- Camahueto
The Camahueto from the Mythology of Chiloé has the form of a calf or
bull , with a small horn on its forehead, similar to aunicorn .Legends
The horn is the most valuable part of the animal, which "
machi s" use to plant small pieces in the earth from which other camahuetos will grow. When it has grown, it erupts from the earth with such force that it leaves a tremendous hole and drags down everything in its path in a rapid race to reach the sea.A machi will stalk and capture the camahueto with a lasso and tear out the horn and bandage the opening. Afterwards, he will use the horn for curing many kinds of illnesses.
One witness related the following account
Once while I was working our land, a sound like a hurricane started, at first underground and later dreadful thunder overran the area where I was. In that moment from a small hill descended with a deafening roar a camahueto demolishing everything in its way.
.Reaching the bottom it ran through our mill destroying it and finally disappeared into the sea. I saw it perfectly, it was still newborn and had a beautiful horn like a unicorn
One use of the horn is to scrape shavings from it into a mixture of sea water and apple cider until it turns into vinegar and course salt. This potion has the capacity to restore the vitality of older men and to those who have become impotent. Users of this preparation claim to have become like Hercules and gain the reputation throughout the islands as "a man like a "
trauco ".ee also
Chilota mythology References
* Martinez Vilches, Oscar, "Chiloe Misterioso" (in Spanish). Pub. Ediciones de la Voz de Chiloe (circa 1998)
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