Tradition / Region: Chilean Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Cow
The Myth
In the rivers and lakes of southern Chile and Argentina there is said to live a dreadful creature known as the Cuero.
It is described as resembling a living bull’s hide, flat and wide, with no hair upon its body. Along its length runs a raised spine, while its edges are lined with hooked claws and sharp points. From its body extend broad fins, and behind it trails a long, whip-like tail. Its eyes, red and swollen, rise on stalks like those of a crab, watching the shores and waters where prey may come.
The Cuero waits quietly near the banks, most often at dusk. When an animal or person comes close, the creature glides forward and spreads itself over its victim like a blanket. Once it has covered them, it drags them beneath the water.
On the underside of its body lies a sucking mouth filled with small teeth. With this it drains the victim’s blood and moisture until nothing remains but a dried body.
People say the size of the Cuero varies, some being no larger than a small animal, others vast enough to cover a man entirely. It is feared wherever it dwells, for few can escape once it has closed upon them.
Only the most skilled shamans are said to be able to destroy one. They use thorny branches as bait, for when the Cuero attempts to seize the offering, the sharp spines pierce its body and hold it fast, making it vulnerable.
Thus the Cuero is remembered as a silent hunter of the waters, shaped like a hide yet alive, waiting beneath the surface for the moment to strike.
Gallery
Sources
Trincau, R. (1918). VII. El Indo y el Cuero. In S. R. de Saunière (Ed.), Cuentos populares araucanos y chilenos: recogidos de la tradición oral (p. 70). Santiago: Imprenta Universitaria.
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Cuero (leyenda). Wikipedia, from https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuero_(leyenda)
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive