jueves, 13 de junio de 2013

The Pincoya


•Naked and pure, she personifies the fertility of marine species. Through her ritual dance she provides the chilote (resident of Chiloé) with an abundance or deficiency of fish and seafood. If she performs her dance facing the sea, it means that these shores will have an abundance of fish. When she dances facing the mountains, her back to the sea, seafood will be scarce. Chiloean mythology is appreciative of the Pincoya, believed to be good, beautiful and humanitarian. According to other legends, Pincoya is the daughter of Millalobo (king of sea, in Chilote mythology) and the human Huenchula. Her sister is the Sirena chilota (a type of Mermaid) and her brother is Pincoy (who also is her husband). The three siblings lead and guide the drowned sailors onto a large phantom ship, the Caleuche, sailing the seas at night around the southern island of Chiloé in southern Chile. The ship appears briefly intact with sounds of a party on board, but quickly vanishes. Myth has it that once on board, the dead can resume an existence as if they were alive again.

The Trauco

The Trauco is a mythical entity who inhabits the woods of Chiloé, an island in the south of Chile. It has a powerful magnetism that attracts young and middle-aged women. According to myth, the Trauco's wife is the wicked and ugly Fiura. The trauco carries a small stone-headed hatchet that he uses to strike trees in the forest to symbolize his sexual potency.
Whoever the Trauco chooses will go to him, even if she is sleeping, and fall enraptured at his feet. No woman can resist his magical attraction; all have sexual intercouse with him. Men of Chiloé fear the Trauco, as his gaze can be deadly.

When a single woman is pregnant and no one steps forward as the father, people assume that the Trauco is the father. Because the Trauco is irresistible, the woman is considered blameless. The Trauco is sometimes invoked to explain sudden or unwanted pregnancies, especially in unmarried women.

The Caleuche

According to Chilean legend, the Caleuche is a large ghost ship sailing the seas around Chiloé (a small island off the coast of Chile) at night. The Caleuche is said to be a being who is conscious and sentient. The ship appears as a beautiful and bright white sailing ship, with 3 masts of 5 sails each, always full of lights and with the sounds of a party on board, but quickly disappears again, leaving no evidence of its presence. The ghost ship is also known to be able to navigate under water, just like another well known ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman.[1]
The myths claim it is crewed by the drowned, who are brought to the ship by three Chilote mythological figures, two sisters: the sirena chilota (a type of mermaid) and the Pincoya and their brother the Pincoy. Once aboard, the dead can resume an existence as if they were alive again.[2]
The folklore of chiloé also says that the evil Brujo Chilote (a type of sorcerer and warlock) likes to visit the party, which they reach by summoning up magical caballo marino chilote (mythical creature similar to a water horse).[3]
Her crew is also composed of fishermen and sailors who were kidnapped to serve as human slaves after having been transformed into a creature very similar to an Invunche (creature of the Chilote mythology

Cai Cai Vilu And Tren Tren Vilu

The Trentren Vilu is the god of Earth, and is a generous spirit and protecter of all earth's life. Caicai Vilu is the god of Water and the origin of all that inhabits it, and rules the seas.
According to this myth, thousands of years ago, what is now the Chiloe Province was once one contiguous landmass with continental Chile. One day a monstrous serpent appeared and inundated the lowlands, valleys, and mountains, submerging all the flora and fauna. Without delay, Trentren Vilu appeared to start a confrontation with his enemy, elevating the land and protecting it from disaster. The battle persisted a long time. Trentren Vilu reached a costly victory, he won the battle, but was unable to restore the land to its primeval state leaving it in the dismembered form it still has today.
At the end of the hostilities, Caicai Vilu left as representative and owner of all the seas, the king Millalobo (Millalonco), who was conceived during the invasion when a beautiful woman fell in love with a sea lion.

This legend describes the new region formed of water and earth and delineates the marine life style of Chiloe.