THE TRUE SEEKER
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“La Ciudad Blanca” or “the White City”, is a famous legendary lost city said to exist in the Mosquitia region of Honduras. Numerous expeditions have been carried out in search of this city. The origin of the legend is unclear, but a common theory traces it back to a description found in a letter that Hernán Cortés sent to Emperor Charles V.
But on the other hand it was exceedingly painful to me to leave that country' in the state it then was, for had I done so, I am certain that all the benefits hereafter to be derived from the settlement would have been irrevocably lost, whereas, on the contrary, I am persuaded that it will turn out in time to be in fertility and riches a second Culua ; for I have trustworthy reports of very extensive and rich provinces, and of powerful chiefs ruling over them, and of one in particular, called Hueitapalan,1 and in another dialect Xucutaco,2 about which I possessed information six years since, having all this time made inquiries about it, and ascertained that it lies eight or ten days' march from that town of Trujillo, or rather between fifty and sixty leagues. So wonderful are the reports about this particular province, that even allowing largely for exaggeration, it will exceed Mexico in riches, and equal it in the largeness of its towns and villages, the density of its population, and the policy of its inhabitants. 1
In 1930, the legendary explorer F. A. Mitchell-Hedges added to this legend. During his expedition to the Mosquitia region, he brought back from the jungle a tale of the “Lost City of the Monkey God.” According to the story, “there is a lost city hidden in the jungles of Mosquitia, where a gigantic statue of a monkey god lies buried underground.”
These two lost cities are usually considered to be one and the same. However, from the birth of the Ciudad Blanca legend in the 16th century until the early 20th century, when Mitchell-Hedges introduced the tale of the “City of the Monkey God” to the civilized world, motifs or elements such as a “giant statue of a monkey god” had never appeared in the Ciudad Blanca legend.
Therefore, I believe that these two lost cities are distinct from each other. The legend of Ciudad Blanca is vague and fantastical. Searching for Ciudad Blanca is like setting out to find Russia's Kitezh, the Atlantic's Antillia, or France's Ys. In contrast, the legend of the City of the Monkey God comes from stories that Mitchell-Hedges reportedly heard from indigenous people during his explorations, making it somewhat more specific.
of course, it’s also possible that Mitchell-Hedges fabricated the story entirely from scratch. He is famous for the discovery of the crystal skull, which was once believed to be an artifact of an advanced ancient civilization but is now known to have been created in the early 20th century. Therefore, the legend of the lost City of the Monkey God may likewise be a product of fabrication or deceit.
However, it is worth investigating. He never revealed the exact location of the city for fear of looting, but if we could gain access to his personal documents, we might discover something. Does anyone know the whereabouts of the journals or diaries he used in 1930? If we could access such materials, we could verify whether he truly heard the legend of the Monkey God’s city from the indigenous people in the jungle. And if he did hear the legend, we might be able to narrow down the general area where the city could be located.
But on the other hand it was exceedingly painful to me to leave that country' in the state it then was, for had I done so, I am certain that all the benefits hereafter to be derived from the settlement would have been irrevocably lost, whereas, on the contrary, I am persuaded that it will turn out in time to be in fertility and riches a second Culua ; for I have trustworthy reports of very extensive and rich provinces, and of powerful chiefs ruling over them, and of one in particular, called Hueitapalan,1 and in another dialect Xucutaco,2 about which I possessed information six years since, having all this time made inquiries about it, and ascertained that it lies eight or ten days' march from that town of Trujillo, or rather between fifty and sixty leagues. So wonderful are the reports about this particular province, that even allowing largely for exaggeration, it will exceed Mexico in riches, and equal it in the largeness of its towns and villages, the density of its population, and the policy of its inhabitants. 1
In 1930, the legendary explorer F. A. Mitchell-Hedges added to this legend. During his expedition to the Mosquitia region, he brought back from the jungle a tale of the “Lost City of the Monkey God.” According to the story, “there is a lost city hidden in the jungles of Mosquitia, where a gigantic statue of a monkey god lies buried underground.”
These two lost cities are usually considered to be one and the same. However, from the birth of the Ciudad Blanca legend in the 16th century until the early 20th century, when Mitchell-Hedges introduced the tale of the “City of the Monkey God” to the civilized world, motifs or elements such as a “giant statue of a monkey god” had never appeared in the Ciudad Blanca legend.
Therefore, I believe that these two lost cities are distinct from each other. The legend of Ciudad Blanca is vague and fantastical. Searching for Ciudad Blanca is like setting out to find Russia's Kitezh, the Atlantic's Antillia, or France's Ys. In contrast, the legend of the City of the Monkey God comes from stories that Mitchell-Hedges reportedly heard from indigenous people during his explorations, making it somewhat more specific.
of course, it’s also possible that Mitchell-Hedges fabricated the story entirely from scratch. He is famous for the discovery of the crystal skull, which was once believed to be an artifact of an advanced ancient civilization but is now known to have been created in the early 20th century. Therefore, the legend of the lost City of the Monkey God may likewise be a product of fabrication or deceit.
However, it is worth investigating. He never revealed the exact location of the city for fear of looting, but if we could gain access to his personal documents, we might discover something. Does anyone know the whereabouts of the journals or diaries he used in 1930? If we could access such materials, we could verify whether he truly heard the legend of the Monkey God’s city from the indigenous people in the jungle. And if he did hear the legend, we might be able to narrow down the general area where the city could be located.
