The Tunda (Spanish: La Tunda) is a myth of the Pacific coastal region of Colombia and Ecuador, and particularly in the Afro-Colombian community of the Chocó department, about a shapeshifting entity resembling a human woman that lures people into the forests and keeps them there.
The Tunda is described as being capable of changing its shape to appear in the form of a loved one, such as in the likeness of a child's mother, to lure its victims into the forest and feed them with shrimp (camarones peneídos) to keep them docile. This deception is referred to as entundamiento and a person in this state of pacified stupor is called entundado(a).
Her shapeshifting abilities are said to be imperfect, as this doppelgänger of sorts would always have a wooden leg in the shape of a molinillo, a wooden kitchen utensil used to stir hot drinks such as chocolate or aguapanela. The monster, however, is very cunning when trying to hide this defect from its would-be victims. In other versions, it appears to male loggers or hunters working deep into the jungle as a beautiful woman that tries to lure a man away, so it can reveal its hideous nature and suck his blood and drink it or devour him as a wild animal like bears.
See also
References
- Leyenda “La Tunda”
- La Leyenda de La Tunda
- González Cortés, Flover. 2001. Fantasmagorías. Mitos y leyendas del Pacífico colombiano
- Puertas Arias, Esperanza. 2000. Del Pacífico colombiano, La Tunda: Mito y realidad. Sus funciones sociales
External links
- La leyenda de la Tunda
- La Tunda se convierte en gallina
- Leyenda: La Tunda de esmeraldas (with picture)
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