The 10 best short Bolivian legends

Bolivia is an Andean country full of history, folklore and beliefs of all kinds. Its culture is the result of the combination of that of the pre-Hispanic peoples with the Catholic beliefs of the Spanish who conquered the region back in the 16th century.

There are many Bolivian legends both indigenous and more modern. We have stories that tell us about pre-Hispanic gods, about the struggle between good and evil, Christians against the devil, and the origin of the well-known Bolivian coca. Let's discover several of these interesting Bolivian legends, which express the ideas, beliefs and values ​​of the society of this country.

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10 Bolivian legends to learn about the culture and folklore of the country

Bolivia is the result of the mixture between pre-Hispanic cultures and the contributions of the Spanish conquerors. In this country we can find all kinds of ethnic groups such as Quechuas, Chiquitanos, Guaraníes and Aymara, in addition to the Creoles descendants of the conquerors of the sixteenth century, which is why the official name of this country is the Plurinational State of Bolivia. There is no single national reality in the Andean country, but each person of each culture has their own vision of what his country is.

This cultural diversity is manifested in its rich folklore, which is far from being considered monolithic and homogeneous. Each region, city and ethnic group that inhabits this beautiful country has its beliefs, legends and stories told from generation to generation that make up its worldview. There are also more modern stories, which occurred during the 20th and 21st centuries, that speak of ghosts in hospitals and specters from beyond the grave.

Wherever we go, each corner of Bolivia will tell us different stories. Here we present our selection of 10 most interesting Bolivian legends.

1. Chiru chiru

Many Bolivians tell the story of the Chiru Chiru, a character from the culture of the Andean country who shares elements with the English Robin Hood, since he is known for robbing the rich to give to the poor, although this legend has a rather bitter ending.

People in Bolivia say that one day, a miner found Chiru Chiru stealing and badly wounded him before he managed to escape. Our character sought refuge after the attack, with such bad luck that this would be his last misdeed since, and according to With this brief history, the corpse of poor Chiru Chiru was found together with an image of the Virgin inside a cave.

Since then, that cave that was the last place where our Andean Robin Hood was has become a place of worship, a symbol of those who donate what they earn to those who need it most.

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2. The uncle

Mining in Bolivia has a long history. Started in the days of the Spanish colony, this type of activity has brought many benefits both for the old metropolis and for the current Andean republic.

However, it is also true that he has caused thousands of deaths, there are even those who speak of millions. Going down to the mine is a dangerous activity, and those who do so pay tribute to a supernatural power by placing figurines in their honor surrounded by beers, cigars and, even, sacrificed animals to whom the life of the miners protects when they are in their domains.

In the Potosí region, all the miners know the legend of “El Tío”, the one who says that he takes care of them when they are underground. The underworld is the domain of El Tío, which is nothing more than a euphemism to refer to the Devil. Those who believe in this legend consider that the domain of God does not reach underground and, therefore, the miners surrender to the Devil's tutelage when they are down there.

Worshiping El Tío, the men and, sadly also, the children who are exploited in the mines of Bolivia today hope to receive protection. As long as El Tío is happy, they can go home.

3. The Jichi

The Chiquitano, Mojo and Chané peoples believe in a guardian genius that can take various forms depending on who is telling it.. Some say that he is a toad, others that he is a tiger, although the most common manifestation in which this mythological being appears is in the form of a serpent. His name: the Jichi.

In its reptilian form, the Jichi has the appearance of a half snake and half saurian, with a thin, oblong and flat body and a hyaline color, so transparent that it blends with the waters where it lives. Its tail is long, narrow and flexible that helps the agile movements of its short and plump limbs, ending in simple nails joined by membranes.

The Jichi is a spirit that protects the waters of life and, therefore, likes to hide in rivers, lakes and wells, any place where you can drink a rich and fresh water. Water is a resource that must always be protected and well managed, a fundamental element for life that, when wasted, puts the Jichi in a very bad mood who will flee from those who misuse the Water. When he leaves, the water also goes with him and he leaves behind a withering drought.

The three towns always make sure to pay the proper tribute to the Jichi, knowing what happens if they don't make him happy. It is not necessary to spoil its environment by uprooting the aquatic plants that decorate its home, nor to remove the pochi granules that cover its surface. To annoy this guardian of the water is to risk the crops, the fishing and the survival of the peoples.

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4. Rain and drought

One of the oldest legends of the indigenous peoples of Bolivia is the one that tells that Pachamama, Mother Earth, and the god Huayra Tata, the god of the wind, were a couple. Huayra Tata lived at the top of the hills and the abysses and, from time to time, he would descend and empty Lake Titicaca to fertilize Pachamama, then letting the water fall causing it to rain.

