It is located in Chile, (40°17’ S, 72° 01’ W) and has a surface area of 46km2 (17.7 sq. mi.), nestled in the western Andean slopes this lake is home to dwarves and strange lake animals.
Dwarves
At Rupumeica, right by the lake, the local Mapuche people tell of small beings which were once abundant; the “dwarves […] used to cross the roads, now there are none of those. They were surely exterminated!”[1]
Noisy, they used to frighten the sheep; these dwarfs were “small but thick […] we saw that man, a man with a blanket, small and wide […] there was an old poplar where the dwarves appeared”.[1]
Lake Animals
The lake also had some strange aquatic beasts that belonged to the “owner of the waters”; a mythical spirit that acted as a custodian of nature. In this case it was abuelito (grandfather) “wentellao” or “huenteao".
This spirit used to “give his animals to”, the “ancient” Indians. These were “lake animals” which the natives captured in the water with special lassos woven from rushes. Though abundant in the past, they eventually disappeared and the ancients “could not [lasso them] any more”, perhaps they had become extinct.[1]
This lasso method is similar to the one we mentioned at Maquehua, close to Temuco, Chile, where the locals lassoed water bulls.
A Beautiful photograph of Lake Maihue.
Bibliography.
[1] Guerra, M., et al., [Comp.], (1999). Las Ñañas. Santiago: LOM Ed. pp. 36 and 53.
Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia
2010 International Year of Biodiversity
Copyright 2009-2010 by Austin Whittall ©
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