08/09/2026
🌊 AJ TOURS STORY TIME
THE LEGEND OF MAMA DLO
The Mother of the Waters
Storyteller: Tracey Ann Jugmohan
“Well, allyuh come closer and listen nah…
Because today, I taking allyuh deep into the forests of Trinidad and Tobago.
Not just any forest…
But the kind of forest where the trees are tall, the rivers run cold and clear, and the sounds you hear aren't always easy to explain.
And somewhere deep in those waters…
lives a woman whose story has been passed down from generation to generation.
They call her…
Mama Dlo.”
🌿 WHO IS MAMA DLO?
Mama Dlo — also called Mama D'Leau, Mama Dglo or Mama Glo — is one of Trinidad and Tobago's traditional folklore characters.
Her name is associated with the French phrase “maman de l'eau,” meaning “mother of the water.”
According to traditional accounts, she is a mysterious water spirit.
From the waist up, she may appear as a beautiful woman with long flowing hair.
But beneath the water…
is the body of a great serpent, often described as an anaconda.
She is associated with rivers, lagoons, streams and the creatures that live within them. Some traditions describe her as a protector and healer of river animals.
And that is where the story becomes interesting…
Because Mama Dlo isn't simply a creature meant to frighten people.
She represents the power of nature.
🌊 THE STORY
“Long time, before cellphones, before GPS, before people could jump into a vehicle and reach anywhere in Trinidad in a few hours…
the forest was a very different place.
People depended on the rivers.
They drank from them.
They bathed in them.
They fished in them.
And they knew that if you wanted the forest to provide for you…
you had to respect it.”
The old people would warn hunters and travellers:
Don't foul the water.
Don't destroy the forest unnecessarily.
Don't kill animals just for sport.
And most importantly…
Don't believe everything you see beside a river.
Because sometimes, according to the stories, Mama Dlo would appear.
She might be sitting quietly beside the water, combing her long hair.
Sometimes people claimed they heard singing.
Other stories described a sudden flash of green disappearing beneath the surface.
And then…
nothing.
Just the sound of the river.
🐍 THE SOUND IN THE FOREST
But there was another warning.
Sometimes, deep in the forest, people said they heard something that sounded like a whip cracking across the water.
CRACK!
Then silence.
According to folklore, that sound could be Mama Dlo striking the surface of the water with her enormous serpent tail.
And the old hunters knew…
it was time to leave.
🌳 THE HUNTER
“Now allyuh might say, ‘Tracey, but why would anybody ignore those warnings?’
Well…
you know people.
Sometimes we hear a warning…
and we say,
‘That could never happen to me.’”
There was once a young hunter, Rohan — who believed the old stories were nothing more than tales told to frighten children.
One morning, he went deep into the forest.
He walked past the places he knew.
Then further.
And further.
Until eventually he reached a quiet pool surrounded by trees.
The water was almost perfectly still.
No wind.
No birds.
Nothing.
Then he heard it.
A woman singing.
He looked around.
Nothing.
The singing continued.
He followed the sound until he reached the edge of the pool.
And there…
sitting on a rock…
was a beautiful woman.
Her long hair fell over her shoulders.
She was slowly combing it.
Rohan stood there staring.
Then she looked up.
And smiled.
🌊 SOMETHING IS WRONG
At first, Rohan couldn't understand why he suddenly felt afraid.
Then he looked down.
He saw the water moving.
The woman's body didn't end where a woman's body should.
Instead…
something enormous was coiled beneath the surface.
A long green tail.
Curving through the water.
Around and around.
Rohan suddenly remembered everything his grandmother had ever told him.
Mama Dlo.
He stepped backwards.
The woman stopped combing her hair.
She looked directly at him.
And then…
the forest went completely quiet.
“Not a bird.
Not a cricket.
Not even the sound of the river.”
Then came the sound.
CRACK!
Her tail struck the surface of the water.
Rohan turned around and ran.
Some traditional accounts say those who mistreated the forest or polluted the water could face Mama Dlo's punishment. In some versions, particularly severe consequences are described for people who destroyed trees, killed animals indiscriminately or fouled rivers.
Other traditions describe Mama Dlo as a protector of the waterways and animals.
The real purpose of the story is-
“Respect what keeps you alive.”
Because the rivers provide water.
The forests provide shelter.
The animals are part of the ecosystem.
And when we damage nature…
eventually, we damage ourselves.
🇹🇹 THE STORY LIVES ON
“And that, allyuh, is why the story of Mama Dlo continues to live on.
From grandparents… to parents… to children…
passed down around kitchen tables, on verandahs, beside rivers and in communities all across Trinidad and Tobago.”
Today, when we visit our rivers and waterfalls, we might not see a woman sitting on a rock combing her hair.
But we can still understand what Mama Dlo represents.
The mystery of our forests.
The power of our rivers.
And the responsibility we have to protect them.
“So the next time you find yourself standing beside a quiet river…
and you hear the water moving…
and the trees start rustling…
and you hear a strange sound coming from somewhere deep in the forest…
don't be too quick to laugh.
Maybe it's just the wind.
Maybe it's an animal.
Maybe it's the river.
Or maybe…
Mama Dlo is reminding you to respect her waters.”
🌊 “Because every river has a story…
and some stories have been living there long before us.”
— Tracey Ann Jugmohan
AJ Tours Story Time 🇹🇹
