Kalku or Calcu, in
Mapuche mythology, is a
sorcerer or
witch
Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...
who works with
black magic
Black magic (Middle English: ''nigromancy''), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of Magic (paranormal), magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes.
The links and interaction between black magic and religi ...
and negative powers or forces. The essentially benevolent shamans are more often referred to as ''
machi'', to avoid confusion with the malevolent kalku. Its origins are in
Mapuche
The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...
tradition.
The word kalku is a borrowing from
Puquina language
Puquina (or Pukina) is an extinct language once spoken by a native ethnic group in the region surrounding Lake Titicaca (Peru and Bolivia) and in the north of Chile. It is often associated with the culture that built Tiwanaku.
Remnants of Puqui ...
.
Its adoption by Mapuches fits into a pattern of parallels in the Mapuche and Central Andean cosmology (
Inca religion) dating back to the times of
Tiwanaku Empire when Puquina was an important language.
Description
The ''kalku'' is a semi-mythical character that has the power of working with '' wekufe'' "spirits or wicked creatures". An example of a ''wekufe'' is the Nguruvilu. The ''kalku'' also have as servants other beings such as the Anchimayen
The Anchimayen (in the Mapudungun language, also spelled "Anchimallén" or "Anchimalguén" in Spanish) is a mythical creature in Mapuche mythology. Anchimayens are described as little creatures that take the form of small children, and can transfo ...
, or the Chonchon (which is the magical manifestation of the more powerful ''kalku'').
A mapuche ''kalku'' is usually an inherited role, although it could be a ''machi'' that is interested in lucrative ends or a "less powerful", frustrated ''machi'' who ignores the laws of the admapu (the rules of the Mapuches).
In popular culture
Kalku is the main antagonist of 2020 Annecy nominated Chilean-Brazilian featured animated film Nahuel and the Magic Book
''Nahuel and the Magic Book'' () is a 2020 Traditional animation, animated fantasy-adventure coming-of-age film produced by Carburadores, co-produced by Chilean Punkrobot Studios and Brazilian Levante Films and directed by Germán Acuña Delgadil ...
created by Carburadores and German Acuna.
See also
*Cacique
A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...
* Warlock of Chiloé
References
*Ana Mariella Bacigalupo.Shamans of the foye tree: gender, power, and healing among Chilean Mapuche. University of Texas Press, 2007. ,
*Alberto Trivero. Trentrenfilú, Proyecto de Documentación Ñuke Mapu. 1999. (in Spanish).
External links
*http://www.mapuche.info/mapuint/Moylan990400.html
Mapuche mythology
Chilote legendary creatures
Mythic humanoids
Mythological characters
Witchcraft in folklore and mythology
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