The 16 best Bolivian stories (history, origin and meaning)

The folk tales of the countries are part of the identity of the people who reside there, also becoming one of the main pillars of local culture. From narrations about the heroic deeds of different characters to myths that have been built from generation to generation, making locals proud and attracting tourists. Today we bring you a selection of the most famous Bolivian stories.

• We recommend you read: "15 short Latin American stories (beautiful and very inspiring)"

Great most popular Bolivian stories

As a result of that traditional inspiration, in this article we present below the best stories from Bolivia and the meaning behind them.

1. The cart from the afterlife

This legend takes place at night in the towns of Sur and Chilchi where the locals claim to hear the chirping of the axles of a cart and the strident sound of a whip in the air, unbalancing everyone's peace and plunging them into a state of terror. Some even claim to hear the gloomy wail of the carter.

‘If when a lightning struck the sky, the field suddenly lit up and the careful traveler had time and courage to take a look, the figure of the ghost cart was barely straining, as if made with wavy lines imprecise '

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The curious who looked out into the streets after hearing these supernatural noises, they could perceive with total horror that the cart was driven by a skeleton carrying a sickle or a whip, of evil expression with flames in their sockets just like the horned horses that pulled her.

2. The Devil's Cave of Potosí

With his name it indicates it, it is a cave through which it is said that the devil left his footprints, since there are strange dark marks that adorn the stones of it. This is located in Villa Imperial. Legend has it that this originated due to a horseman who seemed possessed, as took the lives of men without mercy and without any reason, for which the Jesuits took action to expel the evil one that inhabited it.

'Placing the saint and placing a large cross in the largest cave, no other misfortune was experienced again, and since then This Villa has great devotion to San Bartolomé and every year Spaniards and Indians go to celebrate their festival with great solemnity'

3. Chiru chiru

Chiru Chiru was known to be an elusive thief who lived in a cave and only went out to deliver what he took to the poor and therefore enjoyed the protection of the Virgin of Candelaria. It is said that one day a miner found this young man and he tried to rob him, but the miner managed to seriously injure him. When he returned with support to look for the thief, they found his body along with an image of the Virgin painted on the wall.

Legend states that The Virgin, when she saw the thief trying to rob the poor miner, she abandoned him and death was her punishment.

4. The plagues of Huari

This tale tells how the demigod ‘Huari’, who was also feared for believing that he was a monster, tried to punish the Urus for worshiping Pachacamaj. So he sends them a series of 4 plagues to repent and stop praising him. He sends snakes, lizards, ants and toads to destroy the entire city but does not achieve his mission thanks to the intervention of a ñusta, who turns the plagues into sand and stone.

Later, the ñusta would also be called as the Virgen del Socavón, giving rise to the Oruro Carnival celebrations for locals and Christians.

5. Isireri

This story is located in the province of Moxos, where a 9-year-old boy named Isireri accompanied his mother one day to wash clothes in a yomomo, at nightfall and finish with her work, her mother calls Isireri to return home but cannot find him anywhere, until he heard how he cried out for her desperate deep down of the yomomo. But suddenly he no longer heard anything. In an attempt to bring him back, he asked the locals for help, who were stunned by what they saw.

What was once the swamp, was filling with crystal clear water to become a lake. Unfortunately, the little boy never appeared and, as a commemoration, the chief of the tribe named the lake after him. It is said that since that day, the boy became a ‘jichi’ (protective spirit) in the form of an anaconda. Currently you can visit this lake in the province of Moxos.

6. Nina-nina's frustrated escape

This is an oral tradition among the locals of Oruro and belongs to the series of legends about the Carnival of the same. This recounts the fate of Anselmo Belarmino, known as the thief of Nina-nina, on a carnival Saturday in 1789. After praying to the Virgen de la Candelaria in an almost abandoned place that he only knows, he went to visit his lover Lorenza secretly, since her father had denied them the right to marry. So they decided to escape together.

However, the father discovers the intentions of the young men and, to prevent it, argues with Anselmo and seriously wounds him, taking his daughter away. Dying, the thief claims to see a beautiful young woman who helps him to go to the hospital. Once recovered, he decides to confess to the local priest and show him where the image of the Virgin is located and it is said that from there the devotion to the Virgen del Socavón begins.

