What You Did Not Know About Chonchón Legend
The Chonchón is known as a bird that brings bad omens and bad luck in the places it roams, it is a creature that, legend has it, refers to a sorcerer who used magic ointments on his neck that makes his head detach from his body, and flies everywhere, allowing him to do his terrifying tricks of evil and attends covens especially on dark moonless nights. In this article about this animal that has the ability to transform and emit its fateful cry tue-tue, you will know the true performance of the Chonchón.
Who is Chonchón?
It is known by the name of Chonchón, Totue or Tue-Tue to a being that belongs to the Mapuche mythology belonging to the culture of indigenous peoples found in Chile and in some regions of Argentina.
This creature is associated with the myth based on a species of bird such as the owl, which means a nocturnal bird of prey with similar characteristics to those of an owl. There are also other explanations that relate it to the queltehue, which means a wading bird that is domesticated and lives in the gardens of the houses to exterminate harmful insects.
It is also thought that it is probably linked or had an influence on the origin of other bird beliefs of the Chilota culture, such as the Coo and the Raiquén, as well as the possibility with other birds of the mythology of Patagonia, that According to the cultures narrated, they are imagined as a type of "ominous bird" that predicts evils or misfortunes without reason, that is, they refer to a bird that brings bad luck.
Chonchón is a flying head that usually makes its appearances in peasant villages. The villagers intuit that this head corresponds to a sorcerer who had been torn when a cream with magical effects was applied to his neck, and that according to what he claimed would grow his ears of a giant size that would allow him to fly.
The chonchón or tue-tue bird is really a Calcu, which is translated as Mapuche that performs rites with evil entities, and that becomes Chonchón by applying magic ointments to its throat, which makes the head separate from the body and sprout feathers, claws and ears to fly; If you feel like it, you can also turn into an owl or owl, these transformation effects generally do it at night, but it gives you away when you are around because it emits a dire and terrifying sound: "tue-tue". So only the head flies off and his body remains where he lives and begins his evil misdeeds.
Origin
This creature that has the similarity to a bird is from the Mapuche culture, and is also found in Chilote folklore where it is distinguished with the names of: Chaihue, Chuncho, Chucho, Chuchu.
Chonchón Characteristics
The Chonchón is characterized by being an amazing bird with ash-gray feathers, it is the figure of a human head, it has large eyes, huge sharp claws and its ears are so gigantic that it uses them to fly to all places. This being produces a loud sound known as a bad omen; "Tue-tue-tue-tue"
Initially in Mapuche mythology, when speaking of Chonchón, it refers to the transformation that Calcu makes, which is the name given to a person who practices evil in spiritual forms with the support of the wekufe spirits , which are harmful entities. in charge of doing rituals with black magic. Later this belief was assimilated to the customs of the colony in Chile, ensuring that the transformation to Chonchón was related to the evil power of the sorcerers who render service to the devil.
The sorcerer who becomes Chonchón
It is about a man who is dedicated to performing different and evil rituals, and waits for sunset to fall and as night falls with its darkness, the sorcerer who is resting in his room, proceeds to smear around his neck a ointment with magical actions that immediately detaches his neck from the rest of his body, and surprisingly his ears begin to grow and giant wings are formed that he uses to fly.
The cause that this sorcerer who transforms into Chonchón is what allows him to visit the meetings in the caves where only sorcerers attend; as well as giving you access to move easily through the skies. The Chonchón, being an entity that is going to go to evil places, and before taking its flight, must rigorously exclaim the following: " without God or Santa María" , from this moment the Chonchón is already prepared to cross the cold and dark nights that are located in the south of Chile. The cave where all the sorcerers gather is guarded by a guardian known as Imbunche, who is authorized to give access to sorcerers who are like chonchón, because the entrance of the cave can only enter those who have the shape of a head.
How to catch a Chonchón?
The best way to catch this creature is by placing magic traps that take away power and strength and make it land on the ground, the most appropriate way is to pronounce the prayer of Saint Cyprian that says:
“San Cipriano goes up. San Cipriano goes down ”, holding in his hands, a candle of the good death.
Once the person recites the prayer, the Chonchón collapses in several turns and falls to the ground. In the event that you stumble upon the Chonchón that is prowling around the areas near where they live, and they want to know who the sorcerer is, they should only shout at him: " Come tomorrow for salt."
Amazingly, the next day he will arrive at the door of your house, demanding the salt and the one that you must give him, and for no reason they should be denied. There is also the way to combat it is by doing a ritual with a scissors that is placed open simulating the seal of Solomon, which was a seal that King Solomon used to expel demons. It is important to do this rite, otherwise, the Chonchón will disturb daily, causing family members to die of strange diseases and taking their souls with him.
To reject and avoid the presence of a Chonchón there are various methods and superstitions, which can range from placing or carrying a cross that can also be drawn on the floor, as well as burning some aromatic herbs, and that can be accompanied by its rite with pronouncing the wonderful prayer of the "Magnificat".
