Piuchén

{{Short description|Legendary creature of southern Chile}} thumb|300px|Pihuicheñ of the Mapuche<ref>{{harvp|Guevara|1908}}, {{URL|1=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=gri.ark:/13960/t21c5pj18&seq=327 |2=Fig. 42.1 Pihuicheñ}} on p. 323</ref>

The '''{{lang|es|Piuchén|italic=no}}''' ({{lang|es|Peuchén, Pihuchén, Piwuchén|italic=no}}) or '''{{lang|es|Piguchen|italic=no}}''' ({{lang|es|Piguchén|italic=no}}), from Mapuche: {{lang|arn|piwichen}} for “to dry people” (transliterations: {{Transliteration|arn|Pihuichéñ}}, {{Transliteration|arn|Pihuichen}}, {{Transliteration|arn|Pihuichén}}, {{Transliteration|arn|Pihuychen}}) is a vampiric creature from the Mapuche mythology and Chilote mythology known in much of Chile.

This blood-sucker often assumes the guise of a flying snake, or a large lizard with bat wings, that emits strange whistling sounds or hisses that stun or kill its enemy or prey. It is also described as an avian-piscine-human composite, or a shapeshifter taking on the form of animals.

The lore may have derived from encounters with the common vampire bat.

==Nomenclature== The name Piuchén (Piuchénes) derives from Mapuche {{lang|arn|Piwichen}} (also styled {{lang|arn|piwicheñ}}, {{lang|arn|pihuicheñ}}) for "mythic bird, bat" or "flying serpent".<ref name="carvajal lazo2021"/> The {{lang|arn|piwichen}} may further break down into {{lang|arn|piwn}} 'to dry' + {{lang|arn|ché}} 'people'.<ref name="augusta1916"/>

Some forms are: {{Transliteration|arn|pihuichén}} given by Rodolfo Lenz,{{Refn|Lenz ''Diccionario''<ref name="vicuna cifuentes1915"/>}}<ref name="carvajal lazo2021"/> {{lang|es|peuchén}} by {{interlanguage link|Francisco Cavada|es}};<ref name="cavada1914"/><ref name="carvajal lazo2021"/> Andrés Febrés gave the form {{Transliteration|arn|Pihuychén}},{{Refn|name="febres-apud-cavada"}} which had been misprinted.<ref name="carvajal lazo2021"/>{{Refn|As "Pimuychen",<ref name="febres1882"/>}}<ref name="cavada1914"/>

Another linguist suggests onomatopoeic simulation of the bird-call of the {{lang|es|pidén}} (''Pardirallus sanguinolentus'', species of rail).<ref name="valenzuela1918-gloss-piuchen"/>

==Legend== In the mythology of the Mapuche, the original creature known as the {{Transliteration|arn|Pihuichen}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Pihuichéñ used by Guevara (1908), changed to Pichuichen in Vicuña (1915), reverted to Pihuichéñ in Perez (2004).<ref name="perez2004"/> For pronunciation, note {{lang|arn|piwichen}} orthography. }} generally assumes the form of a winged serpent. It flies off at night, sucking the blood of animals and humans asleep in the forest. It prefers the season when the roble tree sprouts, and is considered a forest spirit. In hot heat, the creature remains clinging to the bark of a tree, so that the dribbling blood may be found underneath.{{Refn|name="guevera"|Guevara, Tomás ''Psicolojía'' (1908)<ref name="guevara1908"/> and ''Historia'' '''I''': 231 ({{=}}Ch. VIII,<ref name="guevara1899"/> not found in {{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=YlZGAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA231|2=1929 edition of ''Historia''}}) paraphrased by Vicuña Cifuentes<ref name="vicuna cifuentes1915"/>}}

One source differentiates between the Mapuche Pihuichen<ref name="perez2004"/> and the later Piguchen.<ref name="perez2004-piguchen"/>

