The Legend of Guajojó
THERE IS A BEAUTIFUL BOLIVIAN LEGEND ABOUT THE GUAJOJÓ, A REMARKABLE BIRD THAT IS FOUND PRIMARILY IN BOLIVIA AND SOUTH AMERICA.
"In the depths of the forest, when night has completely fallen, one suddenly hears a prolonged, wave-like sound, high, vibrating, shaking. One could say, a scream or rather a prolonged moan, which rises in pitch and intensity and slowly fades away like the vibration of a string."
It is known that the song comes from a lonely bird that is supposedly called "Guajojó" for onomatopoeic reasons. Only a few people have seen it, and these few cannot say what it looks like and where it nests. However, they refer to a legend that dates back to ancient times.
Hernando Sanabria Fernández
Traditions, legends, and stories from Santa Cruz de la Sierra
And so the legend goes:
It was once a young girl, as beautiful as she was graceful. She was the daughter of the chief of a tribe that lived in a clearing in the jungle.
She loved and was loved by a young man of the same tribe, who was handsome and brave, but perhaps had a more tender heart than a warrior should have.
When the old chief, who was also a gifted wizard, learned of this love affair, he did not consider the young man worthy of his daughter and decided to put an end to the romance in the simplest and quickest way. He summoned the lover and, with the help of his magical arts, led him into the thicket, where he deliberately killed him.
After the long absence of her beloved, the girl became suspicious and set out into the jungle to search for him. When she returned home with the painful proof of his death, she scolded her father, sobbing and screaming, and threatened to tell the people about the crime.
The old wizard instantly transformed her into a night bird so that no one would find out what had happened. But the voice of the unfortunate woman penetrated the throat of the bird, and through it, she incessantly lamented the death of her beloved.
