10 Examples of Ecuadorian Legends

The legends they are oral or written stories that tell made-up stories, but can include real and fantastic events. Ecuadorian legends are legends that originated or are passed down in Ecuador.

Ecuador is a country with a lot of cultural diversity and, therefore, the legends of this place are very varied. Some of these narratives are ancient and some are modern.

Ancient legends arose in pre-Columbian times or at the time of the conquest of America and may include historical figures or events or refer to the origin of traditional practices or explanations of phenomena natural.

Modern legends are transmitted in the country or in the city and explain the origin of fantastic beings or narrate events that allegedly occurred a few years ago.

Characteristics of Ecuadorian legends

Examples of Ecuadorian legends

1. The legend of Cerro Santa Ana

The Cerro de Santa Ana is a place that exists in Guayaquil and its name is due to an ancient legend. It is said that there was a Spanish man, Nino de Lecumberri, who was searching for treasures in this area.

One day the man was walking and, suddenly, an Inca woman appeared, who offered him two possibilities. The first of her was to marry her. The second was to guide him to a city made of pure gold. The man chose to be guided into the city. Then, the Inca king, the father of the young woman, began to persecute him and punish him for his greed.

Scared, the young Spaniard began to pray to Santa Ana to protect him. Legend has it that, thanks to his prayers, he was able to save himself. As a tribute to the saint, he placed a cross, which he had written "Santa Ana", on the top of the hill.

This legend explains the origin of the name of a hill and combines elements of the Inca tradition and the Christian tradition.

1. The legend of the Atahualpa treasure

Real people, events, and places are named in this legend, but fantastical elements are included. It occurs in Cajamarca, in 1532, when Atahualpa (the last Inca emperor) was kidnapped by Francisco Pizarro, a Spanish conqueror.

Atahualpa told his captor that he would give her more gold than he could imagine if he released him. Pizarro accepted his offer, but, as he did not trust the Inca emperor, he assassinated him.

It is said that Rumiñahui, an Inca general, was carrying the gold to Cajamarca, but, upon learning of the death of the emperor from him, he hid the treasure in the Llanganates mountain range. Gold was never found and it is believed that if anyone ever finds it, a curse will fall on them.

1. The legend of the wall of ghosts

On Isabela Island (one of the Galapagos Islands) there was a jail between 1946 and 1959. Some prisoners were forced to build a wall, called the Wall of Tears, with very heavy rocks.

The construction was so difficult that some of those men died while doing it. Today those who pass near the wall are said to hear sobs and see the ghosts of deceased prisoners.

1. The legend of Cantuña and the church

According to this story, the Quito priest asked Cantuña, a young indigenous man, to build a church. The young man answered yes and the priest clarified that he needed the building to be ready as soon as possible.

Cantuña began construction, but realized that it would take him a long time to finish it, so he prayed and asked God for help to finish the job as soon as possible.

As he did not get an answer, the young man despaired and invoked the devil. The king of darkness appeared and told him that he would take care of finishing the work if the young man paid with his soul. Cantuña accepted, but warned him that he would have to finish the job by dawn the next day.

The devil sent his subjects to make the church. When these infernal beings were working, Cantuña removed a brick that had just been placed, but they did not notice.

Dawn came and the devil appeared to demand that the young man fulfill his end of the bargain. Cantuña told him that the agreement was canceled, because the construction was not finished. The devil was surprised, he told him that this was impossible, but he had no choice but to go back to hell with empty-handed, after the young man showed him that the church was not finished because a brick.

1. The legend of the cathedral weather vane

It is said that a very rich man lived in Quito, who was greedy, ambitious and moody and who used to mistreat people.

One day this man was alone in the street and began to insult and yell at the rooster on the cathedral weather vane. The rooster came to life, broke away from the weather vane and pecked at the man, who was very scared.

The metal bird warned the man that he had to be more supportive and respectful of others or something serious would happen to him.

This legend conveys a lesson: do not be rude.

1. The legend of the Atahualpa plume

According to this legend, when Atahualpa was a child he was taught to respect nature. One day, when he was practicing archery in the forest, he saw a macaw, shot it with an arrow, and the bird died.

When he told her mother what had happened, she became sad and reminded him that she always had to take care of other living beings. So that her son would not forget this lesson, she put a macaw feather on her plume.

1. The legend of Agualongo

In a square in the city of Riobamba, there was a statue of a boy named Agualongo. In 1797 there was an earthquake in this city. It is said that before this event, something incredible happened.

According to legend, the statue of Agualongo made a complete turn on its own axis and the next day the earthquake occurred. Some of the people who survived this event said that it happened because the Agualongo wanted to see the city one last time before it was destroyed.

1. The legend of Fray Simplón

In the 16th century, in the city of Guayaquil, the Temple of San Francisco was built, a church that still stands today. According to legend, Fray Simplón, a friar who was known for having a dovecote in the bell tower, worked in that building.

The friar fed and cared for the pigeons every day. In 1726 the Cotopaxi volcano erupted and there was an earthquake that destroyed part of the church. The magistrate was checking the buildings of the city and told the friar that it was necessary to fix the bell tower, because it had a crack and could collapse at any moment.

The friar asked the people of the city for help, but all he got were a few silver coins, which he used to buy food for his pigeons. Soon after, a man went to talk to the friar and told him that he was a bricklayer and that he would help him fix the crack.

The two men worked hard and were finally able to fix the bell tower. But the magistrate, who detested the friar, sent his men to the temple to destroy the recently repaired tower.

When these men began to work, pigeons appeared that did not let them continue with the demolition. It is said that these birds were not ordinary animals, but angels.

1. The legend of the Panecillo pot

El Panecillo is an elevation that is located in the center of Quito and has a pot in the center. According to the legend, there was a woman who took her cow to the Panecillo every day, so that she would drink water from the pot.

One day the cow moved away from her a little, the woman lost sight of her and began to look for her everywhere. It occurred to him, then, that his animal could be in the pot, he went down to the bottom and saw that there was an immense palace there.

When the doors of the luxurious palace were opened, a princess came out and asked the woman why her visit was due. The woman replied that she was looking for her cow. The princess gave him a gold ingot and told him to go up.

The woman thanked her, she started to climb and when she got to the top, she saw that the cow was next to the pot.

1. The legend of the jembue

This is a legend of the Shuar, an original people who live in the Ecuadorian part of the Amazon jungle.

The story goes that when no one knew about fire, people could not cook or light homes at night. But there was a woman and a man who had a fire in their house and they did not want to share it with anyone. So that no one would take it away, one of the two always stayed in the hut.

One day the woman was gathering fruits, she saw a jembue (a hummingbird) on the ground and grabbed it with her hands. The bird told him that his wings were wet, that he was cold, and that he could not fly. She made the decision to help him, took him to her house and put him by the campfire so that he would not be cold and to dry off. The man got angry because the woman had shared the fire with another being, the bird got scared and flew away.

Unbeknownst to the man and woman, the jembue returned to the house, lit his tail with the campfire, and went to other people's huts to teach them all that could be done with fire. From that day on, everyone in the village began to use it for cooking, heating and lighting their homes.

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