=== Appearance === In various versions with local variations, it may be a serpent with feathered wings<ref name="dk-Penguin2024"/> (as told in Vichuquén<ref name="vicuna cifuentes1915"/><ref name="perez2004-piguchen"/>), or alternatively a large lizard with bat wings.<ref name="roman1916"/>

The Pihuchén is a black winged snake about {{convert|0.5|m|ft}} in length, with a bristly body, according to the lore in the vicinity of Santiago, whose cattle fell victim.<ref name="laval1923"/><ref name="plath-matar-pihuchen"/> The informant stated the bristles were deadly poison upon contact with skin, making (live) capture an impossible task, hence the eradication by fire without handling the beast.<ref name="laval1923"/>

The creature enjoys incredible longevity,<ref name="quintana mansilla1987"/><ref>Cf. also {{harvp|Cavada|1914}}'s gloss of ''Peuchén'' as "{{lang|es|Hombre o animal de gran longevidad}}".</ref> and in old age, the winged serpent may transform into a rooster-sized bird,<ref name="perez2004"/> or a young turkey sized bird.<ref name="vicuna cifuentes1915"/><ref name="garrido-apud-plath">{{harvp|Plath|2022}} "La Cueva del Piuchén", version of Agustín Billa Garrido. This seems to be a collection of rehashes of other sources, slightly altered.</ref> Others say it transforms in its old age into a {{linktext|bug-eyed}} a huge frog with squat broad wings inadequate for long-distance flying, covered in fine down feathers (as told in Talagante).<ref name="vicuna cifuentes1915"/><ref name="chamberlain1910">Vicuña Cifuentes, also noticed in Chamberlain, Alexander F. (1910) "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=TzH4xdQIVjEC&pg=PA389 |2=The Chilian Folk-Lore Society and Recent Publications on Chilian Folk-Lore, etc.}}", p. 389, ''Journal of American Folklore'' '''23'''. The material was presented in a 1910 Congress of Americanists, pre-publication, by Vicuña Cifuentes.</ref>

In another telling from Ovalle in the Coquimbo Region, the Piuchén "has a parrot's beak and wings, a toad-like body and a snake-like tail".{{Refn|name="silvestre1904"|{{cite journal|last=Silvestre |first=José |date=19 February 1904 |title=Algo de mitología zoológica en Ovalle |journal=El Obrero}}, quoted by {{interlanguage link|Julio Vicuña Cifuentes|es|lt=Vicuña Cifuentes}}.<ref name="vicuna cifuentes1915-quotes"/>}}<ref name="garrido-apud-plath"/> An actual specimen supposedly caught in the Coquimbo area was deduced to be a vampire bat (cf. {{section link||Fauna identification}}), nevertheless, the myth about it ascribed reptilian-avian-mammalian features to it.{{Refn|name="latcham"}}

The abbot Juan Ignacio Molina also wrote a paragraph on the "winged quadruped, or a kind of large bat".{{Refn|Molina, Juan Ignacio (1782) ''Saggio sulla storia naturale del Chili'', p. 228 apud Vicuña Cifuentes<ref name="vicuna cifuentes1915"/>}} A later lexicographer remarked that Molina had been deceived by a gift of some dead rare animal claimed to be a piuchén, and the abbot only described such cadaver in detail.<ref name="roman1916"/>

Its ability to shapeshift into human, plant, or animal in certain instances has also been claimed.<ref name="quintana mansilla1987"/>

