Cadejo

For this week's episode, we're heading over to Central America to look at the good and the evil dog spirits, the Cadejo! How does this monster link to the ancient Aztecs? How can you make sure to avoid the bad one? Find out this week!

Transcript

INTRO:
Hello and welcome to Myth Monsters, my name is Erin and I’ll be your host for these little snack bite size podcasts on folklore and mythical monsters from around the world. 

These podcasts focus on the actual cryptids, folklore and mythic monsters from global mythology, rather than focusing on full stories of heroes and their big adventures.

I’ll also be dropping in some references that they have to recent culture and where you can see these represented in modern day content so you can learn more, and get as obsessed as I am about these absolute legends of the mythological world.

We’re back and I’m glad to be! I had a little trip over to Belfast in Northern Ireland last week, but unfortunately was nowhere near anything particularly folklorish. Although I did have a pint or 5 in the legendary Crown Bar, which is one of the oldest pubs in the UK and I drunkenly talked about folklore, fairy circles, Banshees and Giants to a cab driver on the way back to my hotel, so it wasn’t all a loss for the podcast.

DESCRIPTION:

But we’re going far away from Ireland and the UK this week to the beautiful and vast Central America for a monster that has two sides to it but equally loves a bit of booze. Yes, we’re looking at Cadejo this episode.

The Cadejo is generally described as a duo spirit that appears as two large dogs, about as big as a cow. One of these is described as being pure white, well groomed with bright blue eyes and an incredibly calm nature, whilst the other is black as tar, with raggedy hair, goat hooves and bright purple or red, glowing eyes. They both smell pretty horrendously like goats, urine and sulphur and are always seen wearing some kind of chain, either attached to them like a collar and leash or as a shackle on one of their legs.

The white Cadejo is known to be benevolent and they would walk alongside travellers during their journey, keeping them safe from the black version of itself, who is determined to kill and eat them. This commonly happens with drunks, vagabonds and potentially evil people who are out late and the Cadejo is destined to be their protector or their ruin, sometimes both at the same time. One of the black Cadejo’s powers is to be able to cause evil and bad decisions in the person, whilst the aim of the white Cadejo’s powers is doing everything to protect them with the bright light surrounding the person fighting off those impulses and scaring off other people willing to hurt or rob them whilst they’re intoxicated.

They have a few other powers, including petrifying those who look at them, leaving them open to attack from the black Cadejo. They also had the power to drive you mad if you were to speak to it or turn your back on it, as almost a sign of ungratefulness for not engaging with it. Super size, speed and strength are also general traits to them, be that supernatural or not I suppose.

These dogs are from Central America, which includes Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua where this monster is found. They only travel at night and are known to travel immensely fast through the wilderness, working in a yin and yang kind of partnership of good and evil. They both tend to hang around graveyards and dark alleyways in these countries, ready to pounce or save the person coming out of the bar. There are a few instances where the black Cadejo are found on their own, with no white Cadejo - meaning the person they hunt is pretty much on their own.

Basically, if the Cadejo is after you - your only hope is the white Cadejo, otherwise you will not survive. Some people say that praying might help, but you’re also not meant to walk with your legs open around it as if they run through, they’ll steal your soul.

However the black Cadejo is the one that people tend to focus on and has a couple of other interpretations. The first is that it is the devil incarnate, who appears as a wounded dog with hoofed feet and because of this, the white Cadejo is completely unable to stop any attack. However, this one doesn’t typically attack, but more acts as an omen of a tragic event and the eyes of evil. 

The second is more of a luring predator. It will emit a series of sounds, sometimes including the calls of family members or terrified screams. The victim would investigate, terrified, and the dog would pounce and tear apart the victim if the white Cadejo didn’t make it in time to protect him. 

The last is actually the offspring of the Cadejo and a normal dog, these ones don’t bite the victim like its parent - but will kick and peck them with their snout instead, which would drive the victim mad over time. There’s a saying about these people ‘Lo jugó el cadejo’ which means they were handled by a Cadejo and unfortunately was also used to describe someone who was born with mental illnesses. You could actually kill this one with just smacking it with a machete, but it was difficult to take out with normal means. 

Once any Cadejo is killed though, within seconds of death, the body would rot into the floor - where the stain would mean that the grass or any other kind of life would never grow again.

