Millalobo (from the

mapudungun Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...

''milla'': "gold" and the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

''lobo:'' wolf in allusion to the

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

) is an important being in

Chilote mythology The Chilote mythology or Chilota mythology is formed by the myths, legends and beliefs of the people who live in the Chiloé Archipelago, in the south of Chile. This mythology reflects the importance of the sea in the life of Chilotes. Chilote myt ...

. He is the most powerful being of the sea after Caicai and was chosen by Caicai to be his representative and govern all that resided in the sea.

Description

The Millalobo is a being like a Triton, lower half sea lion and upper half human, his face a mixture of both. He was born from the mating between a woman and a sea lion who saved her from drowning, at the time of the mythical battle between Tenten Vilu and Caicai Vilu. The Millalobo's fur is golden, hence his name. It is said that this mythical being can´t talk and he can only communicate through a bleat similar to the sea lion's, even though, the meaning of his bleat is understandable to human beings.

Myth

The tale says that upon Caicai Vilu seeing the Millalobo, he found it to his liking, and after its battle against Tenten, Caicai wanted to bestow his power on someone, and he chose the Millalobo. The Millalobo lives at the bottom of the sea, together with his wife Huenchula and their three children, The

Pincoya The Pincoya is, according to local mythology, a female "water spirit" of the Chilotan Seas. The Pincoya is said to have long blond hair, be of incomparable beauty, be cheerful and sensual, and rise from the depths of the sea. Legends Naked and ...

, The

Pincoy The Pincoy is a male water spirit of the seas, belonging to the Chilote mythology of Chiloé, Chile. It looks equivalent to a merman creature, his body would be like a large sea lion, colour bright golden, with handsome and manly human face and ...

and La

Sirena Chilota La Sirena chilota is an aquatic creature belonging to the Chilote mythology. Perhaps its origin is due to binding of the myths of the Sumpall of the Mapuche mythology and the Mermaid of European mythology. Like to the mermaids, the siren chilota ...

, who help him in his task of managing the seas. Due to his great work of managing the seas, the Millalobo has as underlings many mythological sea creatures to do different tasks: from seeding and taking care of the fish and shellfish, to managing the sea climate, as well as guiding and taking care of the dead brought by the sea. The Millalobo is the creator of the ghost ship known as

Caleuche The Caleuche (from the Mapudungun ''kalewtun,'' "to transform, to change" and ''che'', "people": "transformed people"), also called The Enchanted Ship, Barcoiche, The Ghost Ship, or The Warlocks' Ship, is a legendary ghost ship from Chilote my ...

. It is said that evil sea creatures must pay respect to the Millalobo as well as benevolent ones.

References

* Mitos y supersticiones, estudios del folklore Chileno recogidos de la tradición oral (1910) Imprenta universitaria y (1947) Editorial Nascimento, Autor Julio Vicuña Cifuentes, Santiago Chile * Nosotros los Chilenos, Chiloé mitos y leyendas (1972) Autor Nicasio Tangol, Editorialn Quimantu, Santiago de Chile * Chiloé Historia mitología medicina popular supersticiones artilugios y costumbres (1981) Imprenta Cóndor, Ancud * Tesoro Mitológico Del Archipiélago De Chiloé (1985) Narciso García Barría, Editorial Andres Bello, Santiago de Chile * Chiloé manual del pensamiento mágico y la creencia popular (1985) Renato Cárdenas A. y Catherine G. Hall, CastroChiloé * El Origen de un Archipiélago (1986), Héctor Véliz Pérez Millán, Editorial Menta Negra, Imprenta Rubin's Osorno * Chiloé mitológico (1987), Quintana Bernardo, Editorial Telstar Impresores, Temuco * Chiloé misterioso colección la voz de Chiloé (1992), Chilote Martínez Vilches, Turismo y mitología chilota, Editorial Publigrafica Ltda, Castro Chiloé, X región de los Lagos * El libro de la mitología de chiloé (1998)

Renato Cárdenas Renato Cárdenas Álvarez ( Calen, Dalcahue, 2 August 1949 - Ancud, 14 April 2022) was a Chilean historian, writer, poet and teacher. He has been part of the cultural movement Aumen, of which he was one of its founders together with Carlos Trujil ...

historias leyendas y creencias mágicas obtenidas de la tradición oral, Editorial ATELÍ, Vicente Reyes Nº 1290 Punta Arenas * "El Millalobo " Tomo # 2, Zona de Chiloé colección mitos y leyendas de Chile (2009) publicado por Icarito

La Tercera ''La Tercera'' ( es, The Third One), formerly known as ''La Tercera de la Hora'' ('the third of the hour'), is a daily newspaper published in Santiago, Chile and owned by Copesa. It is ''El Mercurio''s closest competitor. ''La Tercera'' is part o ...

{{Expand Spanish, Millalobo, date=February 2017 Chilote deities Sea and river gods Mythological human hybrids