Paraguayan Myths

As the subject came up again recently, I found it hard to believe I have never shared Paraguayan myths with you all! Just as we have Big Foot and the Boogeyman, Paraguay has its own set of strange man/myths that they talk about. I have found, however, that Paraguayans take these myths much more seriously than I think we in the states take ours. I remember learning about them in training and cracking up as Aurelio, my language teacher, told me about their characteristics. Then when I got my first puppy and wanted to name her Pombero and all my neighbors freaked out, I decided to delve a little deeper into these myths. And after Friday night, when I think I may have had an encounter with sir Pombero himself, it became apparent that these myths are too good to simply not share with you all! So – Here are some breif summaries of the 5 most common myth creatures in Paraguay. (All the summaries are based on what my language teacher taught me. Guarani is primarily a spoken language, so the tales vary.)

Kurupi – Kurupi is short, ugly, and hairy. He lives in the forest and is considered to be the protector of fertilization. Unwanted pregnancies are often blamed on him. He is most recognizable by his incredibly long penis, which he wraps around his waist several times like a belt. 

Kurupi

Pombero – The most famous of the myths. Don’t you dare mention his name at night, because it’s an invitation for him to come. He is great at imitating a birdsong, and lures people to him with it. If you leave out tobacco and caña (sugar cane liquor), you will be friends with him. You have to remember to put it out every night, though!

Pombero

Jasy Jatere – Famous and recognizable for its gold snake. If kids are playing too close to his forest after lunch (during the siesta hour), he will capture them and they will never return.

Jasy Jatere

Luisón – Eats the dead on Tuesday and Friday nights. He also captures people to take them to the cementary, and then eats them.

Luisón

Ao Ao – Protector of the hills. When the men go to hunt animals in the hills, he is there to protect the animals.

Ao Ao 

And as for what happened Friday night… Around 10pm I start to hear whistling outside of my house. Assuming it was the town drunk, I rolled over and tried to fall back to sleep. Then, my dog starts barking like a mad man. She was the only dog barking. I ended up bringing her inside to quiet her down, but the whistling went on for around 45 minutes. The next day, I talked to my neighbors on both side, and neither heard a thing. Then I talked with a family I was visiting, and I end up leaving their place with holy water, a rosary, and with clear instructions to leave tobacco and caña outside my house. That evening, I mentioned the story to Silvia, and she goes “Pombero! He was at my house Tuesday!” Soooooooo. I have a short creepy creature lurking around my community. Do I believe in him? Sort of. Enough to definitely think the circumstances we’re weird, but not enough to use the holy water, rosary, tobacco, or caña.

Happy Monday! On a happy note – meet my newest neighbor, Matias Duarte Vallejos! He is 5 days old today and unbelievably precious. 

Matias and Fatima