Just to add to the evil and good of these monsters, we know that the black Cadejo’s favourite treat was newborn babies and people, but the white Cadejo loved bell-like flowers that grow on the side of volcanos. We do assume that they reproduce the normal dog way and that there are multiple Cadejos throughout Central America and we’re not sure how the normal Cadejos die, but they definitely do in fact die.

ORIGIN:

So let’s hop on over to etymology where we actually have two possible origins. The word Cadejo is Spanish of course, with the very soft j - and is believed to be derived from cadena, which means chain, relating to the chain they always have attached to them. The other is that it may be linked to a large weasel family, also called the Cadejo - but we’re not sure which one is correct. 

In regards to their history, there’s really not very much on this one I’m afraid - we have no idea when they came into history or folklore, however, we do think they are really ancient and have passed down through word of mouth. There’s a legend that the Cadejo is the result of an ancient Mesoamerican belief that humans are all linked to one pet, and act as guardian angels for their linked humans.

When I say ancient Mesoamerica, I mean generally the southern part of North America. Interestingly, this was a load of different civilisations mixed into a boiling pot and before the Spanish colonisation in 1493, it was mostly made up of indigenous groups. We do also have a heavy Aztec influence in this part of the world, and some of the first written languages in the world - however, myths and legends were still mostly spread through word of mouth thanks to the tribal culture.

What we do have is a couple of stories and sightings from the last 300 years though, which gives us something I suppose. 

One of the best legends is that of two brothers in El Salvador who were going to see a black magician. He asks the boys to help him find some logs for his fire during a storm, but both boys just sit and eat the man’s food. Once the magician had seen that all his food was gone and there was no firewood, he put a curse on the road leading back to the boy’s village. When they leave they hear voices on the road, and turn their back on them - immediately they turn into the white and black Cadejo and are forced to wander for the rest of their lives. 

Another is from the 1900’s, when a man called Juan Carlos and his family lived in Guatemala. He worked as a guardian in the local town and would arrive at his house at midnight from his shift whilst his wife and children worked in the fields. One day, Juan found a white dog when he came home, but it was startled by him and ran away. He would try to follow the dog every night and one day, the dog didn’t move and let him touch his paw. All of a sudden, the dog opened his eyes and said ‘you do not need my help anymore’, ‘what help?’ Juan responded. The dog replied ‘I am a dog sent from above, my mission was to protect you from danger, but you have shown me you do not need my help anymore’. The dog then died in his arms, and Juan buried him - and honoured him every time he came home from then on.

The Cadejo is often linked to some other mythical monsters in the Central American mythos. They are said to be protectors from two, even worse monsters that would kill people - these are the Cipitio and the Cegua. The Cipitio is described as a 8-10 year old boy that would tempt people into the woods using their backwards facing feet. The Siguanaba is described as a shapeshifting creature that lures men into danger using their beauty, only to reveal the face of a horse or skull, driving the person mad. Both of these monsters work in harmony with the black Cadejo, with the Cipitio and the Cegua luring people into the wilderness, only to be eaten by a lone Cadejo once they’re alone and or mad. 

For other monsters they’re related to throughout world folklore, for me, they really remind me of Hellhounds, which are dogs generally sent from hell to obey the orders of a devil. These are from loads of mythologies across the world, with the most famous being Cerberus of Greek myth, acting as the protector of the Underworld but also a fearsome predator, even for a demi-god. We also have the Black Dog from British folklore, an omen of death for anyone who sees it but without much actual supernatural power - Sirius Black was one of these in Harry Potter and the whole Prisoner of Azkaban story is intertwined with the black dog being the omen of misfortune throughout.

What is really interesting about the Cadejo is the balance that it represents. The good vs evil, dark vs light, yin vs yang and black vs white, that there is a protector looking after you from the evil of the outside - I think makes this monster more interesting. We also have the victims of the Cadejo, drunken bar visitors on their way home - where evil can potentially be waiting around the corner ready to get you, and you would need that guardian to make it home safe. It’s definitely an interesting concept, and that they’re in the shape of loyal dogs to look after their respective ‘owner’ is pretty nice. 

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: 

Now onto modern media, we kind of have to look at their closest comparison for this one, the Hellhound - which are mentioned more in the media. 

