The Legend of The Sayona, the Terror of Unfaithful Men

Legend has it that in life, The Sayona was a tall, elegant, and exceptionally beautiful woman with long black hair named Casilda, who lived in the plains region during the colonial era. She had married a man named Severiano, with whom she had a son.

Although they had a happy marriage, Casilda was a deeply jealous woman; she constantly watched over her husband to prevent him from being unfaithful, even though he gave her no reason to act this way.

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The young woman’s beauty caught the attention of a deceitful and perverse man who constantly pursued her. Whenever she went to the river to bathe, he would follow and spy on her. On one of these occasions, Casilda caught him watching her from the bushes; filled with rage, she approached him, shouting and confronting him over his despicable actions. In the midst of this, the man, to get out of the situation, lied to her saying: “I am not here to spy on you, but to warn you that your husband is cheating on you with your own mother.”

Casilda was consumed by anger, headed home and, in a completely deranged act, set the house on fire while her husband and son were still inside. Immediately after, she went to her mother’s house and, holding a machete, confronted her, screaming about her supposed betrayal. Her mother, desperate, defended herself, claiming it was all lies and that she was being deceived, but it was to no avail. Casilda pierced her mother’s stomach multiple times with the machete. With the little life she had left, her mother cast a curse upon her, saying: “A Sayona you shall be forever, and in the name of God, so be it.”

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From that moment on, Casilda began to wander the world as The Sayona, seducing men who are unfaithful to their wives on dark and gloomy nights.

She usually appears to them as the beautiful woman she once was in life, dressed entirely in white. Once she has seduced them, she transforms into a creature with large, bulging, bloodshot eyes, massive, disfigured teeth, and wildly unkempt hair. She tends to let out terrifying shrieks that can be heard from long distances and make the skin crawl instantly.

Faced with this sight, some men simply faint and wake up the next day with the horror of the experience, others are driven mad, and the least fortunate are devoured by this specter. Some claim that The Sayona has the ability to shapeshift, meaning she can appear transformed into an animal like a dog or a wolf.

Other Versions of the Legend of The Sayona

The Sayona is one of the most popular specters in the culture of the Eastern Plains, which is why there are numerous stories detailing encounters with this spirit. As well as various iterations regarding her possible origin.

One of these encounters tells that: One night, a man snuck out to meet his lover. Halfway there, he was surprised to see her walking toward him, although he found her unsteady, staggering walk quite strange.

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He ran after her, but upon reaching her house, the woman kept walking right past it. Baffled, the man said: “Well, what’s going on?” When he turned around, he found himself face to face with a pale woman sporting the visage of death, teeth as sharp as axes, and enormous claw-like nails. He bolted back toward his house, and the spirit chased him with open arms to embrace him.

The man managed to escape, and upon arriving home, he found his mother-in-law awake, who, seeing him so frantic, asked him:

“Mijo, what happened to you?”

“What a terrible scare I just got! I stepped out for a moment to relieve myself, and that woman appeared out of nowhere…”

“Oh, mijito, it looks to me like you’re cheating on my daughter! You better stop that, take it from me…”

The man claims that after this experience, he never had the urge to cheat on his wife again.

The Sayona Who Tore the Priest’s Garments

Another version regarding the origin of this creature states that in Colombia, there was a very beautiful woman named Sarona, who for unknown reasons destroyed a priest’s sacred vestments; because of this, God cursed her, condemning her to live with an insatiable hunger for all eternity.

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Following this, her face began to disfigure, and her teeth grew disproportionately large, just like her eyes; one day, her brother saw her with that ugly appearance, and in sheer terror, right before she swallowed him, he tried to say her name, but it came out sounding like Sayona, and the name stuck.

Since then, she wanders through the nights and early mornings, seducing night owls, drunkards, and unfaithful men, only to devour them later.

The Sallana, Mexican Legend

It is said that in Mexico, there is a variation of the legend of The Sayona called The Sallana, which tells a story fundamentally similar to the Venezuelan version. However, this iteration appears to be a misunderstanding generated on the internet by a poorly written school assignment.

Most internet references alluding to this Mexican version state that the story takes place in the city of “Villavicencio, Mexico.” Nevertheless, there is no Mexican city by that name; Villavicencio is the capital of the Meta department in Colombia.

This city is the most important hub of the Colombian Eastern Plains (Orinoquía region), and since this area is a vast binational territory shared by Colombia and Venezuela united by a common llanera identity and culture, the legend of The Sayona is also highly popular in this Colombian city, which explains the geographical confusion in the original text.

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This error likely arose from copying and pasting the text of the original legend without modifying the data referencing the Colombian city. When this assignment was published online, other users took it as a source and even added this erroneous information to Wikipedia, thereby consolidating a version born purely on the internet.

If there truly is any documentation regarding The Sallana in Mexico, we kindly ask you to leave the references in the comments so we can accurately document this version of the legend.

Origin of the Legend of The Sayona

The Sayona traces its origins back to the colonial era within the culture of the eastern Venezuelan plains and refers to the punishment imposed by a mother on her daughter, who murdered her out of jealousy and gossip. Because this territory is a region shared with Colombia, nations that were once a single country, the legend maintains a strong presence in both countries.

During the colonial period, it is said that some women would disguise themselves as The Sayona to meet their lovers, which could have given more weight to the story.

The word sayona has two possible origins, the first comes from Sayón, which was the term used for the executioner who carried out sentences for prisoners.

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The other meaning derives from the term Saya, which was a type of garment from the medieval period, this is closely related to the sayo, the masculine sayo, and the sayal; all of which were articles of clothing from that era.

This legend is often used to warn or scare men that, if they are unfaithful, they will be punished by The Sayona.

Because The Sayona is the spirit of a woman who wanders at night to primarily attack men, she has been linked to specters and ghosts such as The Llorona, The Matlacihua, and The Patasola; but it must be clarified that these are entirely distinct specters.

How to Protect Yourself from The Sayona?

Some say that the best way to protect yourself from The Sayona is to be accompanied by black-colored animals like dogs and cats. They also say that having a blessed palm cross guarantees surviving an encounter with this specter, and some assert that tobacco is good protection against her.

But what truly helps the most to avoid an encounter with this specter is avoiding being unfaithful to one’s wife and avoiding gossip, as it is said that she also attacks gossipy people.

Learn about the story of the sayona in the following video

Sources and References

• Mitos y Leyendas: Riqueza del llano (2005) – El Tiempo.