups who became the Aztecs arrived from the North into the Anahuac valley around Lake Texcoco. The location of this valley and lake of destination is clear – it is the heart of modern Mexico City – but little can be known with certainty about the origin of the Aztec.
Conversely, in some Latin American cultures, duendes are believed to lure children into the forest. In the folklore of the Central American country of Belize , particularly amongst the country's African/ Island Carib -descended Creole and Garifuna populations, duendes are thought of as forest spirits called " Tata Duende " who lack thumbs. [ 6 ]
Many Latin American countries refer to the monster as El Cuco. In northern New Mexico and southern Colorado , where there is a large Hispanic population, it is referred to by its anglicized name, "the Coco Man". [ 14 ]
A creation myth (or cosmogonic myth) is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it. While in popular usage the term myth often refers to false or fanciful stories, members of cultures often ascribe varying degrees of truth to their creation myths.
The Tunda (La Tunda) is a myth of the Pacific Region of Colombia, and particularly popular in the Afro-Colombian community, about a vampire-like doppelganger monster woman; The Patasola or "one foot" is one of many myths in Latin American folklore about woman monsters from the jungle.
The oldest surviving written account of Popol Vuh (ms c. 1701 by Francisco Ximénez, O.P.). Popol Vuh (also Popul Vuh or Pop Vuj) [1] [2] is a text recounting the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ people of Guatemala, one of the Maya peoples who also inhabit the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo, as well as areas of Belize, Honduras and El Salvador.