This god sometimes fell asleep in the lake, which made the waters troubled. Despite this, he always returned to the peaks, which was his habitual abode of residence and, when he wished, he would visit the lake again to be able to become intimate with his partner again. This is the story that Bolivian groups tell to explain the reason for the rainfall, the ecological richness of their land and the water cycles.

5. Origin of corn

Long ago, the god Ñandú Tampa was walking through the Andes covered in green when he found twins playing alone in the mountains, whose names were Guaray (Sun) and Yasi (Moon).

The god, seeing them so jovial and full of life, considered that they would be a very good company for his father, the god Ñanderu Tampa, so before the children noticed his presence Ñandú caught them and flew away to give them to their father.

The mother of the children heard how her children screamed in despair as the unscrupulous god kidnapped him. She could not stop him and only gave him time to take her children by the thumbs of the foot, who stayed in her hands while the god Ñandú continued without stopping on his way to give the offering to Ñanderu Tampa

After a while, the father god spoke with Guaray and Yasi's mother in dreams. Through them she told him that her children were fine, and ordered him to sow the thumbs of her children. The woman obeyed the divinity and, after a long period of sun and rain, Spear-shaped plants began to sprout from the planted thumbs that gave fruits full of grains of all kinds of colors: yellow, white, purple, black ...

Ñanderu Tampa had gifted her mother with the corn plant in compensation for losing her children.

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6. The guajojo

Once upon a time, there was a young indigenous woman, as beautiful as she was funny, the daughter of a powerful chief of a tribe who lived in a clearing in the jungle. The girl, who never went unnoticed, was loved by a gourd from the same tribe, a love to which she also corresponded. The young man was handsome, brave, a warrior but also a very tender-hearted boy..

Knowing that her daughter loved and she was loved by a boy he did not believe worthy of her progeny, the old man Chieftain, who was also a powerful sorcerer, decided to end the love between the young people in the easiest and most effective. One day she called the lover of her daughter and, through his magical arts, took him to the thick of the forest where she ended her life without any regard..

As time went by, the young woman began to suspect her father's hatred for her boyfriend and, fed up of his absence, he decided to go in search of the man he loved by entering the depths of the jungle. There she discovered the remains of her lover and, filled with pain, she returned to her house to rebuke her father, threatening him that he was going to tell everyone about the vile murder she had perpetrated.

The old wizard, cowardly, decided to silence his own daughter by instantly transforming him into a night owl so that he could not tell the crime. But even though he succeeded in turning her daughter from human to feathered animal, she could not make her voice disappear and, now turned into a bird, the young woman emitted with deep sadness the lament for the death of her beloved.

Since then, when one enters the jungle of Bolivia, he can hear a sad and weak cry, capable of driving some men crazy. It is the guajojo, the bird that was once a beautiful young woman in love.

7. Legend of the Guaraní people

According to Guaraní mythology, long ago there were two brothers named Tupaete and Aguará-tunpa, gods of antagonistic powers.. The former was the personification of good and creation, while the latter was the embodiment of evil and destruction.

Aguará-tunpa, jealous of his brother's powers of creation, decided to burn all the fields and forests where the Guarani lived. To prevent this people from being left without protection, food and shelter, the good god Tupaete recommended this Tupi-Guaraní ethnic group to move to the rivers, where he believed they would find safety. This plan did not work, since Aguará-tunpa decided to make it rain throughout the region where the Guarani lived in order to drown them all.

Surrendered to the fate that his children were living on earth, Tupaete spoke frankly to them: they were all going to die. However, to save the race, he commanded this people to choose the two strongest sons from among them and, in order to save them from the impending flood, he placed them in a giant mate.

Thanks to this, the two brothers were protected while Aguará-tunpa flooded the land until he believed all the Guarani were extinct, after which he left the fields to dry up.

The children grew up and came out of hiding, surviving thanks to the fact that they encountered Cururu, a giant toad. that gave them fire to be able to heat up and cook food. The children lived protected by Tupaete and other Guarani spirits until, once adults, they were able to reproduce and regain their race.

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8. The ghosts of the La Paz clinic hospital

They say that the General Hospital of La Paz is a place frequented by ghosts, ghosts that leave their rest from beyond the grave to take a look around the rooms of the house of the sick and badly injured. There are many stories that are told about this place that, although by day it is friendly, at night it seems that it is enveloped by an aura of mystery and darkness, but it is especially interesting the one that happened to a nurse named Wilma Huañapaco, in charge of the Intensive Therapy room on the first floor of the building, who will never forget what happened a August 4th

Just five minutes before two o'clock in the morning, Huañapaco transcribed, like every night, the report of the condition of the patients. A really delicate task, so much so that she did not allow any mistakes and required that whoever carried it out was clear, awake despite how late it was.