Chonchón legend
There are varied and rich legends in different versions about this creature known as the Chonchón, their Chiloe and Mapuche stories are based on birds with harmful characteristics and flying monsters. It is possible that chuncho (Glaucidium nanum), which is a small bird with nocturnal habits and belongs to the race of owls and owls, have originated the different legends that develop from the Chonchón.
Legends tell that the Chonchón were Kalkus sorcerers, which refers to a person from the Mapuche culture, who are the same creators of monstrosities as ivunches, which means a deformed person according to this culture, who are the ones who cause the spells by transforming into Chonchones in their parades and nocturnal attacks.
There are some cases in which its concealment as a bird is so perfect that it goes unnoticed, however, many of the witches who take possession of the appearance of a chonchón are women transformed into these strange creatures.
The Chonchón is the Calcu or sorcerer or sorceress that become this entity, that after a certain ointment is smeared all over its throat, the head separates from the body at the same time and is transformed with feathers, claws and huge ears and a Once accomplished, he flies off to the covens to begin his fateful antics.
Once he has become Chonchón, he must not forget another ointment with magical powers that allows him to return to his human form. In the event that the cream has been lost or destroyed and it is not within reach, the Chonchón begins to plummet towards the ground, which would cause death, for not enduring the fatal fate of being turned into a Chonchón for the rest of his life, and on the ground what remains is the image of a corpse of an owl or owl.
The legend about the Chonchón relates that this entity intends to visit places where it wants to do evil or cause strange diseases, it begins to perch and flutter with its wings on the roofs of houses, or it also occurs to enter the rooms where The sick person is found and a spiritual battle begins with the spirit of the broken person, where he is unable to defend himself and the Chonchón begins his evil with sucking all his blood, and that if no action is taken to regain health, the patient dies at a scarce days of having visited this despicable creature. For this reason, when the peasants close to their homes hear the continuous cry of tue-tue that they certainly hate it, it means that it has arrived to announce that the death of a loved one may occur.
This creature known as chonchón has different legends that have occurred throughout the towns and that its people tell by word of mouth so that such a horrendous bird does not go unnoticed. One of the stories tells that there were some girls in a town who with mischief had called Chonchón, and the next day, very early in the morning, a man with the appearance of old, small in size and demanding the salt that the young women had offered him, when they gave it to him he arrogantly told them : "Do not make fun of the passing people again."
Legend also has it that to other people in the town, the Chonchón appeared for lunch, and was an elegant and handsome gentleman who took the salt shaker and put it in his trouser pocket and politely said goodbye. It should be noted that these people who approach should not be offered any gift, because it has been confirmed that they return in their human form to request and until now it is not known what could happen if by chance you will deny them what they it is offered to you.
Many of the people from the villages tell among their stories that they came to invite Chonchón to dinner at their homes, in order to obtain a benefit from the sorcerer, but that if he wishes to request any intention from the sorcerer, during that same night you owe it to invite to breakfast. You can assure that very early at dawn, a mythical man will arrive in front of the door of the house demanding your invitation, and you must attend to him with greater care during the meal.
During the time they share food, you should make the most of your stay by asking all the questions about what you want to know, for example about the destination, or any important advice you need, who without any problem answers your concerns, already who appreciates the gesture of the invitation to eat. It is important that those who extend the invitation should not go overboard.
When the guest finishes eating and enjoying the stay in the house, he leaves and they will never see him again. There are daring people who think of setting up a magic trap for the sorcerer, which consists of drawing the seal of King Solomon using the blood of an animal and placing it under the chair where the guest will sit and that once he is in the chair he cannot mobilize so that he conceals that he does not want to leave and that he is comfortable.
They say that both in the fields and in some places in the urban sector, at night the presence of this malefic bird is felt, which screams very close to the houses. Some people report that once it occurs to them to go in search of the screaming bird to see what it is, it is impossible for them to see where the bird that generates these screeches is. In remote places, such as the fields, when it is night and they had no electricity, families used to eat near the stoves, and that they obtained the light with lit candles, this was a tradition before going to rest in their rooms.
This brings as a consequence a legend in the house of Choroico, which is a town in Mapuche and it is likely that it has also happened in other places, we tell you the story that is well known by all the inhabitants of the commune.
The villagers say that at that time there was a family that traditionally gathered at the table near the stove with their paraffin burner, at which point they began to feel strong knocks on the roof of the house that were accompanied by a frightening noise that it said: "tue-tue-tue-tue" and this sound generated non-stop. At that, the head of the family proceeds to get up from where he was sharing dinner at the table, and with his strong and angry character he began to offend the supposed bird, he went to the annoying patio to see what it was, but it was impossible for him to reach visualize where the screams came from, the strange thing was that they were heard as close as if they were inside the house; The children were very scared, because their father used to say all kinds of insults to make the entity leave"Go bird of bad omen, sorcerer, go shout to another place", the Chonchón did not flinch with anything they said continued screaming louder and louder.