7. Tribute to the mine

It is said that there is an unwritten law among all the inhabitants of Bolivia according to which, everyone who enters a hill must pay tribute to his uncle, both the countrymen and the miners. This story takes place at Mina Kerusilla near Casia, one of the most difficult to find, as it is surrounded by two hills and crossed a stream of the Kanki River where they claimed that gold nuggets could be found

A man who was always in the area, received the tired miners from his days and thanked him for "saving their lives" with food and fresh water. When the workers asked him why he did not leave the hill, he replied:

«The hill, to dispose of all the gold, only asks for a bushel of Quinoa. Each grain represents a person. " That is, she needed the equivalent of people for every grain of sand to get the gold. That is why he says that this mysterious mine will never be found and those who approach will receive the attack of condors and an illusion. endless that they are close but they will never be able to get there and the uncle who guards his mine and the gold in her.

8. The Jichi

The natives carry with them the ancient culture of their ancestors, especially the respect and belief for natural beings that are in the world to guide and care for us. And this story is one of them. It is said that the Jichi is a shape-shifting creature, coming from the Tucano culture, who in turn are the descendants of the Arawak and its most common form being that of a snake that roams the lowlands of Bolivia.

The locals say that this guardian lives in the rivers, wells and lakes of all Bolivia, watching over the care of nature. It is even stated that, as a punishment for the damage they do to Mother Earth, the Jichi leaves those waters and leaves behind a terrible drought. That is why we must pay tribute to him.

It is also said that if a person comes face to face with the snake, it steals your soul and leaves a person empty, aggressive and uncontrollable that no longer belongs to the world of the living.

9. The legend of the cantuta

It is said that once there were two great and powerful kings in the lands of Collasuyo that were part of the Inca empire, these were Illimani (king of the south) and Illampu (king of the north). His lands were abundant, rich and prosperous alike, but as time passed greed and envy woke up in the hearts of the leaders and they decided to conquer each other's land.

Both kings had their children: Astro Rojo (son of Illampu) and Rayo de Oro (son of Illimani) who, although They were young, they were extremely different from their parents, since in them the desire to live together in peace. However, after the merciless fight between the kings, both forced their children to take an oath of vengeance against their enemy and as leaders of their nation, they could not refuse.

Thus began a new fight between the sons of the kings, leaving both seriously wounded and repentant, but instead of cursing each other, they both apologized and died embracing in an act of reconciliation. Shaken, Pachamama cried out that she would punish the parents for forcing her children to such a vile act, turning them into mountains with snow.

From the tears of guilt of both kings, the earth began to fertilize, sprouting a beautiful tricolor flower (yellow, red and green) that would be called cantuta and would turn later in the national flower of Bolivia and Peru, as well as in a symbol of the peace of those land.

10. The guajojo

Locals who live in areas of the Amazon say that every evening the heartbreaking song of a bird known as guajojó, a cry so heartbreaking and horrible that it can leave a person on the brink of craziness. Legend has it that this bird was formerly a woman, daughter of the chief of her tribe, who fell in love with a man of her lands, the problem was that he was not worthy to marry her and keep the throne, according to the cacique.

So using her wizard skills, she murdered her daughter's suitor. Suspecting that something had happened, she went into an uncontrollable rage when she saw what her father had done. She threatened to report him to the tribe, but he was quicker and transformed her into a hideous bird to avoid punishment. Since then the guajojó sings for the lament of the loss of his love.

11. The origin of corn

This is another tragic love story that is very well known throughout the country. In the Kollana region (currently Collana, belonging to the Department of La Paz) there was a young couple from different tribes. Huayu was a man belonging to the ayllu de los Chayantas and his wife Sara Chojllu was from the ayllu de los Charcas. The custom of these times was to face each other in a tournament called champamackanacus, which served to ease the tension between both sides and see which was the most worthy.

When the day came, the wife implored Huayu not to go to the fight but he refused, since that would be dishonorable. Instead of staying calm and providing him with stones (a fighting instrument), she follows him to try to stop him. However, in the middle of the battle, an arrow was shot without a north (an instrument used by the other side), hitting her heart and killing her instantly.

It is said that he passed away with a smile on his face. Upon seeing her, Huayu burst into tears so deep that he fertilized the land where the grave of his wife and from which sprouted a strange plant with lance-shaped leaves as green as the eyes of Sara. She even seemed to be wearing the same yellow outfit as hers.

12. The legend of the Tuna

In his desire to explore unknown lands in his domain, the highest Inca authority ordered his best warrior, Apu, go on an expedition to bring new culinary ingredients and a report from the lands. However, he had to be careful because it was said that there was a huge snake that devoured without contemplation anyone who approached the distant lands.

Honored with such a request, Apu, the brave warrior formed a group of 30 men for the crossing, but once who arrived at the place, the snake was more cunning and discovered their intentions, so he cast a spell on them to eat them. Even so, the strongest warrior named Chunta, managed to regain his senses and set the cave on fire before leaving it.

