The Cuban Legend of the Owl and the Sijú

806 Words2 Pages

The Owl and the Sijú

The legend of "La lechuza y el sijú" ("The Owl and the Sijú") is a popular and old Cuban legend. I collected this legend on March 17th, when I first talked to Denise Corte, my co-worker at my campus job, about this particular class assignment. She is a Brazilian doctoral student whose thesis is based on a Cuban theater group. She traveled to Cuba to follow this theater group that primarily focuses their plays on Cuban legends. When she heard about my assignment she was enthusiastic, as her dissertation is based on the exploration of Cuban legends. She generously told me about a legend that she had included in her own work, concerning an owl and a sijú, a nocturnal bird native to Cuba. This legend was told to her in Spanish, so she graciously translated it into English.

The patakín (legend of Yoruba) concerns the story of a beautiful, mysterious, and wise princess who lived in a very small country. After a war to expel a tyrant, it was proclaimed that all citizens would be equal. Anyone who wanted to put an end to tyranny would find a home in that land. One day, a traveler from a country enveloped in eternal darkness arrived in search of light. The princess saw him and thought he was sick. Confused, she asked her grandmother what to do: "Oye tres días al zunzún, otros tres días al canario. La verdad solo tú la sabes. El remédio está en tus manos" ("Listen to the zunzún for three days, and other three days to the canary. Only you know the truth. The remedy is in your hands") answered the grandmother. The princess did as recommended, but the only thing she heard was "mal de amor se cura amando" ("lovesickness is cured by loving"). The traveler also sought the old woman, received the same counsel, and heard ...

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...n and achieving equality. Also, the legend focuses on how the truth lives on forever and can be heard only by those who are pure at heart. This is demonstrated by the tree of eternal truths, where the princess told the story about her lover, that would not seem "different than any other tree" to liars. This could lead to the interpretation that, despite the tyranny that they were suffering under, the slaves still had hope that their traditions and beliefs would last forever and would only be heard by those that would understand and appreciate them.

Works Cited

Ayorinde, Christine. Afro-Cuban Religiosity, Revolution, and National Identity. Gainsville: University Press of Florida, 2004

Brown, David. Santeria Enthroned. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003.

Clark, Mary Ann. "Santeria." 2000. 09 Apr. 2005 http://sparta.rice.edu/~maryc/Santeria.

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