Piuchén

The Piuchén (Peuchén, Pihuchén, Piwuchén) or Piguchen (Piguchén), from Mapuche: piwichen for “to dry people” (transliterations: Pihuichéñ, Pihuichen, Pihuichén, 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 Piwichen (also styled piwicheñ, pihuicheñ) for "mythic bird, bat" or "flying serpent". The piwichen may further break down into piwn 'to dry' + ché 'people'. Some forms are: pihuichén given by Rodolfo Lenz, peuchén by Francisco Cavada; Andrés Febrés gave the form Pihuychén, which had been misprinted. Another linguist suggests onomatopoeic simulation of the bird-call of the pidén (Pardirallus sanguinolentus, species of rail).

Legend In the mythology of the Mapuche, the original creature known as the Pihuichen 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. One source differentiates between the Mapuche Pihuichen and the later Piguchen.

Appearance In various versions with local variations, it may be a serpent with feathered wings (as told in Vichuquén), or alternatively a large lizard with bat wings. The Pihuchén is a black winged snake about 0.5 metres (1.6 ft) in length, with a bristly body, according to the lore in the vicinity of Santiago, whose cattle fell victim. 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. The creature enjoys incredible longevity, and in old age, the winged serpent may transform into a rooster-sized bird, or a young turkey sized bird. Others say it transforms in its old age into a bug-eyed a huge frog with squat broad wings inadequate for long-distance flying, covered in fine down feathers (as told in Talagante). 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". An actual specimen supposedly caught in the Coquimbo area was deduced to be a vampire bat (cf. § Fauna identification), nevertheless, the myth about it ascribed reptilian-avian-mammalian features to it. The abbot Juan Ignacio Molina also wrote a paragraph on the "winged quadruped, or a kind of large bat". 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. Its ability to shapeshift into human, plant, or animal in certain instances has also been claimed.

Behavioral traits It reputedly makes a strange whistling sound (noun: silbidos, verb: silba), some say it emits the shrilly whistle three times to announce its presence. Others considered its hiss and gaze capable of killing prey, or the gaze may paralyze the victim and the creature then leisurely feeds on the blood of the stupefied victim. 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. (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 is contradicted by the opinion of Vicuña Cifuentes that the creature prefers animal blood over human. Herders are said to blame the monster for their sheep and goat found slaughtered overnight. According to some, the Piuchén takes the hearts of its victims without leaving a mark on the body. Richard Longeville Vowell, a volunteer in the Thomas Cochrane campaign in Chile c. 1820, 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 Aconcagua Valley 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.

Habitat As for the aboriginal notion of a forest spirit, one source associates the beast with the forest of "Chilean larch" ("bosque de alerces"), i.e., forest of the Chilean larch or "false larch". The piuchén is so powerful it effortlessly knocks down this Chilean larch (alerces), the tique, or other huge trees, according to Chilote lore (of the Chiloé Archipelago). The black, bristled piguchén dwelled in the mountain range (presumably Andes Mountains) and would go to Santiago or San Bernardo to feast on cattle. In Chilote folklore, the creature is described as a 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. Other sources say the creature's habitat occurs in marshy terrain or at the bottom of lagoons.

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