Believing himself safe, he runs towards a plateau but the snake catches up with him and that is when something miraculous happens. Wiracocha, moved, sends the god Pachani Uruni to protect the warrior. This manages to transform the man into a huge cactus that manages to catch the snake and revive his companions. These managed to carry the head of the serpent so that it no longer caused any more concern and a segment of the plant that saved them and that later flourished in their lands.

13. Chiriguana legend

This original myth of the Churuguaros, belonging to the Tupí-Guaraní ethnic group and talks about creation and destruction, good and evil. He begins with two brothers, Tumpaete and Aguaratumpa. The latter possessed great envy towards his brother for the creation that he had made, humans, and for Taking revenge, he took advantage of an oversight of the God and sent a great fire that burned all the grasslands and forests.

Tumpaete advised them to go to the riverbanks where they could farm. However, Aguaratumpa this time sent a torrential of water that would become a deluge from which no one could be saved. Surrendered to fate, the God spoke to his children about his impending death but also told them that his race could survive if They chose the strongest boy and girl, children of the same mother to hide them in a giant mate and thus repopulate the earth one day.

With time and nature returning to normal, The children found Cururu, a huge toad who taught them fire and how to survive until they were adults and were able to bring the Churuguaros back to life.

14. The legend of the Locoto

It is said that a ruler of the Quechua Empire had his palace near the widows' courtyard, since he wanted to protect all the orphans in his kingdom. One day she met a cheerful and lively boy named Locoto who stole the Inca's heart and invited him to live with him, unleashing the envy of the wives as they saw that the king never treated with such love and devotion his own children.

So they devised a plan to get rid of the boy before he was declared as heir. One day, when the Inca left without the child, the wives commissioned an Aymara muleteer to disappear Locoto. When the Inca returned and did not find the child, the wives in feigned tears told him that he had fallen down a ravine where his clothes and bones could still be seen.

Desperate, the king orders that the remains of him be brought and when he sees them he does not notice the deception but rather joins in lament and she locks up in her room without eating and drinking, until one day she observes the plant that was entangled in the child's clothes Y decide to eat its fruits that unleashes in him an uncontrollable burning that only calms with chicha but that later unleashes an inhuman need to eat.

Thus the subjects sow this mysterious plant, because the king did not want to eat anything other than his fruits, which he called Locoto in honor of his son who died of him. Eventually, she withdrew and left the kingdom in the hands of her eldest son to await death. However, one day the chasquis arrive with terrible news about a powerful army commanded by a fierce warrior ready to conquer the empire.

Said and done, the presence of the king was then demanded because it was the tradition to assassinate the Inca when he lost his territory. He dressed himself in the typical elegant garb for the dead willing to accept his fate. However, death did not come. Instead, the warrior took the king's hands and knelt at his feet saying that he was Locoto. Thus both managed to rule the Inca Empire until its disappearance by the Spanish.

15. The legend of the Pachamama

This is perhaps the oldest and most traditional love legend of all. It is said that millions of years ago, the brother gods Pachacamac (the creator god of the world) and Wakon (the god of Fire and Evil) fell in love with the same young woman named Pachamama (mother earth), but it would be the god of heaven who married the young woman and with whom she would have two children, the twins Wilka.

Wakon, however, did not accept this fate and, in reproach, unleashed various catastrophes on earth. To avoid this, Pachacamac went down to earth where he faced and defeated him to later rule the world with his wife and children. as mortal beings, until the day of his tragic death where he drowned and became an island, leaving the world plunged into darkness.

Seeing this opportunity, Wakon transformed into a man who promised a solution for all. One day, he sent the twins for water to stay alone with Pachamama and try to seduce her. But when he failed to do so, he murdered her and her spirit then became the Cordillera de los Andes.

The bird that announces the sunrise, Huaychau warned the twins of the fate her mother had suffered and advised them to go to the cave to bind Wakon and escape. They did and on the way they met the fox Añas who watered them in her burrow and helped them set a trap for Wakon who, when he fell into it, died causing a great earthquake.

Moved by what happened, Pachacama sent a rope to bring his children with him, turning them into the sun and the moon, so that the earth never remained in darkness, while Pachamama stayed in the earthly world protecting nature.

16. Devil's church

This controversial church is located near Oruro, in the town of Belén, and is said to have been formed after a deal the devil made with the villagers to see who could finish a church. More specifically before the rooster crowed and if he was victorious, he could rule without any opposition.

They accepted the deal but would soon realize their mistake in underestimating the power of the devil. Then, with defeat looming, the locals began to pray. In the middle of this, an angel came down to help them, hiding the last stone that the devil needed to build his church and thus the villagers could finish their church before the evil one.

So far, both churches remain; one finished and the other with the tip to finish. It is said that no one will be able to finish building it because the tip will always fall off.