How the Mother of Cotton Was Stolen

Resumen

This Ozumacin Chinantec myth relates a conflict between the practitioners of witchcraft of Ozumacin and those of Ojitlan over a mermaid named 'Mother
of Cotton.' The Chinantec translated here as 'mother' also is used with the connotation of 'source,' and presumably this personage was responsible for there
being cotton in the area. Tradition says there used to be cotton grown in the area, and this likely true. Oddly enough, the story teller imputes to this person powers of protection over the maizeand beach crops and says nothing about cotton. The implicit insight that there once were more practitioners of witchcraft is correct