In
Chilean folklore
Chilean mythology includes the mythology, beliefs and folklore of the Chilean people.
Evolution
Chilean mythology covers of a large collection of myths and legends from the beliefs of Chile's indigenous groups (Mapuche, Tehuelche, Changos, Dia ...
the entierros (lit. "burrowing") are legendary treasures buried in different locations by different motives. The identity of the alleged burrowers vary from case to case, sometimes being
indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
,
pirates and
privateers like
Francis Drake or the
Jesuits
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders = ...
.
[Montencino 2015, p. 268–273] A significant number of the entierro legends relate to the Spanish
Conquest of Chile
The Conquest of Chile is a period in Chilean historiography that starts with the arrival of Pedro de Valdivia to Chile in 1541 and ends with the death of Martín García Óñez de Loyola in the Battle of Curalaba in 1598, and the destruction of ...
in the 16th century.
[ Associated to this there is a significant folklore on how to unearth the entierros.][
Some people believe that a nocturnal bird called ]Alicanto
The Alicanto is a mythological nocturnal bird of the desert of Atacama, pertaining to Chilean mythology. Legend says that the alicanto's wings shine at night with beautiful, metallic colors, and their eyes emit strange lights. The color of the wi ...
can show to treasure hunters the location of entierros.
Patagua trees are said to signal or guide people to an entierro.
Particular entierros
Colonial era entierros
In the far north of Chile a tale says that because Francis Drake feared falling prisoner to the Spanish he buried his treasure near Arica
Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capita ...
.[ Further south in ]Quintero
Quintero is a Chilean city and commune in Valparaíso Province, in the Valparaíso Region, 30 kilometers north of Valparaíso. The commune spans an area of . It was the first port in the country, created during the expedition of Diego de Almagr ...
is Cueva del Pirata (lit. "Cave of the Pirate") which is also associated with a treasure of Francis Drake.[Montencino 2015, p. 196-197]
In Carelmapu
Carelmapu (lit. from Mapudungun "Green Land") is a port and town ( es, pueblo) at the western end of Chacao Channel, southern Chile. Carelmapu was established by the Spanish in 1602 as San Antonio Ribera de Carelmapu following the Destruction of ...
an entierro is said to have been left by the Spanish in an effort to hide valuables from Dutch invaders that sacked the settlement in 1643.
During the Suppression of the Society of Jesus
The suppression of the Jesuits was the removal of all members of the Society of Jesus from most of the countries of Western Europe and their colonies beginning in 1759, and the abolishment of the order by the Holy See in 1773. The Jesuits were ...
in 1767 folklore says Jesuits of buried their valuables near their confiscated estate in Ocoa.[Plath 1979, p. 129] By some accounts the buried treasure was once found but nothing was extracted since the vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosure ...
proved resistant to dynamite.[ Another saying tells that those who seek to recover the treasure become cursed.
]
Post-colonial and undated entierros
Also associated with the Jesuit was an entierro said to exist at a large rock known as Piedra del Padre in Cajón del Maipo. The rock was said to resemble a priest. Allegedly the rock was blown up with explosives in an attempt to retrieve the treasure but nothing was found.
One story about an entierro is set during the Chilean War of Independence. Reportedly in the aftermath of the patriot
A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism.
Patriot may also refer to:
Political and military groups United States
* Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution
* Patriot m ...
defeat at the Battle of Rancagua
The Battle of Rancagua, also known in Chile as the Disaster of Rancagua, occurred on October 1, 1814, to October 2, 1814, when the Spanish Army under the command of Mariano Osorio defeated the rebel Chilean forces led by Bernardo O’Higgins. ...
(1814) some patrician families gathered their valuables in an ox cart to have them evacuated to Mendoza across the Andes. Its is said that the cart had only reached to Laguna de Aculeo when the Spanish cought up with it. To avoid capture of treasure the driver hit the oxes with the spike of his picana making the oxen plunge towards the centre of the lake where the cart and the treasure then sunk and was lost in the lake's mud.
Another entierro is said to exist in Laguna de los Cristales in the Andes in the commune of Rengo
The , commonly known as , is the largest national trade union center in Japan, with over six million members as of 2011.Rengo websitRengo brochure 2010-2011 Retrieved on July 6, 2012 It was founded in 1989 as a result of the merger of the Japan ...
. The entierro is said to have came to being when an arriero
An ''arriero'', muleteer, or more informally a muleskinner ( es, arriero; pt, tropeiro; ca, traginer) is a person who transports goods using pack animals, especially mules.
Distribution and function
In South America, muleskinners transpo ...
sought shelter near the lake amidst a snow storm
A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these storms are not necessar ...
. While at sleep the lake's water rose and brought him and his mule to the bottom of the lake. According to folklore the mules can still be seen in the bottom of the lake during sunny days. In some versions the arriero can be occasionally seen getting out of lake with his mules into a path.
See also
*Carbunclo
Carbuncle (Spanish: ''Carbunclo'', ''Carbunco'' or ''Carbúnculo'') is a legendary species of small animal in South American folklore, specifically in the mining folklore of northern Chile. The animal is said to contain riches of some sort; in some ...
*City of the Caesars
The City of the Caesars (Spanish Ciudad de los Césares), also variously known as ''City of Patagonia'', ''the Wandering City'', ''Trapalanda'' or ''Trapananda'', ''Lin Lin'' or ''Elelín'', is a mythical city of South America. It was supposedly ...
*Cueva de los Pincheira Cueva de los Pincheira is a shallow cave located about southeast of Chillán, in Ñuble Region, Central Chile. The cave is famous for being a hideout of the Pincheira brothers, a royalist outlaw gang. During high season there are reenactments in ...
*Robinson Crusoe Island
Robinson Crusoe Island ( es, Isla Róbinson Crusoe, ), formerly known as Más a Tierra (), is the second largest of the Juan Fernández Islands, situated 670 km (362 nmi; 416 mi) west of San Antonio, Chile, in the South Pacific Oc ...
References
;Bibliography
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{{Pirates
Chilean legends
Legendary treasures