Patasola

La Patasola, “the one-legged woman”, is a monster of Colombian oral tradition, told in the mountain and coffee regions, with Tolima often named in Spanish-language accounts. She is said to haunt remote forests and attacks men who work there alone at night – hunters, loggers, miners and herders.

In the usual telling she first appears as a beautiful woman, sometimes in the form of a loved one or a woman in distress, and draws a man away from his companions. Deep in the dark forest she changes into a hideous creature with a single leg ending in a hoof, fiery eyes and fanged jaws, and drains blood. Variants say she can also take the form of a dog or cow, or cast a spell that sickens the victim.

Three origin stories are told. In the best known, a married woman is unfaithful with a landowner; her husband kills the landowner, cuts off one of her legs, and she dies, her angry spirit wandering the woods hopping on one leg. Other versions describe a mother who killed her child or a cruel seductress mutilated by villagers. Some narrators present her as a guardian of the forest who punishes those who invade it. Folk healers in rural areas are said to recite prayers to protect against her.

Similar figures include the Sayona of Venezuela and the Tunda of Colombia’s Pacific coast. The tale works as a warning to men about the dangers of the forest at night and about infidelity.

A beautiful woman who changes into a monster with one leg ending in a hoof, large fangs, fiery eyes and tangled hair. Some versions give her a single breast.

Mountains, dense forest and remote jungle, especially at dusk and night, preying on solitary workers.

The Patasola is a regular in Colombian oral tradition, children’s collections and television, alongside the Madremonte and the Mohán.