=== Behavioral traits === It reputedly makes a strange whistling sound<ref name="dk-Penguin2024"/> (noun: {{lang|es|{{linktext|silbido|pref=wikt:en}}s}}, verb: {{lang|es|silba}}), some say it emits the shrilly whistle three times to announce its presence.{{sfnp|Silvestre|1904}} Others considered its hiss and gaze capable of killing prey,<ref name="roman1916"/>{{Refn|name="febres-apud-cavada"|Febrés (1882)<ref name="febres1882"/> ''apud'' {{interlanguage link|Francisco Cavada|es|lt=Cavada}} with the spelling emended to Pihuychén (var. Piuchéng, Piguchén). Febrés gloss stated "It whistles as it flies, and whoever sees it dies ({{lang|es|"vuela cuando silba, ye el que la ve se muere}}"),<ref name="cavada1914"/> but Guevara citing Febrés truncates this to saying it brings death to whoever sees it fly ({{lang|es|Febrés menciona el ... Pimuychen causadaba la muerte al que la veia volar}}).{{sfnp|Guevara|1908|p=320}}}} or the gaze may paralyze the victim and the creature then leisurely feeds on the blood of the stupefied victim.<ref name="dk-Penguin2024"/> Besides the deadly gaze, some claim the creature is born from the egg of a red rooster or from the corpse of a ''brujo'' witch doctor punished for a blunder.<ref name="carvajal lazo2021"/> (cf. basilisk from an egg and mandrake growing by the gallows).

The claim that it seeks sheep blood when humans are not found, according to one source<ref name="dk-Penguin2024"/> is contradicted by the opinion of Vicuña Cifuentes that the creature prefers animal blood over human.<ref name="chamberlain1910"/>{{Refn|The Piguchén "It feeds on the blood of mules. (Coinco)"; "sucks the blood of animals. (Vichuquén)"; "a snake that devours sheep, mainly black ones, for which it shows particular predilection. (Coihueco de Chillán)".<ref name="vicuna cifuentes1915"/>}} Herders are said to blame the monster for their sheep and goat found slaughtered overnight.<ref name="dk-Penguin2024"/>{{efn|Cf. Vowell (1831)'s tract.}} According to some, {{failed verification span|text=the Piuchén takes the hearts of its victims without leaving a mark on the body.|date=February 2025}}<ref>Pérez, Floridor (2016). "Mitos y leyendas de Chile". Santiago de Chile: Empresa Editora Zig-Zag, S.A.</ref>

Richard Longeville Vowell, a volunteer in the Thomas Cochrane campaign in Chile c. 1820,<ref name="baeza2019"/> is the attributed author of an 1831 memoir which described the ''pehüechèn'' {{sic}}, which he was convinced was a bat. Nevertheless he reported the lore around it, as told by the ''huasos'' of {{Interlanguage link|Aconcagua Valley|es|Valle del Aconcagua}}{{efn|East of Quillota and north of Santiago.}} who loved fantastic stories. Most of them could swear to at least knowing a relative or friend who has slaughter the beast in the act of attacking (and presumably in the process of killing ) sheep. The superstition among them was that they could suck blood at a distance, merely by hovering above, and their shrieks were held to be dangerous.<ref name="vowell1831"/>

=== Habitat === As for the aboriginal notion of a forest spirit, one source associates the beast with the forest of "Chilean larch" ("{{lang|es|bosque de alerces}}"),<ref name="valenzuela1918-gloss-piuchen"/> i.e., forest of the Chilean larch or "false larch". The piuchén is so powerful it effortlessly knocks down this Chilean larch (''alerces''), the {{interlanguage link|Aextoxicon punctatum|es|lt=''tique''}}, or other huge trees, according to Chilote lore (of the Chiloé Archipelago).<ref name="quintana mansilla1987"/>

The black, bristled piguchén dwelled in the mountain range (presumably Andes Mountains) and would go to Santiago or San Bernardo to feast on cattle.<ref name="laval1923"/><ref name="plath-matar-pihuchen"/>

In Chilote folklore, the creature is described as a {{linktext|protean}} composite creature, part human, snake, bird, and fish, and covered with all sorts of things such as grass, bushes, and twisted horn-like protrusions (and also resembling a frog and a bat), preferring to dwell in lakes and rivers, haunting the local Lake Huillinco. It allegedly can raise gigantic waves that cause nearby boats to sink. And it exudes some sort of irritant from its body that causes rashes.<ref name="quintana mansilla1987"/>