For art, I’d really recommend one artist this week and that’s Carlos Lo arca - who has painted so many pictures of the Cadejo as he believed that the spirit protected his father when he was a child and felt that it also helped him recover from his addiction to alcohol. His paintings of them are beautiful and so different from the normal portrait art I recommend, so please do check them out. There’s also some cool independent art for these monsters, so support your local artists too!

In movies, we have; All Dogs Go to Heaven, Hercules, Scoob!, Where the Dead Go To Die, The Lost Boys, Scooby-Doo, Wishmaster, The Neverending Story, Jonah Hex, Hellboy, The Chronicles of Riddick, The Bye Bye Man, Ghostbusters, Dark Angel: The Ascent, Predators, Never Cry Werewolf, Black Dog & An American Haunting.

For TV, we have; Mystery Science Theater 3000, 2 Stupid Dogs, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, The Owl House, Phineas & Ferb, League of Super Evil, Fangbone!, Mr Pickles, Helluva Boss, Hazbin Hotel, Teen Wolf, What We Do in the Shadows, Rescue Me, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Reaper, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ultraman Nexus, Supernatural, Chrono Crusade, Black Butler, Digimon, One Piece, Naruto, Hellsing & Berserk.

In video games, we have ones such as; Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy, Apocalypse, Total War: Warhammer, Smite, Runescape, Quest 64, Penumbra, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Devil May Cry, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Nightmare Creatures, Monster Hunter, Dungeon Keeper, Shadowgate, League of Legends, Deadly Premonition, Kingdom Hearts 2, Heroes of Might and Magic, Odin Sphere, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, Pokemon, The Elder Scrolls, Dragon’s Crown, Shadow Hearts, Doom Eternal, Fallout 4, Secret of Mana, Bounty of One, Poly Poly! Speed Daisakusen & Age of Wonders.

My book recommendations this week are for Warriors, Gods and Spirits from Central and South American Mythology by Douglas Gifford for more about this part of the world, but for you short story fans, have a look at Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories by Various Authors for some spooky stories about these real monsters. Lastly, for kids, have a look at Magic Dogs of the Volcanoes by Manlio Argueta for a lovely story about the Cadejo in a much better light.

DO I THINK THEY EXISTED? 

Now it’s time for, do I think they existed?

This one is really interesting in regards to this question because they are spirits, but I also think they could be this idea of a personified guardian angel against the ominous invisible dark. 

The other interesting part of this is that this monster targets drunk people and non-natives, who maybe can’t get across or understand what they’re seeing and can’t explain it to others. 

Also we do have to take into account that street dogs are more common in this part of the world and they are more commonly found in the late night, as well as aggressive around their food sources. So whilst I’m not saying 100% they are definitely mistaken street dogs, seen by drunk people - it seems quite likely. So I’m probably going to say no to this one I’m afraid.

But I love this monster - I love the idea of the light and dark version of the Cadejo and that one will protect you, but the other is actively seeking to murder you at all times. It really reminds me of Kindred, a champion from League of Legends who has this lamb main character, but the dark wolf spirit on her shoulder ready to pounce - working together in the perfect harmony of darkness and light. Pretty cool right?

But what do you think? Did the Cadejo stalk the drunkards of Central America? Let me know on Twitter!

OUTRO: 

I thought this one was a really fun monster and definitely an interesting concept for this good and evil spirit rolled into one - I definitely know which one I want to walk into on a late night out drinking.

Next week, we’re heading over to Ancient Egypt for one of the rare monsters from this civilisation. Is he even a monster or is he a god? Find out with me for the slippery serpent, Apep next Thursday!

For now, thank you so much for listening, it’s been an absolute pleasure. If you enjoyed this podcast, please give it a rating on the service you’re listening on - I’ve got the twitter for any questions, or suggestions on what monsters to cover next and I’d love to hear from you. The social media handles for Tiktok, Youtube, Threads and Instagram are mythmonsterspodcast, and twitter is mythmonsterspod. But all of our content can be found at mythmonsters.co.uk, including some very cool merchandise - you can also find us on Goodpods, Buymeacoffee and Patreon if you want to help me fund the podcast too.

Come join the fun though and share this with your pals, they might love me as much as you do.

But for now, stay spooky and I’ll see you later babes.