Case file · Folklore / legend
El Silbón
The Whistler, a lost soul of Venezuelan and Colombian plains (llanos) folklore whose whistling warns of death.
1850 CE · 8.70, -69.21 · status: legend
The account
The legend arose in the mid-19th century, especially in Portuguesa state, and tells of a spoiled son punished for a terrible crime. It works as a moral warning in rural communities.
The sceptical view
A cautionary tale; night sounds of the open plains give it life.
Connections in the atlas
- La Sayona
- El Silbón
- Curupira
- La Llorona