But, suddenly, her body was invaded by a sudden heaviness that paralyzed her. She couldn't move her arms or legs, not even his eyelids. She had remained as in a vegetative state, absolutely motionless but well aware at all times.. Her despair at entering such a state led her to make a great effort to be able to turn around. Upon achieving this, she was able to see the silhouette of a tall man, outlined by an olive-green aura and without a head! that vanished in moments ...

When he told his companions, some of them were incredulous, but not so much. That hospital contains something, something mysterious within its walls. In fact, Wilma is not the only one who has seen apparitions in that mysterious place, nor is she the first to see the silhouette of a beheaded man.

Both some patients and some of the more veteran doctors in the place tell the story of a man who every night walks through the gardens near the hospital of the Thorax, heading to the morgue. Some have baptized it with the name of the Headless Horseman, although it has nothing to do with the famous story of the American writer Washington Irving.

9. The Devil's Cave of Potosí

The good people who live in the Villa Imperial de Potosí They believe that the dark spot found around the place is a trail left by the Devil after crashing on the rock..

According to legend, before the intervention of Saint Bartholomew, at certain times of the day people who heard calls from the cave were lost in its depths, to forever. Others say that a rider came out of it and, running at full speed, did not stop until he managed to tear an unfortunate passer-by to pieces.

To remedy this macabre situation, the Jesuits took action. They placed the figure of Saint Bartholomew and put a large cross in the Devil's cave to drive away the evil one whose powers were still in it. Since this Christian feat took place in colonial times, Spaniards, Creoles and indigenous people go every year to celebrate their feast with great solemnity.

10. The legend of Coca

Legend has it that, during the reign of the Inca Atahualpa, an old sage and priest called Khana Chuyma lived in the Temple of the Sun, on the island of Titicaca. At that time, the Spanish conquerors arrived in present-day Bolivia who, in search of gold, desecrated temples and subdued the indigenous people in some regions.

In order to prevent the sacred gold of the Sun from falling into the hands of the invaders, Khana Chuyma hid it in a place on the shores of the lake. and, daily, he went up to a watchtower to see if Pizarro's armies were approaching. That was what happened one day, watching them come from afar and, without wasting a second, the priest threw all the treasure into the depths of the waters.

When the conquerors arrived and learned that the priest had hidden the treasure, they set fire to force him to confess the whereabouts of so valuable booty, but Khana Chuyma stoically endured the torment and, as a true Andean saint, did not utter a word to protect the valuable offering for the gods.

Tired of torturing him, his executioners surrendered and left him dying in a field when they saw that he was of no use continuing the suffering since he was not going to confess. In the midst of his painful agony, the priest had a vision that same night: the Sun God Inti appeared to him, shining behind a mountain and said:

• My son, your heroic sacrifice to save the sacred offerings deserves to be rewarded. Ask me what you want, what you like the most, because whatever you want, it will be granted to you.

Khana Chuyma replied:

• Oh dear God, what else can I ask of You in this hour of mourning and defeat but the redemption of my race and the expulsion of the invaders?

The Sun replied:

• I'm sorry to tell you that what you ask of me is already impossible. My power against intruders is of no use anymore. His god has defeated me and I too must flee to hide in the mystery of time. But first I want to grant you something that is within my powers.

The priest said:

• If it is impossible to restore freedom to my people, my father, when we leave I ask you something that will help them endure slavery and the hardships that await them. I do not gold, nor wealth because I know that the invader will snatch it full of greed. I ask you for a secret consolation that will give mine the strength to bear the work and humiliation that the conquerors will impose on us..

The god Inti granted the priest's so noble and generous wish, answering him:

• I grant it to you. Look around. See those green oval-leaved plants that just sprouted? Tell yours to cultivate them, with great care, and that without hurting their stems, tear off the leaves, dry them and chew them later. Its juice is the balm of the sufferings that are to come.

The god told Khana Chuyma that this leaf was the remedy to alleviate hunger and cold, the harshness of the road, the humiliations of destiny.. He told her that it would be the coca plant that would help them survive such bitter times, and that throwing a handful of its leaves at random would reveal the mysteries of destiny.

These leaves were reserved for the natives to bring them health, strength and life, and were totally prohibited for the conquerors. If an invader tried to bite the blade, it would feel so bitter in his mouth, with a disgusting and perverted taste that the only thing he would achieve with it would be vices, pain and suffering. The coca plant is the sacred plant of the indigenous peoples of Bolivia, those who survived the conquest.