This dog caused fear and terror, especially if people had bad skeletons in their closets or knew that they weren’t doing good in their life. People wouldn’t leave very often really late at night for fear of being attacked by the Cadejo negro. If someone knew they were a good person and had their trusty Cadejo blanco protecting them, they knew they would be safe from the Cadejo negro.
Do you believe in legends like this? What do you think these legends are for? Even if you don’t think the Cadejo is a real thing, what can you learn from the legend?
The Cadejo comes from Maya-Quiché culture, which is one of the three pre-Columbian (which means pre-Spanish arrival to Central America) cultures of indigenous people who lived in this region. The Maya-Quiché culture spanned from parts of southeastern Mexico to about halfway through El Salvador and into Honduras. This means that the legend of the Cadejo is a Mesoamerican legend, where "mesoamerican" defines the region that the Maya-Quiché people occupied. Since El Salvador's current territory belongs to Mesoamerica, the people happen to be influenced by the Maya-Quiché culture and its legends, which is why they talk about the Cadejo today in El Salvador.
The other two are the Lenca and the Nahuat’l-Pipil. It might be cool if you read more about these three native cultures!
