--- title: Mulánima description: The myth of the mule woman in South American traditions. author: name: Graciela Paula Caldeiro url: http://graciela-caldeiro.idoneos.com canonical: https://mitosyleyendas.idoneos.com/en/bestiario_mitologico/mulanima/ source: en/bestiario_mitologico/mulanima/index.md --- Among other names, the mulánima, a fantastic being from northern Argentina, is also known as the _alma mula_, _mala mula_, and \*mujer mula. \* She is a woman who was transformed into a mule as punishment either for having had a love affair with a priest or for having committed incest. The mulánima has the appearance of a black or dark brown mule with very long ears. She usually runs through the fields at night, dragging heavy chains or flashing sparks from her gaze. She can also breathe fire from her nose and mouth. She feeds only on flesh, including that of children. This being's bray is so human that it sends shivers through anyone who hears it. Looking at the mulánima brings misfortune, if not death itself. How does one free oneself from the mulánima? One must wait in a strategic spot, knife in hand, and as she passes, cut off one of her ears or her mane. When the blood flows, the spell will be broken and she will return to being a beautiful woman. Should any man look upon her, he would inevitably fall in love with her, abandoning his family and his work for that passion. But the hapless lover will die shortly afterward, utterly consumed. In a Bolivian variant, this myth is linked to that of the woman who is a priest's lover: she will be turned into a mule and her offspring into candlesticks. In the Brazilian version, she is known as "mula sem cabeça" or "burrinha". In this case, she is a friar's woman who on Friday nights turns into a headless mule and travels to seven churches. In this variant, the spell is broken by a piece of iron which, upon touching her, returns her to human form.
** Mulánima** ![](https://idoneos.com/static/images/infogr/arrow_4_1.png.webp) **Woman in the form of a mule**   **Causes**   - Being or having been a clergyman's lover - Incest   **Omens** - **Death or misfortune** - **Fatal passion**
Recurring characteristics **![](https://idoneos.com/static/images/infogr/arrow_4_1.png.webp)** **Punishment (transformation)** - Donkey or mule of dark color - Gaze with flashes, fire, smoke - Spine-chilling sounds - Feeds on human flesh Antidotes - Drawing blood with a knife - Contact with iron

New layer...