Other sources say the creature's habitat occurs in marshy terrain or at the bottom of lagoons.<ref name="carvajal lazo2021"/>

=== Combatting against === Some say it is a green snake that dwells in the heart of trees.{{Refn|name="gonzales vera-apud-plath"|Version of José Santos González Vera ''apud'' Plath.<ref name="plath2022"/>}} Its presence can be tracked because it leaves a trail of bloody urine it excretes,{{Refn|name="gonzales vera-apud-plath"}} which may also be found dribbling beneath the tree it uses as lair (as told in Melipilla).<ref name="vicuna cifuentes1915"/><ref name="garrido-apud-plath"/>

As aforementioned, the Santiago area informant claimed that the beasts poisoned bristles made live capture impossible.<ref name="laval1923"/><ref>Cf. {{harvp|Silvestre|1904}} on Ovalle fauna and lore. He does not attribute poison, but wrote: "This animal is famous and harmful, but it has not been possible to hunt it".</ref> Thus, to kill a Pihuchén living in a Tree hollow ({{lang|es|hueco}}), it is suggested the hole be plugged with hefty cloth then to set the tree on fire.<ref name="laval1923"/><ref name="plath-matar-pihuchen">{{harvp|Plath|2022}} "Como Matar al Pihuchén"</ref>

Mapuche belief was that the Pihuichéñ coordinated its attacks with the ''machi'' (herbal healer), and they were in alliance,<ref name="perez2004"/> but it is also claimed that only the ''machi'' alone can defeat the creature, as he or she can counteract the hypnosis with herbal cures.<ref name="dk-Penguin2024"/>

Superstition in Ovalle recommends waving a white flag or whistling in a bottle to ward the creature off, and adds that adding white goat to one's flock diminishes the chance of being attacked.{{Refn|name="silvestre1904"}}<ref name="garrido-apud-plath"/> In Macul, Santiago Province, the old saying was that grouping the goats in sixes within the herd will protect them from the creature.{{Refn|name="gonzales vera-apud-plath"}} Another informant (probably around the rim of Greater Santiago) swore blowing an ox horn ({{lang|es|cuerno de buey}}, cf. erkencho) would scare it away and protect the herd of cattle.<ref name="laval1923"/>

== Fauna identification == The lore of the blood-sucking creature may well have derived from an actual vampire bat species. The bat of scientific name ''Desmodus dorbinyi'' {{sic}} (recté ''D. dorbignyi ''<ref name="mann1978"/>) was given in older literature for the animal associated with myth.{{Refn|name="latcham"|Latcham, Ricardo E. (1915) "Sobre algunos mitos zoologicos chilenos" quoted by {{interlanguage link|Julio Vicuña Cifuentes|es|lt=Vicuña Cifuentes}}.<ref name="vicuna cifuentes1915-quotes"/> {{interlanguage link|Floridor Pérez|es}} attributes the identification of ''D. dorbinyi'' of the Coquimbo Region to some "naturalist".<ref name="perez2004"/>}}

According to modern zoologists, this species name is a disused synonym of ''Desmodus rotundus'', the common vampire bat,<ref>{{Cite taxon|asm|genus=Desmodus |species=rotundus |id=1004880 |version=1.13 |access-date=12 February 2025}}</ref> also known by the Spanish vernacular "Piuchén".<ref name="mann1978"/>

== Parallels == Floridor Pérez notes some parallel with the "goat-sucker" Chupacabra that he claims had devastated livestock especially in Chile's Cuarta Region (Coquimbo Region) into the 20th century.<ref name="perez2004"/> He wonders if the Piguchén might have been the precursor of the Chupacabra.<ref>Pérez (2004), in the preceding chapter, "El Chupacabras: moderna clonación del Piguchen".</ref>

