Rachel

Rachel was the wife of Jacob and the mother of two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. In Jeremiah 31 she is described as weeping for her children, symbolically representing sadness over the exile of the northern tribes.

Similar to Rachel, an ancient Aztec version of La Llorona (Cihuacoatl) describes a female spirit weeping for her children, symbolically representing grief over the coming conquest of the Aztecs by the Spaniards.


Thus says the Lord:
A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children:
she refuses to be comforted for
her children,
because they are no more.
Thus says the Lord:
Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears;
for there is a reward for your
work,
says the Lord:
they shall come back from the
land of the enemy;
there is hope for your future,
says the Lord;
your children shall come back to
their own country.

Jeremiah 31:15-17