Güijes
{{Short description|Cuban Folklore}}
Güijes (also known as Jigües o Chichiricúes) are mythical creatures in Cuban folklore that live in bodies of fresh water.{{Cite journal |last=GUANCHE PÉREZ |first=JESÚS |date=1994 |title=Etnicidad cubana y seres míticos populares |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000108706 |journal=Oralidad |volume=4 |pages=55–66}} Although their physical description varies between sources, they are often depicted as short-statured, black skinned hominids. Some depictions resemble stereotypical African pygmies, while others resemble monstruous, hairy beasts. They are often naked, or scantly clad in leaves.
Güijes are characterized as mischievous and malicious,{{Cite web |last=Calvo |first=Maria |date=2022-06-02 |title=El Güije de la Bajada, una leyenda remediana |url=https://www.radiohc.cu/de-interes/caleidoscopio/289552-el-guije-de-la-bajada-una-leyenda-remediana |website=Radio Habana Cuba}} or occasionally playful and fun-loving.{{Cite web |date=26 March 2012 |title=MITOLOGIA POPULAR CUBANA |url=http://hispanidadymestizaje.es/mitpop.htm |access-date=13 May 2024 |archive-date=26 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326160755/http://hispanidadymestizaje.es/mitpop.htm |url-status=dead }} They can be summoned in many ways including by offering a cigar,{{Cite web |title="Bestiario Cubano". A project by Juan Darién |url=https://www.domestika.org/en/projects/6971-bestiario-cubano |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=Domestika |language=en}} circling a holy ceiba 12 times at midnight, or by an intentional group of 7 men named Juan (siete Juanes).{{Cite web |date=2018-12-21 |title=El güije de Remedios |url=https://www.directoriocubano.info/noticias/el-guije-de-remedios/ |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=Directorio Cubano |language=es}}{{Cite web |last=Provincial |first=Equipo de Producción |title=Portal del Ciudadano Nuestro Remedios - El Güije de la Bajada |url=https://www.nuestroremedios.gob.cu/nuestra-region/region-cizq/leyendas-y-tradiciones/313-el-gueije-de-la-bajada |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=www.nuestroremedios.gob.cu |language=es-es}}
Cultural references
As stock characters in Cuban folklore, references to güijes can be found throughout Cuban music, film, literature, and art. Some famous references include:
- El Güije by Silvio Rodriguez, song
- A recurring character on El Camino de los Juglares, a Cuban children's show
- El Güije original animation by Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAC){{Cite web |title=El Güije, un personaje travieso de la tradición oral cubana |url=https://www.cibercuba.com/lecturas/2019-06-13-u199370-e199370-s27315-guije-personaje-travieso-tradicion-oral-cubana |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=CiberCuba |language=es}}
- Referenced in 'Viva Cuba', film by Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti
- {{cite book | last=Nūñez | first=Julia Calzadilla | title=Los Chichiricú del charco de la Jícara | publisher=Ediciones Colihue SRL | date=1993 | isbn=950-581-556-5 | language=es}}
- "Balada del Güije" poem in the 1934 anthology "West Indies Ltd." by Nicolás Guillén