Doña Sebastiana

Practice

1. What are the basic archetypical patterns deoicted in the text?
2. How are the concepts of time and life cycle and their mythic potencia depictected withing the work?
3. What is Initiation? Mention an example from the text.
4. How are the mythic journey and its stages developed in the text?
5. Following the mythic figures such as the femme fatle, the Soul Mate, and the Good Mother, how is the female image presented in the literary text?
6. What is a myth?

Doña Sebastiana

(Anonymous)

    Once there was a poor man who earned his living cutting wood in the common land of the land grant and selling it in the village. When he sold his wood his family ate well, when he couldn’t sell it his family went hungry. He lived that way for a long time, but one day he was tempted by hunger and he decided to swipe one of his wife’s setting hens.

   He waited until everyone was asleep and then stole into the chicken coop, took a chicken and killed it. Then he stealthily made his way into the mountains where he planned to indulge himself. He made a big fire and put the chicken on a spit roast. He was flavoring the chicken with a few spices and enjoying the dripping when he heard someone approach is camp.

  God help me! He thought. Even here I can’t be left alone to enjoy myself! Well, whoever it is, I’m not going to invite them to eat!

 “How do you do, my friend”, said the stranger as he approached the camp. The stranger’s noble stature made the woodcutter cautious.

“Buenas noches” the woodcutter responded. “Who are you?”

I am the Lord, the stranger answer. Will you invite me to eat with you? The woodcutter looked at the small chicken and thought awhile. “No”, he finally said, “I don’t think I´ll invite you to share my meal, and I´ll tell you why. I think you neglect the poor. You give everything to the rich and so little to the poor. You don’t treat us equally.”

And so the woodcutter kept the chicken for himself, and the Lord went away saddened. The woodcutter was satisfied, but shorty he heard another person approaching.

“Good evening, my friend”, said the woman as she drew near.

Buenas noches, señora, the woodcutter replied. And who might you be?

I am the Virgin Mary, the woman answered. Will you share your food with me?

The woodcutter scratched his beard, looked again at the small chicken and finally said, “No, I am not going to share my food with you, and I´ll tell you why. I think your Son neglects the poor.”

    Since you are the other of God, you should intercede for us so He would make us equal. Either we should all be rich, or we should all be poor. The way it is now, he makes some very rich and some very poor, and unfortunately I am one of the poor ones. For that reason I am not going to share my food with you.

So the Virgin Mary left, but it wasn’t long before the woodcutter´s fire.

How goes it, my friend? Doña Sebastiana asked.

“Buenas noches”, the woodcutter answered, trembling at the sight of the old hag in front of him. “Who are you?” he asked.

I am death, Doña Sebastiana answered as she slowly got down from her cart. “Will you share your meal with me?”

I never realized death was so thin¡ the woodcutter said as he looked at the skeleton in front of him. Of course you are welcome to share my food, and I´ll tell you why. You do things very well. You don’t play favorites with the wealthy because of their money, not the beautiful because of their beauty, nor do you play favorites with the ugly or the old or the young. No you treat us all equally. Sit down and share my meal.

After they had finished eating the roasted chicken Doña Sebastiana, was very pleased, so she told the woodcutter to ask for any favor he wished and it would be granted.

Señora, the woodcutter said in his most humble voice, “I can’t ask for a favor. If you wish to grant me one, then grant me what you will.”

Very well, Death answered, “I am going to grant you the power to be healer, a curandero. You shall be able to cure all kind of sickness. However, I leave you with one commandment: when you are asked to cure a sick person and you go to that patient’s bed and see me standing at the head of the bed, don’t cure that person regardless of what his relatives will pay or promise you. I warn you if I am there, don’t cure that person! That person has no remedy but to die. He has been called by God.”

“But if you see me at the patient’s feet, then go ahead and cure him. Use water or earth or curing powders, and the patient will get well. But remember, if you see me at the head of the bed, don’t dare to attempt a cure, no matter what you are promised!”

So the curandero practiced his craft for many years and he cured many people and became famous for his powers. But one day the richest man in the region became ill and offered the curandero a fortune for a cure, and so the healer broke the commandment of Doña Sebastiana.

When the curandero arrived at the rich man´s home he saw Doña Sebastiana seated at the head of the bed where the sick man lay. The curandero immediately grabbed her and wrestled her back and forth until she was so dizzy that he was able to move her to the foot of the bed. In that way death was overpowered, and the curandero then cured the rich man.

But when the curandero was returning home death met him on the road and reminded him that he had broken the one commandment he had promised not to break when she had given him the power to cure sickness.

I warned you, “never to cure a sick person if I was at the head of his bed”, Doña Sebastiana said angrily. “Now you must come with me.”

She took the curandero to a dark room and showed him two candles. One candle had burned low and was flickering as if ready to go out, the other was a tall candle burning brightly.

“You have make a grave mistake”, death told the curandero. “Once you were like the tall and sick man was like the short candle. But now you are the small candle and the man you cued is the tall one.”

At the moment the flame of the short candle went out, and the curandero´s soul was added to Doña Sebastiana´s cart as it slowly made its way into eternity.

More Info:
Lady Sebastiana

Video:
Doña Sebastiana El Cuento