The father of the family observes that he does not see any creature, but if he noticed that there was an insurmountable coldness that immediately entered the house. The children who were afraid asked their father "What was that bird and why did you call him a witch?"
The man immediately responded to his children that this bird is the well-known " Chonchón or Tue-Tue," he begins to relate that when he was a child, he had the memory that this bird also came to his house to scream, and that his father He said that there was a lady who lived very close to the house and the following story happened to her.
There was a day when a bird came to the roof of her house and began to scream so loudly, and the lady, already tired and annoyed by the incessant cry, she asked the bird: Are you hungry? "And the lady told him that if he stopped yelling she would invite him to invite you to breakfast at home; In addition, the intention of the lady was to observe the rare bird that did not stop bothering or frightened with the sounds they made to make the bird go away, and that each time it screamed louder.
The legend of the lady said that the bird calmed down, stopped screaming and the lady was able to sleep peacefully. But to his surprise, the next morning, a knock on the door of his house and when he opened the door he saw an old woman with an arched nose and a wart on her face, her suit was black with gray. The lady courteously greeted the old woman and asked her what she wanted, with which she replied that it came because of the invitation she had made last night; The lady was so scared but she still made her go to the dining room to have breakfast. There are those who affirm that they have promised to give you salt, sugar or other products that they must comply with in delivering them, it does not matter if the appearance is of a man or woman.
Continuing with the different and varied versions of stories about this bird known as Chonchón, we are also going to tell you:
In all dark places and spaces, whether they are fields or urban areas, there are and will be witches, witches and Chonchones, in the Azapa Valley, in the commune called the Pica oasis, in Chile, there was a known nitrate that was in a state of abandonment such as La Noria, and other well-known places such as Salamanca, Andacollo, Popudo, Valparaiso, Talagante, Melipilla, Chillán, Arauco, Villarrica, Puerto Montt, Chiloé archipelago, Punta Arenas, Tierra del Fuego, which did not lack the presence and stories of the Chonchones.
In fact, there are historical developments of the 18th century that are consigned against probable witches who were capable of transforming into the terrible Chonchón or Tue-Tue. In some regions of Argentina, such as Mendoza, Neuquén and Bariloche, legends are also heard about its fearsome presence. However, the Chonchón legend is from the Mapuche culture and is exclusively adapted to remote places such as the fields, where it is known as tue-tue; The disclosure of this creature was also known in Santiago, where this myth has spread between generation and generation, for the archaic settlers this belief is very true of the existence of this horrible and fatal creature of nocturnal behavior and that detests light.
The historian, politician and writer known as Don Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna, writes in his works "Critical and Social History of the City of Santiago" in 1868, about the legends of the Chonchones who were one of the terrors that harassed the inhabitants santiaguinos at the beginning of the 19th century, and that by that time there were many denunciations of their supposed visions in the city. He says that the Chonchón was a very popular custom, it was an animal whose shape was the head of a sorcerer that he moved away from his body and that he could fly with his gigantic ears in the form of wings, which moved them as if they were a bird. The wings of these animals had various aspects according to their stories: they could be bony and covered with membranes as if they were bats, others were feathered in the likeness of an owl.
Also, Julio Vicuña Cifuentes, a well-known writer, philosopher and folklorist of Chilean origin, wrote in "Myths and Superstitions collected from the Chilean oral tradition" in 1915, where he gives off the idea that the Chonchones were a kind of special sorcerers who had the ability to transform into this strange figure, who according to were the most powerful and fearful who practiced black magic.
The one known as Rodolfo Lenz, a German linguist, philosopher, lexicographer and folklorist who became naturalized in Chile, agrees with the belief of what Vicuña Cifuentes expresses, who comments that many of the customs do not reason the chuncho at any time associating it with the terrible Chonchón, but it is about different legends. However, the legend that concerns Chuncho has the exactitude about his very particular song that is not that of tue-tue-tue-tue, but chun-chun-chun-chun. But finally he gets stuck with the same character that gives rise to the legend of the chonchón.
While there were other people with more mythical visualization, they presumed that it was a kind of association of animals of nature between a magician and a bird, and that their image was a disguise of a bird that sought to pass without being seen while they did their evil deeds.
The residents say that as the real identity and origin of the chonchón was not known because it was a hidden and dark sorcerer, it was not strange that in some areas and more popular places of old Santiago, it was thought that many of the old women who still remained alive they were pointed out as the possible sorceresses who had the ability to transform into these horrible flying animals.
The well-known Justo Abel Rosales, Chilean researcher, journalist, chronicler, archivist and writer, in his text "History and Traditions of the Bridge of Cal y Canto" of 1888, also narrated in his legends the appearance of frightening chonchones and dire huge birds that they perched on a bridge and they screamed and flapped their gigantic wings causing fear among the people who passed by.
With all these writings of famous Chilean writers, collected from their different legends, we could not doubt that the chonchones were birds of bad omen that could have existed in those peasant towns and rural places, frightening the population.
