The legend of the Tarasca tells of the appearance of a terrible monster in rural areas of Tolima and Antioquia, this horrible beast especially attacks and scares children.
According to the oral tradition of these areas of Colombia and its surroundings, a horrible creature usually appears in the jungles of the region that approaches the fields and farms in order to attack children and domestic animals. This creature is known as the Tarasca.
The Tarasca appears as an ugly and ragged woman, with completely disheveled hair and torn clothes. She has large fangs with which she sucks the blood of her victims, who are mostly disobedient children, baby cows or foals.
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Some have also described the tarasca as a green monster, with the appearance of a reptile and a head like that of a fish.
It is said that it usually makes a grunt similar to that of pigs and that it usually feeds on moss, slime and wild fruits; He has a predilection for chasing whining, disobedient and gluttonous children.
It is reported that an encounter with this being can be fatal and that those who survive lose their speech or become unconscious.
Origin of the legend of the Tarasca
The Tarasca is a mythological being that has its origin in Europe. Legend has it that this being was a type of dragon that terrorized the town of Tarascon. According to the legend of Santa Marta, the inhabitants of the town asked Maximilian, Magdalena and Martha, whom they had heard had achieved great miraculous feats, Martha came with the permission of Maximilian and Magdalena to her aid. The inhabitants, seeing her alone, had doubts that she could handle the great beast, but she asked them to show her where the dragon was.
Marta entered the forest without any extra protection, soon roars and crashes were heard, the people felt sorry for her, but soon she returned with a wooden cross in her hand and in the other the monster tied with a ribbon that she had Taken out of his dress, I walk him through the city while praising the name of the savior.
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From those moments on, the Tarasca remained linked to the legend of Santa Marta. In several European cities, a float or creature similar to the Tarasca is usually taken out during the Corpus Christi festivities, to honor the victory against that creature of evil.
With the arrival of the Spanish to America, many of their traditions traveled with them, in this way Tarasca also began to be part of our culture.
Other versions of the legend
In some versions of the legend it is said that the tarasca looks like a beast with the head of a woman, in other versions it looks like an amphibious monster with the head of a fish; Like all legends and myths, the legend of the Tarasca changes depending on the place where it is told, this is because legends are cultural constructions of society, born as a way of generating a moral lesson or explaining a phenomenon that is not compressible for the time; they dilute, evolve or distort over time.
What does Tarasca look like?
The Tarasca is described in Colombia as a beast with the head of a woman, with disheveled hair, ragged, with large fangs.
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Other stories describe it as a large lizard-like monster, green in color, with large fangs and a head similar to that of a fish.
Where does the Tarasca usually appear?
In Colombia the legend of the Tarasca is rooted mainly in Antioquia and Tolima Grande, appears in jungle areas, fields and farms.
How to protect yourself from Tarasca?
Some stories say that the most effective way to scare away the Tarasca is to show it a scapular of the Virgin of Carmen.
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