Five fascinating Puerto Rican myths and superstitions you should know

Creation story

According to the Taino creation story, Atabei, the earth’s original mother and their creator, made two sons, Yucajú and Guacar. Yucajú took over creation and made the sun and moon.

He then took gems from the earth and put them in the sky to form stars before filling the earth with plants, animals, birds. He then created the first man, a cross between an animal and a god, and named him Locuo.

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All the while, Guacar was envious of his brother’s achievements which made him very jealous and he transformed himself into the evil spirit, the Juracán. With his powerful winds, he uprooted trees and killed animals his brother had created. He even tried to kill Locuo but was unsuccessful.

This is how the Taino people made sense of the hurricanes and earthquakes that occasionally wrecked their homes.

Locuo, after surviving the attack, prayed to Yucajú for strength. Feeling lonely, Luoco formed two beings from his belly button, a male, Guaguyona, and a female, Yaya who then procreated and filled the earth, according to the Taino.