La Cegua

La Segua is a legend that chastises improper and loose female

behaviour, as well as drunken and unfaithful activity of men.
La Cegua
These are evil women that appear at night dressed in horse hair and with
a lot of makeup on their faces. They look for their lover or for the man that
played with their feelings. Ceguas appear in the throughout the country;
there are ugly and beautiful ones. Their origin lies in women full of hate
that at the moment of their death choose to continue seeking revenge.
Among themselves, ceguas are very friendly; they even help each other to
conquer their preys.
Generally, they appear dressed up to drunk men and try to seduce them.
Moreover, they laugh loudly; sometimes, they dress in black attire. Their
apparitions are manicly melancholy because they scream, laugh or cry
wildly. Their goal is to avenge their own deceptions playing with other men
and leaving them as crazed idiots. For this reason, when a man acts like
an idiot or appears absent-minded, it is said the cegua played with him (lo
jug la cegua).
Another Version
There was once a beautiful Cartaginesa (female inhabitant of Cartago) of
mixed Indian and Spanish blood. She is usually depicted as having
beautiful white skin which contrasts with her jet black eyes and cascading
long hair. One of the versions of the legend says that she fell in love with a
Spanish officer who tricked her and broke her heart. The exact manner in
which he tricked her is not entirely clear, but there is a clear suggestion
that it involved some improper advances, sexual in nature, and extremely
forbidden for a lady from a good Catholic family. After the Spanish rogue

had disappeared, the lady went insane, and an awful curse befell her,
turning her into a monster, forever destined to wonder lonely roads.
La Segua, as the monster is called, poses as the beautiful lady that she
once was, and she waits by the roadside for unsuspecting men who
would be riding their horses after a long night of heavy drinking in town.
Attracted to the beauty, they accept to give her a ride on their horse, but
as they turn around, instead of beholding the enchanting companion, they
come face to face with a horrendous monster with the skull of a horse and
fiery red eyes. The warning is clear: men should stay away not only from
heavy drinking, but most importantly, from attractive lonely women who
can tempt them away from their family life.
Women are not exempt from the warning. In order to not be transformed
into a heinous apparition, cursed to wander forever, single women should
not give in to advances of men. Furthermore, La Seguas fate is as bad as
it is, because like La Malinche, the Mexican Indian woman who served as
Cortss translator and lover (Corts was the ruthless,main Spanish
conquistador of Mexico), she is betraying her people by falling in love with
a Spaniard, the oppressor. Even though La Segua was of mixed blood, in
a colonial context that would not place her on the same level as people of
pureSpanish descent. Therefore, La Segua does not only betray the
honor of her family because of her licentious behaviour, but by sleeping
with the enemy.
Another Version
The most terrifying of Nicaraguas folkloric characters is La Cegua, a
witch who resides in the woods. She takes on several facades. At times
she appears in a white corn leaf dress with a veil covering her face. It is
said that she has long black hair covering over her face. She is also said
to wear a Guarumo Tree leaf dress and her voice is made rasping and
hollow by plantain leaves covering her teeth.
Others say that her face is ghostly and that her eyes stare into her victims
souls. Still another version says that she is believed to have the face of a
horse. Nicaraguans also say that she walks through the woods and back
roads naked, waiting for her next victim. Men are drawn to her fantastical

silhouette. The words she speaks to these men are so horrific that the
victim goes insane instantaneously something from which they never
recover.
La Cegua is believed to have super-human abilities and is able to walk
through solid objects, gravitate above ground and fly at extreme speeds in
her efforts to lure men into her trap. To save yourself from such an
encounter you should carry mustard seeds and throw them before her.
She apparently will stop to try and pick up the magical seeds. As with
other myths in Nicaraguan folklore, the tale of La Cegua is believed to
ensure that men come straight home after work.