Artistic representation of a knife in cancagua stone.
The cuchivilo or cuchivilu (from Castilian dialectal cuchi: pig and Mapudungun filu: snake), is a fantastic aquatic animal from Chiloe mythology. It is attributed the destruction that occurs in the fishing pens (a traditional method of fishing in Chiloé, abandoned in the 1980s by legal provisions).
DescriptionThe cuchivilo is a creature the size of a sea lion that looks like the fusion between a pig and a snake, because the upper part, head and front legs, are those of a pig, and the back is that of a snake or sea serpent. Legend
According to the legend, the "cuchivilos" would live in the bottom of the sea, in shallow areas close to the shores of the islands of the inland sea of Chiloé. They also tend to swim in estuaries, lagoons or swamps; This is why you have to be careful when bathing in these places, because if someone bathes in the same waters where this being was, soon the body would be covered with pimples or scabies. It is also dangerous to listen to him, since his grunt is similar to that of a pig and he announces that the person who listens to him will have a short life.
Like pigs, this creature likes to wallow in the mud, and he thinks he is always hungry. Seafood and fish are their favorite food and for this reason they are introduced into fishing pens. In addition to eating and destroying the fish trapped in the corral, it destroys the construction and hoza in the sand in the same way that a normal pig on the land would. However, the main problem of the visit of the cuchivilo to the corral is not the destruction, but after the attack, the corral is cursed and never will catch a single fish in it. To remove the curse, you must perform a magical ceremony known as the cheputo or threputo; in which people must hit the edges of the corral with laurel branches smoked with "mapucho" (chilote tobacco).
ISBN 9561315165, 9789561315167
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