What if I told you all the myths of Chiloé are true…from a certain point of view? A certain point of view? That little phrase—and the echoing question—comes from the original Star Wars Trilogy. You may remember the classic scene from Return of the Jedi where a disillusioned Luke Skywalker accuses Obi-Wan Kenobi of deceiving…
Reading through Dr. Bernardo Quintana’s mythology treatise, Chiloé Mitológico, I’m struck once again by the background motivation of fear in so many of the rites and rituals, tall tales and strictly-timed tasks. Fear of the spirits and the sickness they cause. Terror of darkness and death and the dead, as manifested in the story of…
The image I chose to accompany this post shows opposing dragons on a vibrant Chinese-style silkscreen. Today’s tale actually depicts an epic battle between two great serpents, BUT: #1, I couldn’t bear to look at snakes on my website :). And #2, in this Chilote legend of the flood, both snakes and dragons symbolize our…
