In the South American country of Chile, it is known and widely acknowledged that black magic and sorcery do exist. The people also know that such witchcraft can create truly vile, freakish beings. One such creature is the Invunche, a twisted and once-human facsimile of a man that acts as a guardian to its creator’s lair. As hideous as this monster is, know that there is more pain and sorrow in it’s existence than any man should have to bear in one lifetime. The name invunche (pronounced in-voon-chay) itself means “master of the hide” or, in the Mapudungun language, "monster person". The Invunche, also known as the Imbunche or achucho de la cueva, was once human. The creature’s creation begins when a firstborn male baby is kidnapped by a coven of witches or, worse yet, is bartered or sold to them by his own parents. Once in the hands of the sorcerers (which are known as Brujo Chilote), the child’s life in Hell begins. Firstly, they break one of the baby’s legs and twist it over the infant’s back. The leg is fixed there with crude surgery and incantations. Next, the hands, arms, and the other leg are dislocated and twisted into strange positions. In some legends, the right arm is forced through a hole cut under the right shoulder blade, so that the arm will protrude from the back. It is likely that, throughout this gruesome process, the only thing that is keeping the baby boy alive is the dark magic of the sorcerers. Furthermore, the head and the neck of the boy are gradually twisted over a period of time until they too are grotesquely misshapen. Finally, once all of the breaking and twisting is done, the witches smear a magic cream or salve all over the now-disfigured child’s body. This cream causes the boy’s skin to become darker and thicken, while at the same time causing course black hair to grow all over the boy’s body. At this point, the boy’s tongue is cut at the tip so that it more or less resembles the flickering tongue of a serpent.
Once
the physical disfigurements and dark incantations are finished, it takes
several years to complete the agonizingly slow transformation. In the interim,
the child (if one may truly call the aberrant thing by that innocent name) is
abused and subjected to yet more black magic, and is fed the milk from a gata (a word for a female cat, but it
also makes reference to an “Indian wet nurse” as well). Later on, the Invunche
is fed cabrito (the flesh of innocent
children). Eventually, the monster is allowed to eat chivo (the flesh of an adult). Once the Invunche reaches
adolescence, his mind and human intelligence are completely gone, and the
transformation is at last complete.
As
was said earlier, the Invunche serves as a guardian, watching over and
protecting the lair of its master (which is almost always found at the bottom
of a lake). The creature is particularly well-suited to this role, as the
transformation from human to monster gives the creature some unique abilities.
While it is not very quick or agile (it is in fact a slow, lumbering and very
clumsy creature), the Invunche has great strength and the ability to paralyze
intruders with the fear caused by it’s horrible bloodcurdling scream. Some even
say that seeing the Invunche itself will cause a person to become so frightened
that it freezes the intruder in place…permanently.
Only the witches may look upon him without repercussions. But, according to
Chilean folklore, the Invunche is said to have a minion of it’s own that does
the beast’s bidding. This lesser creature is known as the Trelquehuecuve (yes,
it’s a mouthful), a giant water monster which can be likened to a giant cowhide
with eyes and claws around it’s perimeter that devours humans who get caught in
the whirlpools (known elsewhere as El
Cuero). This creature has been described as being brown in color, with
splotches of white. When the Invunche is short on food (which is usually goat
meat that, as the witch’s human sacrifices are considered to be too valuable to
waste), the Trelquehuecuve lures young girls to the water’s edge, abducts the
poor child, and presents them to the Invunche. The monster will then seize the
girl and drain her blood completely. In some of the legends, the Invunche
itself is allowed to leave the cave when food is scarce. It is said that he
will hunt down young virgins and devour them.
As
mentioned earlier, the Invunche itself is horribly misshapen and covered in
thick black hair. The monster is described as having a round, balloon-shaped
belly, long nails on its fingers, and a snake’s forked tongue. It walks about clumsily on two arms and
its one good leg, although the creature is said to be able to leap about. Even
though it was once human, the creature itself cannot speak and can only
communicate by howling and grunting like an animal. Despite dwelling in a cave
that is only accessible via a hidden subterranean lake, the Invunche cannot
swim. And while the beast is usually forbidden from leaving the cave that it
guards, on occasion the witches have a need to travel outside of the safety of
their lair. For this, the witches use their shapeshifting abilities to fly
their guardian slave out of the cave. The reason for this varies, as they may
go out seeking food, human victims, or to spread evil amongst the local
communities. What the coven’s goals truly are remains a mystery.
As
tough as this abomination may be, it is
possible to kill the Invunche. Because it was once human, the monster is still
vulnerable to man-made weapons like cold steel and firearms. However, there is
another difficult task to face beforehand: one must kill the Trelquehuecuve,
the water beast that serves the Invunche. As this creature is said to be large
in size and vicious towards humans, slaying the monster will not be an easy task.
However, the Trelquehuecuve is more than likely susceptible to ordinary
weapons. Only once it is dead can a man attempt to destroy the Invunche. As
likely as not, killing this creature may prove to be difficult. It is said that
not only can seeing the Invunche can permanently paralyze a person with fear:
it may cause the victim’s mind to cross the boundaries of sanity into the realm
of madness. Contemplating the horrific crimes against nature that the Invunche
represents may accomplish the same result. In other words, trying to kill an
Invunche is foolhardy and extremely dangerous. But if it is absolutely
necessary, decapitation and excising the heart may prove to be a saving grace,
followed by burning the remains. Legends do not give much detail as to how the
Invunche may be dealt with.
However,
there is a safer alternative. The Invunche guards the mouth of the cave,
barring entry to all but the witches themselves. Legends say that, to gain
admittance, one must kiss the Invunche on the ass. A bold, if somewhat frightening action. The reason for this
may be that, culturally speaking, it is an utterly demeaning act that shows not
only a hero’s inner strength, but his commitment to destroying evil and the
willingness to humble himself for the greater good. The Invunche, for some
unknown reason, will let him pass. Of course, once he’s dealt with the witches,
he may have a fight to the death on his hands with the creature.
In
the end, the Invunche represents an unspeakable crime against both God and
humanity. It is an aberration, an unnatural creature born of evil and darkness.
One is actually doing the monster a favor by putting the Invunche out of it’s
misery before he deals with the witches. Then, God’s Wrath incarnate will come
down upon them with a swift sword and send them both back to Hell, where they
belong. In other words, do not follow
in the footsteps of the Brujo Chilote!
Sources
Bane, Theresa. Actual Factual Dracula: A Compendium of Vampires. Randleman, NC: NeDeo Press. Copyright ©2007 by Theresa Bane.
Rose, Carol. Giants, Monsters & Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Copyright ©2000 by Carol Rose.
Zenko, Darren. Field
Guide to Monsters. Canada: Dragon Hill Publishing Ltd. Copyright ©2008
by Dragon Hill Publishing Ltd.
I loved this. Very interesting read.
ReplyDeleteThank You, Beth. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThe Trelquehuecuve or Cuero is presumably based on a real freshwater stingray reported in the area: besides being wide and flat with bug eyes of the top of its head and the mouth underneath, it even has the signature sting in its tail.
ReplyDeleteThe cruel practice of deliberately deforming children is known in other Latin American countries as well, and it is historically known to have been practiced in china. Even so, the gross deformities described here are probably in no way indicative of whatever actual practices the child-deformers might be using. The Victor Hugo book He Who Laughs (and the films based on it) is a reference to the kidnapping and deforming children to sell them off as curiosities later, in this case by carving the boy's mouth into a hideous permanent grin. The same practice of kidnapping and deforming children was ascribed to certain Mexicans back in the days of the Old West.
ReplyDelete