La Tunda
On the Pacific coast of Colombia, a shape-shifter in the mangroves takes the form of someone you love to lead you into the forest.
What was reported
Among the Afro-descendant communities of the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador, La Tunda is a figure who lives deep in the mangrove forests. She can take the shape of a loved one, a mother or a friend, to lure people, especially children, away into the swamp.
Those she captures fall into a daze, entundado, and are fed shrimp until they forget their families. To bring them back, the community goes into the forest with drums, prayers and the sound of their names.
Explanations offered
La Tunda is part of the rich oral culture of the region, and folklorists link her to warnings about the real dangers of the forest and rivers. Communities still tell her story, and she appears in music and theatre.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador
- Witnesses
- Afro-Colombian and Afro-Ecuadorian tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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