THE 10 MOST OUTSTANDING BOLIVIAN LEGENDS AND MYTHS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The main legends and myths of Bolivia integrate indigenous elements with Catholic beliefs. The most prominent are the guajojo, a bird that used to be a woman; the jichi, a guardian genius; and Chiru Chiru, a thief who helped the poor, among others.

Bolivia is a country characterized by its diversity and its mythology. Its culture has been formed from the influences of a great variety of ethnic groups that have inhabited its territory, and the imprint of European culture left by the Spanish colony.

Currently it is estimated that around 40 peoples inhabit this region. That makes Bolivian mythology so rich, complex and peculiar. Also contributing is the number of characteristics and traditions influenced by the varied geographical environments.

This Andean country, with a population of just over 10 million inhabitants, has to its credit ancient myths about natural phenomena such as rain and drought, and legends about life in the mines.

In Bolivian myths and legends the cultural syncretism that identifies them can be seen. There is even an overlap of indigenous beliefs and characters of the Catholic religion. In these stories an important part of the history and experiences of this town is reflected.

The 10 most popular legends and myths of Bolivia

1- Chiriguana legend

According to the Chiriguanas, a Tupí-Guaraní ethnic group that occupied Bolivian territories, the origin of this legend lies in the story of two brothers: Tupaete and Aguara-tumpa, good and evil, creation and destruction.

In distant times, Aguara-tumpa was jealous of his brother's creation and burned all the fields and forests where the Chiriguanos lived.

To protect them, Tupaete recommended that they move to the rivers, but his brother refused to surrender and made it rain until the entire chiriguania flooded.

Already surrendered to fate, Tupaete spoke to his children. They would all die. However, to save the race, he ordered them to choose the strongest two among all his children, to put them in a giant mate.

Thus, the two brothers remained protected until Aguara-tumpa believed all the Chiriguanos extinct and allowed the fields to dry up. The children grew up and came out of hiding.

The children encountered Cururu, a giant toad that gave them fire and allowed them to survive until they were old enough to reproduce and recover the Chiriguana race.

2- The guajojo

In the jungle, after the sun has fallen, the song of the guajojo is heard. They say it is almost a cry, a heartbreaking sound that leaves the listener upset.

Their song is heard in the jungle, in some regions of the Amazon. The guajojó is a bird, but according to legend, it was a woman before.

She was the daughter of a chief who fell in love with a man from the same tribe. Upon learning this, her father used her sorcerer powers to kill the suitor in the thick of the jungle for not considering her worthy.

When the Indian woman became suspicious of the prolonged absence of her lover, she went looking for him. Upon finding the remains of the crime, she threatened her father with reporting it to the tribe. To protect himself, the chief turned it into a bird. Since then she has been there crying the death of her loved one.

3- Origin of corn

One day the god Ñandú Tampa met some twins, Guaray (sun) and Yasi (moon), playing alone in the mountains. When he saw them he thought they would be good company for the father god Ñanderu Tampa and he quickly caught them and flew away to deliver them.

The mother listened to her children and ran towards them, but could not help but take them by the thumbs of her feet, which remained in her hands while the god Ñandú stubbornly continued on her way.

Some time later, the father god ordered the mother in a dream to sow the thumbs of her children. After a long period of sun and rain, large spear-shaped plants began to grow from the place where he buried the twins' fingers.

From these plants began to grow fruits with grains of different colors: yellow, white and purple, as a gift from the father god.

4- Rain and drought

The story goes that Pachamama (the earth) and Huayra Tata (the wind) were a couple. Huayra Tata lived at the top of the hills and abysses, and every so often he would descend and empty Lake Titicaca to fertilize Pachamama, then letting the water fall as rain.

When he fell asleep in the lake, the waters were disturbed, but he always returned to the peaks, which were his domain.

5- The jichi

Chiquitanos believe in a shape-shifting guardian genius. Although sometimes it is a toad and other times a tiger, its most common manifestation is that of the snake.

It protects the waters of life and for this reason it hides in rivers, lakes and wells. Sometimes, as a punishment for those who do not value this resource, they leave and leave the drought behind.

You have to pay tribute to the jichi, because if it gets upset it endangers the prosperity of the fishing and the survival of the peoples.

6- The mine keeper

"Uncle": this is how the protector of the underworld in Potosí is known. There, where the dominions of God do not reach, the miners have given themselves to the tutelage of the devil, whom they nicknamed "the uncle."

After centuries of mining started by the Spanish colony and countless deaths (said to have exceeded eight million), figurines can still be found in the corridors of the mines surrounded by beers, cigars and even animals sacrificed in adoration to the uncle, so that it protects them.

The risks for miners are very high. Some of the causes of death of these workers are the rudimentary protective equipment, the lack of oxygen, the possibilities of accidents and the constant threat of black lung disease.

Devil worship gives these men and boys the hope of protection. As long as the uncle is happy, they can go home.

7- Chiru Chiru

Chiru Chiru was a thief who lived in the mines, a kind of Robin Hood who distributed what he stole among the poor.

One day a miner found him stealing and injured him. They say that when they went to look for him in his cave, where he took refuge after the attack, they found his body along with an image of the Virgin. Since then, the Chiru Chiru cave has become a sacred place.

8- The destruction of Huari

An evil god named Huari decided to face the Uru tribe for having followed the path of good.

He sent plagues and monsters such as snakes and toads to destroy the population, but the Virgin of the Socavón came to his rescue and fought with the god until he fled and hid where no one else could find him.

9- Oboish

In Bolivia there are also beliefs about diseases similar to the evil eye, but deadly, called “oboish” or “malpuesto”.

This evil can only be cured by sorcerers who sold their soul to the devil. The remedies range from holy water to lashes with ribbons made from animal skin.

10- The goblins

The duende is a recurring character in Bolivian stories. Different versions speak of white clothes, hats and other particular outfits, but all agree that it is a child whose eyes show evil.

They say that he died before he was baptized and now he goes around doing mischief. Some stories claim that he has an iron hand and with it he hits whoever he meets; other stories associate it with murder.

References

1. Candia, AP (1972). Mythological Dictionary of Bolivia.
2. Koremango, R. (nd). Origin of the corn plant. Obtained from Educa: educa.com.bo
3. Lara, J. (sf). Surumi. The Friends of the Book.
4. Pierini, F. (1903). Mythology of the Guarayos of Bolivia. Anthropos, 703-710.