Nguruvilu
Encyclopedia
The Nguruvilu "fox snake" (also: Guirivilo, Guruvilu, Ñuruvilu, Ñirivilu, Ñivivilu, Ñirivilo o Nirivilo; from Mapudungun
ngürü "fox" and filu "snake") is a creature found in the Mapuche mythology
of Chile
.
people. It is a river-dwelling creature and looks much like a strange fox
, with a long body, similar to a snake
, and a long tail with fingernails that it uses like a claw; but it's a water-being. Nguruvilus live in and are the cause of dangerous whirlpools which kill people who try to cross rivers. The creatures make the water shallow on either ford, to encourage people to try to cross it making it seem safe. However, the only safe way of crossing a river with a Nguruvilu is by boat. The only way to get rid of a Nguruvilu is to get a machi
"shaman" or a good kalku
"sorcerer". The kalku is to be offered gifts in return for the service of Nguruvilu removal. The kalku (who may be male or female) wades through the river until he or she reaches the whirlpool and henceforth dives in. Afterwards she swims to the surface having captured the Nguruvilu in her arms with her powerful magical abilities. She then proceeded to threaten the creature with a sharp long knife or cuchillo (Spanish for knife
) and threaten to mutilate the animal if it ever harms another person trying to cross the waterway. The Kalku then releases the Nguruvilu back into the water. It is important that this act is witnessed by everyone from the area. Then usually a great celebration is held and no one must fear crossing the waterway ever again. The whirlpool or whirlpools shrink and then disappear, and the fords become even shallower, making the crossing safe enough even for the frailest old woman or youngest child. It is believed the creature moves its business elsewhere, probably to torment the peoples downstream at the next popular river crossing. There is a common bedtime story about the kalku and the Nguruvilu which was included in the book Folk Tales From Chile.
Mapudungun
The Mapuche language, Mapudungun is a language isolate spoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina by the Mapuche people. It is also spelled Mapuzugun and sometimes called Mapudungu or Araucanian...
ngürü "fox" and filu "snake") is a creature found in the Mapuche mythology
Mapuche mythology
The beliefs of the Mapuche and their mythology, stories about to the world and creatures born of the extensive and old religious beliefs, next to a series of common legend and myths that belong to the different groups that compose the Mapuche ethnic group .-Description:In the mythology and beliefs...
of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
Legend
The Nguruvilu originates from the native MapucheMapuche
The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
people. It is a river-dwelling creature and looks much like a strange fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
, with a long body, similar to a snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
, and a long tail with fingernails that it uses like a claw; but it's a water-being. Nguruvilus live in and are the cause of dangerous whirlpools which kill people who try to cross rivers. The creatures make the water shallow on either ford, to encourage people to try to cross it making it seem safe. However, the only safe way of crossing a river with a Nguruvilu is by boat. The only way to get rid of a Nguruvilu is to get a machi
Machi (Shaman)
A machi is a traditional healer and religious leader in the Mapuche culture of Chile and Argentina. Machis play significant roles in Mapuche religion. Women are more commonly machis than men.-Description:...
"shaman" or a good kalku
Kalku
Kalku or Calcu, in Mapuche mythology, is a sorcerer or witch that works with black magic and negative powers or forces. The essentially benevolent shamans are more often referred to as machi, to avoid confusion with the malevolent kalku...
"sorcerer". The kalku is to be offered gifts in return for the service of Nguruvilu removal. The kalku (who may be male or female) wades through the river until he or she reaches the whirlpool and henceforth dives in. Afterwards she swims to the surface having captured the Nguruvilu in her arms with her powerful magical abilities. She then proceeded to threaten the creature with a sharp long knife or cuchillo (Spanish for knife
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) and threaten to mutilate the animal if it ever harms another person trying to cross the waterway. The Kalku then releases the Nguruvilu back into the water. It is important that this act is witnessed by everyone from the area. Then usually a great celebration is held and no one must fear crossing the waterway ever again. The whirlpool or whirlpools shrink and then disappear, and the fords become even shallower, making the crossing safe enough even for the frailest old woman or youngest child. It is believed the creature moves its business elsewhere, probably to torment the peoples downstream at the next popular river crossing. There is a common bedtime story about the kalku and the Nguruvilu which was included in the book Folk Tales From Chile.