Caleuche

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"The Caleuche" is a mythical ghost ship of the Chilote mythology and local folklore of the Chiloé Island, in Chile. It is one of the most important myths of the culture of Chile.

The Caleuche

Legend

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).[4]

In fiction and art

In Alastair Reynolds's Chasm City, Caleuche is the name given to a ship trailing behind a flotilla of colony ships that is not supposed to be there and never responds to communication attempts. When the protagonist takes a shuttle to visit the ghost ship he discovers that it is really a space-faring alien creature that has assumed the appearance of one of the flotilla ships and is trying to hide amongst them from its own enemy.[5]

The Caleuche has also been featured in a novel and an upcoming film by the Chilean writer Madeleine Petit called the "Caleuche", in which the legend of the ship has been adapted. The aim of both the book and the film is to make the legend known world-wide. Another film featuring the Caleuche is "The Ship of Fools".

In 2003, the Six Magics, a heavy metal group of Chilean origin, made a song about this ship, called Caleuche (The Flying Dutchman) on their album "Secrets of an Island".

The Caleuche has also been featured in local Chilean art, with poets, writers, sculptors, musicians, and painters producing many works in dedication to this mysterious ship. Unfortunately, most of this work stays at the local level and does not gain much recognition.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Magdalena Petit. Caleuche. Zig-Zag, 1977(Spanish)
  2. ↑ Bernardo Quintana Mansilla. Chiloé mitológico: mitos, pájaros agoreros, ceremonias mágicas de la provincia de Chiloé.s.n., 1987 .(Spanish)
  3. ↑ Nicasio Tangol. Chiloé, archipiélago mágico.Empresa Editora Nacional Quimantú, 1972.(Spanish)
  4. ↑ [Narciso García Barría. Tesoro mitológico del archipiélago de Chiloé. Andres Bello, 1997 (Spanish)
  5. ↑ Alastair Reynolds's. Chasm City. London: Gollancz, 2001.
  • Cárdenas, Antonio. El Triángulo del Pacífico. Imprenta ARCA. 1996. 74 p. (Spanish)
  • Mancilla Pérez, Juan. Magia y brujería en Chiloé. Secretos de Mitología. Medicina Popular. 2006. 74 p. (Spanish)
  • Michel Meurger, Claude Gagnon. Lake monster traditions: a cross-cultural analysis. Fortean Tomes, 1988.
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