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 Ceremonial dance may refer to: *Sacred dance *Ecstatic dance *Folk dance A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or d ...

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 mapudungun ''milla'': "gold" and the Spanish ''lobo:'' wolf in allusion to the sea lion) is an important being in Chilote mythology. He is the most powerful being of the sea after Caicai and was chosen by Caicai to be his rep ...

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

Sirena chilota Sirena(s) or La Sirena may refer to: Mythology *Siren (mythology) * Sirena (Philippine mythology), a mermaid of Philippine mythology People * Sirena Huang (born 1994), American violinist * Sirena Irwin, American voice director and actress * Sir ...

'' (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, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

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

Caleuche ''El Caleuche'' or The ''Caleuche'' (,), also known by other names such as ''Buque de Arte'' (the Magic Ship) or the ''Barcoiche'', is a legendary ghost ship from Chilote mythology in southern Chile. Nomenclature The ''Caleuche'' is also known ...

'', 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'', ''Neverworld Wake'', and ''Darkly''. Early life Pessl was born 1977 in Clarkston, Michigan, to Klaus, an A ...

's Night Film: A Novel. * The Pincoya is a playable character in the roguelike platform action-adventure game Abyss Odyssey. * Pincoya is the nickname of Jennifer Galvarini, who is one of the participants of the Chilean version of the reality show "Big Brother" (Gran Hermano, Chilevision, 2023)

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 p ...

(''Oceanites pincoyae'') was named after Pincoya. In 2019, star

HD 164604 HD 164604 is a single star in the southern constellation of Sagittarius constellation. It has the proper name Pincoya, as selected in the NameExoWorlds campaign by Chile, during the 100th anniversary of the IAU. Pincoya is a female wa ...

was officially named Pincoya after a poll organized by the

NameExoWorlds NameExoWorlds (also known as IAU NameExoWorlds) were various projects managed by the International Astronomical Union (I.A.U.) to encourage names to be submitted for astronomical objects, notably exoplanets. The accepted names would later be cons ...

campaign in Chile, during the 100th anniversary of the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

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-myth-stub