==See also== * Colo Colo * Basilisco Chilote * Chonchon * Chupacabra

==Explanatory notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist|2|refs= <ref name="augusta1916">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Augusta |first=Félix José de |author-link=:es:Félix José de Augusta |entry=piwən, piwichen and ché |title=Diccionario araucano-español y español-araucano: Araucano-español |location=Santiago de Chile |publisher=Imprenta universitaria |year=1916 |entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=usWemzU40xUC&pg=PA185|pages=185 and 18 |lang=es}}</ref>

<ref name="baeza2019">{{cite book|last=Baeza |first=Andrés |author-link= |title=Contacts, Collisions and Relationships: Britons and Chileans in the Independence Era, 1806-1831 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2019 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LiKQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 |page=81 |isbn=9781786941725}}</ref>

<ref name="carvajal lazo2021">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Carvajal Lazo |first=Herman |author-link= |entry=Piuchénes |title=Los topónimos indígenas del Norte Chico |publisher=Editorial Universidad de La Serena |year=2021 |entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5X0wEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA124 |pages=124–125 |isbn=9789567052882|lang=es}}</ref>

<ref name="cavada1914">{{cite book|last=Cavada |first=Francisco Javier |author-link=:es:Francisco Cavada |chapter=Peuchén |title=Chiloé y los chilotes: estudios de folk-lore y lingüistica de la provincia de Chiloé (república de Chile) accompañados de un vocabulario de chilotismos y precedidos de una Breve reseña histórica del archipiélago ... |publisher=Imprenta universitaria |year=1914 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjwD8JeLG3IC&pg=PA386 |page=386 |series=Revista de folklore chileno 5 |language=es}}</ref>

<ref name="dk-Penguin2024">{{cite book|author=DK |author-link= |chapter=El Peuchen: vampiric whistler |title=Supernatural Creatures: Mythical and Sacred Creatures from Around the World |publisher=Penguin |year=2024 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzDyEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA164 |page=164 |isbn=9780593958315}}"</ref>

<ref name="febres1882">Fébres, André (1882) ''Diccionario araucano-español'' s.v. "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=-rQTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA190 |2=Pimuychen}}"</ref>

<ref name="guevara1899">{{cite journal|last=Guevara |first=Tomás |author-link=Tomás Guevara |title=Historia de la Civilizacion de Aruncanía (continuation Capítulo VIII) |journal=Anales de la Universidad de Chile |volume=103 |date=January–June 1899 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_IbNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1034 |page=1034}}</ref> <ref name="guevara1908">{{cite book|last=Guevara |first=Tomás |author-link=Tomás Guevara|chapter=Capitulo XIV. Concepciones míticas |title=Psicolojía del pueblo araucano |location=Santiago de Chile |publisher=Impr. Cervantes |year=1908 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sbtoAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA320 |at=pp. 320–322, fig. 42 |series=Historia de la civilización de Araucanía |language=es}}</ref>

<ref name="laval1923">{{Cite book|last=Laval |first=Ramón Arminio |authorlink=:es:Ramón Arminio Laval Alvial |chapter=El Piguchen |title=Cuentos populares en Chile: recogidos de la tradición oral |location=Santiago |publisher=Cervantes |date=1923 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6-ESAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA235 |page=235}} Informant: Francisco 2.º Vásquez, 1911. (* The 2.º presumably means he is a different source from the 15 year-old also named Francisco Vásquez)</ref>

<ref name="mann1978">{{cite book|last=Mann Fischer |first=Guillermo |author-link=:es:Guillermo Mann |chapter=Familia Desmontidae |title=Los pequeños mamíferos de Chile : Marsupiales, quirópteros, edentados y roedores |publisher=Universidad de Concepción |year=1978 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ar0aAQAAIAAJ&q=dorbignyi |page=41 |series=Gayana. Zoología 40 |language=es}}</ref>

