- Camahueto is a Chiloé mythical creature, resembling cattle with a golden horn.
- Camahueto’s horn provides cure, but overdose leads to madness.
- From hills to ocean, Camahueto is shaping landscapes.
Among the mythical creatures of the Chiloé Islands in Chile is the Camahueto. This organism is utilized to shed light on the origins of rivers, streams, and other waterways in Chilote mythology. The Camahueto looks like cattle, although its short coat has a variety of colors, from gray to green. Its most distinguishing feature is a single golden horn that sprouts from its forehead, much like a unicorn’s horn. Getting to the ocean is one of its primary life objectives. There is a rugby club with the name Camahueto in the Chilean municipality of Calbuco.
Legend of the Camahueto
Legend has it that the Camahuetos of Chiloé begin their lives buried deep below the soil of the hills that overlook the ocean. A piece of Camahueto horn is buried in the hills; when the dust from the horn is put into a well, a new Camahueto is born. Or it is naturally born as the offspring of the Chilote sea cow, which burrows into a den beneath the forest or fields.
Camahuetos emerge from their underground homes after 20 to 30 years to make the harrowing journey to the ocean in search of the sea cow. They mow down everything in their path and, using their horn, create a furrow in the earth that may be channeled into a stream later on. The coastal regions usually collapse, and massive fractures appear in the earth after this movement, which happens during stormy nights.
Once the Chilote has reason to anticipate that a Camahueto will be born on his territory, only a witch called “lacero”, using a rope made with sargazo (a seaweed), or a healer called “machi”, using a rope woven with voqui (a climbing plant), may capture it.
Its virility and power are located mostly in that golden horn; thus, when imprisoned, it must be directed to the sea without injuring it or tamed by severing its horn so that it becomes entirely tame and ceases inflicting damage. The machi would also be responsible for the trapping of this horn in order to get its magical qualities. Usually, the machi would take a part of this horn to create a new Camahueto, ensuring a fresh supply of horn for his magical rituals in the future.
The Camahueto’s Mystic Horn
It is believed that the Camahueto horn may be used as a miraculous cure for a wide variety of ailments, including impotence, rheumatism, anemia, skin infections, and many more. It is cautioned, however, that one not overdo it with the Camahueto horn scraping; otherwise, the patient will turn into violent craziness.
Some people in Chiloé claim to offer scrapings of the magical Camahueto, a substance often extracted from mollusk shells or sea lion teeth, as a miracle cure. It is said that a plant found in the wild may be used to provide an unusual increase in endurance for humans or animals, endowing them with superhuman levels of strength and stamina. No one knows what its qualities are or even its reality.
The Chilean historian Renato Cárdenas’ book on the mythology of Chiloé, published in 1998, provides a rich depiction. This unicorn’s horn is the proverbial “philosopher’s stone” of the pharmaceutical industry. Its scrapings are sprinkled in swampy or humid places to make a Camahueto emerge. The scrapings are used in medicine to offer power and vitality to work animals and humans, but the amount must be highly precise; otherwise, the powder might cause adverse mental effects. For instance, when ingested, camahueto horn powder is believed to cause people to change their minds.
A Camahueto Story Still Told
To safely move the horn of Camahueto out of its province or region, with all its hidden qualities, it must be encased in toasted flour.
Many people tell a story about coming in a boat from Cucao Lake. One of the passengers had a piece of Camahueto horn hidden because it had been requested in the city of Castro. She probably didn’t wrap it properly because it must be placed inside a jar with toasted flour so that the Camahueto doesn’t smell that its horn is being taken.
The lagoon was calm when suddenly a huge storm arose, so massive that it almost sank the boat. An expert among them said, ‘Someone among you must be carrying something! Whoever has it should throw it away because this storm isn’t natural; it’s because of something.’ Then she realized her Camahueto horn was causing the problem and discreetly threw it into the lake. It worked like magic; everything calmed down almost immediately, and thus, the Camahueto claimed its property.