Brief History of El Diablo Cojuelo Legend in the Island of the Dominican Republic.
The legend of the Diablo Cojuelo originated in Spain, and it was first brought to Latin America by the Spaniard colonists in the year 1520 during the first Latin American carnival, which took place in the Dominican Republic (DR). According to historical archives from the Office of the Historian, US state archives and the Dominican Embassy archives: "Christopher Colombus first arrived in the Dominican Republic in 1492. DR is Spain's first colony." (Dominican Republic - Countries - Office of the Historian, n.d.-b). The island holds some of the first and most ancient architecture, legends and historical artifacts of the new world as we know it today, here in yes, North America. The first Latin America carnival took place in 1520 in the Dominican Republic, which initiated the folklore structure for the new world as we know it today in Latin America, and this is where the legend of the Diablo Cojuelo originated in carnivals for the Latino communities.
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“Gary Alan Fine defines contemporary legend as “an account of a happening in which the narrator or an immediate personal contact was not directly involved, and [that] is presented as a proposition for belief; it is not always believed by speaker or audience, but it is presented as something that could have occurred and is told as if it happened.” (1992; italics original). The legend of the Diablo Cojuelo starts by introducing us to an astrology student who discovers a demon trapped inside a glass flask. The demon asks to be freed and gives the student instructions for doing so and offers gifts in return for his freedom.
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The student releases the demon which he can now see and describes him as a short -figured man with crutches, large feet of a goat, a flat nose and long pointed mouth with only two single fangs on his gums. (1921; Velez de Guevara, Rodriguez, Marin). It goes on to describe that this short-figured demon, limps as he walks, hence the term ('cojuelo' or limper). The demon explained that he was the first to fall down from heaven and that all the other demons fell on top of him hurting his leg and so he forever limped. While the colonists introduced the legend, the indigenous Tainos were forced to perform and entertain the Colonist Spaniards. Some local folk stories say that they used to create elaborate customs with faces of devils to secretly mock the colonist's extravagant attire and devilish behavior towards the natives.
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Although the indigenous natives may have lost the final battle to their colonists, they stood their ground for decades. Some legends and artifacts show the Taino indigenous knew the land so well, they hid for years without any contact with the colonists. They moved from one side of the island to the other through underground caves and would come down slithering on through the bejuco ground plants. Today, we can imagine and feel their strength come alive every February, for Dominican Independence Day carnival celebrations, in the Diablo Cojuelos. There are legends that say that they still live hiding in the underground caves of the Dominican Republic, although government and historical archives state that every single Indigenous person in DR was killed by their colonists.
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So, during the month of February all the legends come alive during the carnival. We are still learning how to tell the stories through performance. “In the nineteenth century and first half or so of the twentieth, folklorists were usually more concerned with the products or outcomes of performance than the performance itself. In the 1970s, Richard Bauman’s Verbal Art As Performance (1984), solidified the framework for future studies of performance in folklore....and these performances are still evolving today all throughout the world.
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There are unique Cojuelo Devils to each province of the Dominican Republic. Depending on the history of each region, they all create their costumes yearly to participate in the Independence Day Carnival, which takes place throughout the month of February. We will explore some of these figures under the Exploration's tab, and their images can be seen under the photo library section. One main part of the costume, present in all Diablo Cojuelos of DR, is the vejiga or balloon weapon. It is made from “a cow’s dried, inflated bladder, curated with lemon, ashes, and salt.” (Carnival Dominicano: Masks, Traditions, and Culture, 2024). They are for whipping mischief out of people in the carnivals, legend says that a vejigazo, will keep you well behaved, it will take the ‘darkness’ out of you. The vejigazos can be very painful, so watch your behind. The Diablo Cojuelos in DR can be joyous and very playful, they like to dance and trick you, but if you behave rudely or are just not paying attention during the carnival, you may very well receive a vejigazo. So have fun but don't forget to stay alert.
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