<ref name="quintana mansilla1987">{{cite book|last=Quintana Mansilla |first=Bernardo |author-link=Bernardo Quintana |chapter=El Piuchen |title=Chiloé mitológico: mitos, pájaros agoreros, ceremonias mágicas de la provincia de Chiloé |publisher=S/N |year=1987 |orig-year=1972 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-MAMAAAAYAAJ&q=piuchen |page=45 |language=es}} Also "{{URL|1=https://chiloemitologico.cl/el-peuche |2=El Peuchén}}" online</ref>

<ref name="perez2004">{{cite book|last=Pérez |first=Floridor |author-link=:es:Floridor Pérez |others=Ilustraciones de Andrés Jullian |chapter=El Pihuicheñ Mapuche |title=Mitos y leyendas de Chile |location=Providencia |publisher=Zig-Zag |date=2004 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3pPFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT39 |pages= |isbn=978-956-12-2648-7 |language=es}}</ref> <ref name="perez2004-piguchen">{{harvp|Pérez|2004}} "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=3pPFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT38 |2=El Piguchén}}"</ref>

<ref name="plath2022">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Plath |first=Oreste |author-link=Oreste Plath |editor=Karen Plath Müller Turina |entry= El Pihuchén (Piuchén-Piguchén-Pihuychén) |title=Geografía del mito y la leyenda chilenos |publisher=Fondo de Cultura Económica |year=2022 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FPp6EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT80 |page= |isbn=9789562892698|lang=es}}</ref>

<ref name="roman1916">{{cite dictionary|last=Román |first=Manuel Antonio |author-link=:es:Manuel Antonio Román |entry=Piguchén |title=Diccionario de chilenismos y de otras voces y locuciones viciosas |volume=4 |location=Santiago de Chile |publisher=La Revista católica |date=1916 |entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZrlDAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA274 |pages=274–275 |language=es}}</ref>

<ref name="valenzuela1918-gloss-piuchen">Valenzuela, Pedro Armengol (1918) ''Glosario etimológico'' Tomo '''2''', s.v. "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMwGAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA215 |2=Piuchén, piuché}}", p. 215</ref>

<ref name="vicuna cifuentes1915">{{cite book|last=Vicuña Cifuentes |first=Julio |author-link=:es:Julio Vicuña Cifuentes |chapter=XXIX. El Piguchén |title=Mitos y supersticiones recogidos de la tradición oral chilena |location=Santiago de Chile |publisher=Imprenta Universitaria |year=1915 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EdsOBP___ssC&pg=RA1-PA80 |pages=80–82 |url=http://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-8171.html |language=es}}</ref>

<ref name="vicuna cifuentes1915-quotes">{{harvp|Vicuña Cifuentes|1915}}, glossary, {{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=EdsOBP___ssC&pg=RA1-PA339 |2=VI. El Caleuche}}, p. 339</ref>

<ref name="vowell1831">{{cite book|last=Vowell |first=Richard Longeville |author-link= |others=William D. Mahoney |chapter=Chapter XXIV. § Pehuechen |title=Campaigns and Cruises, in Venezuela and New Grenada, and in the Pacific Ocean: From 1817 to 1830 |volume=1 |location=London |publisher=Longman and Company |year=1831 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vIUeAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA425 |page=425}}</ref>

{{void|<ref name="NonPreviewableNoPageGivenReplaceableByQMansillaChiloe">Martinez Vilches, Oscar (1992). "Chiloe Misterioso: Turismo, Mitologia Chilota, leyendas". Santiago de Chile: Ediciones de la Voz de Chiloe. 179 pages.</ref>}} }}

===Bibliography=== {{refbegin}}

Category:Chilote legendary creatures Category:Indigenous South American legendary creatures Category:Mapuche legendary creatures Category:Mythological blood-drinkers Category:Mythological shapeshifters Category:Mythological hybrids Category:Chilean folklore Category:Legendary serpents Category:Dragons