Misplaced Pages

Piuchén

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Legendary creature of southern Chile
You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (December 2009) Click for important translation instructions.
  • View a machine-translated version of the Spanish article.
  • Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Misplaced Pages.
  • Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
  • You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Spanish Misplaced Pages article at ]; see its history for attribution.
  • You may also add the template {{Translated|es|Piuchén}} to the talk page.
  • For more guidance, see Misplaced Pages:Translation.

The Piuchén (also known as Peuchen, Pihuchen, Pihuychen, Pihuichen, Piguchen, or Piwuchen) is a creature from the Mapuche mythology and Chilote mythology pertaining to southern Chile, a much feared shapeshifting creature that can instantly change into animal form. According to legend, the Piuchén takes the hearts of its victims without leaving a mark on the body.

It has often been described as a gigantic flying snake which produced strange whistling sounds, while its gaze could paralyze an intended victim and permit it to suck its blood. It has often been reported as the cause of blood being sucked from one's sheep. The creature can be eliminated by a machi (Mapuche herbal healer).

The name "Piuchén" is also used as the vernacular for the common vampire bat species Desmodus rotundus, which can be the origin of the legend.

See also

References

  1. Pérez, Floridor (2016). "Mitos y leyendas de Chile". Santiago de Chile: Empresa Editora Zig-Zag, S.A.
  2. Martinez Vilches, Oscar (1992). "Chiloe Misterioso: Turismo, Mitologia Chilota, leyendas". Santiago de Chile: Ediciones de la Voz de Chiloe. 179 pages.
  3. Bárquez, R.; Pérez, S.; Miller, M. & Díaz, M. (2015) Desmodus rotundus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T6510A21979045. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T6510A21979045.en.


Stub icon

This article relating to a myth or legend from Argentina is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Stub icon

This article relating to a myth or legend from Chile is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Stub icon

This article about a legendary creature is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories: