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 pure, she personifies the fertility of marine species. Through her ritual dance she provides the ''chilote'' (resident of Chiloé) with an abundance or deficiency of fish and seafood. If she performs her dance facing the sea, it means that these shores will have an abundance of fish. When she dances facing the mountains, her back to the sea, seafood will be scarce. Chiloean mythology is appreciative of the Pincoya, believed to be good, beautiful and humanitarian. According to other legends, Pincoya is the daughter of

Millalobo Millalobo (from the Mapuche language, mapudungun ''milla'': "gold" and the Spanish language, Spanish ''lobo:'' wolf in allusion to the South American sea lion, sea lion) is an important being in Chilote mythology. He is the most powerful being of ...

(king of sea, in chilote mythology) and the human Huenchula. Her sister is the ''

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 i ...

'' (a type of

Mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes ass ...

) and her brother is ''

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 an ...

'' (who also is her husband). The three siblings lead and guide the drowned sailors onto a large phantom ship, ''the

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 m ...

'', sailing the seas at night around the southern island of Chiloé in southern Chile. The ship appears briefly intact with sounds of a party on board, but quickly vanishes. Myth has it that, once on board, the dead can resume an existence as if they were alive again.

Media

* The Pincoya appears various times in ''The Luke Coles Book Series'' by American author Josh Walker. She is first mentioned in Josh Walker's 2014 novel, ''Luke Coles and the Flower of Chiloe''. In ''Luke Coles and the Forest Assassin'' she brings the spirits of shipwreck victims to the Caleuche before returning to the ocean. * It is also mentioned (along with this article) in

Marisha Pessl Marisha Pessl (born October 26, 1977) is an American writer known for her novels '' Special Topics in Calamity Physics'', '' Night Film'', and ''Neverworld Wake''. Early life Pessl was born in Clarkston, Michigan, to Klaus, an Austrian engineer ...

's Night Film: A Novel. * The Pincoya is a playable character in the roguelike platform action-adventure game Abyss Odyssey.

Scientific name use

In 2013, the newly discovered

Pincoya Storm Petrel The Pincoya storm petrel (''Oceanites pincoyae'') is a sea bird of the storm petrel family. The specific name commemorates the Pincoya, a female water spirit of the Chilote mythology. After being first brought to the attention of the world from ...

(''Oceanites pincoyae'') was named after Pincoya. In 2019, star HD 164604 was officially named Pincoya after a poll organized by the

NameExoWorlds NameExoWorlds (also known as IAU NameExoWorlds) is the name of various projects managed by the International Astronomical Union (I.A.U.) to encourage names to be submitted for astronomical objects, which would later be considered for official ad ...

campaign in Chile, during the 100th anniversary of the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...

References

* Martinez Vilches, Oscar, ''Chiloe Misterioso'' (in Spanish). Pub. Ediciones de la Voz de Chiloe (circa 1998) Chilote legendary creatures Chilote deities Sea and river goddesses Water spirits Female legendary creatures {{Chile-stub