Located in southern Chile, the Chiloé Archipelago is formed by more than 30 islands filled with natural beauty, a rich mythology, and unique cultural traditions.
El Ruende is a black dog with a nose shaped like a long shiny tube. The dog has the mission to help ugly men to find spouses by mesmerizing the women they love.
El Ruende feels compassion towards these men because the dog itself is ugly. It never helps women, however, because it was believed that only men can be ugly.
To use the service of El Ruende, an ugly man has to first buy the formula from witches. The witches would then tell the man to go wait underneath a tree that grows by the water. At twilight, the man would call for El Ruende.
El Ruende usually appears at four in the morning. It hides in the shadows because of its ugly appearance. After the ugly man tells the dog the name of the girl and where she lives, El Ruende runs towards that direction. Once it gets close, the dog hides in the bushes. It then uses magic to hypnotize the girl, who would sleepwalk to the dog, kiss his nose, and drink his saliva. This deprives the girl of the ability to control her own will. Even though the girl would look sad, she is compelled to follow El Ruende.
Eventually, the dog would lead the girl back to the tree where the ugly man awaits. The girl can’t see how ugly the man is because of the magic of the dog. She now can only see the good features of the man, and she would feel satisfied with marring him.
El ruende is more than just a story about a dog that seduces girls for ugly men. It reflects that once women lacked control over their marriages. The story belongs to a society where women didn’t have much freedom to choose who to marry.
Although now it's different, other people's opinions played a big role in determining a girl's marriage. This tradition assumes the form of el ruende. While some girls accepted that they couldn't marry the men they love, others were unwilling to give up their freedom. Most of the time, though, the women had to get married whether they like the arrangements or not. This resonates with the part of the story when the hypnotized girl feels compelled to follows el ruende despite the tears on her face.
At the end of the story, the girl can’t see the ugliness of her husband anymore. In reality, this corresponds to when a girl had finally accepted the reality that she would not be able to pursue true love. She had become numb. She might even have convinced herself to love her husband.
We’re glad that the girl isn’t miserable anymore at the end of the story, but that she can’t choose her happiness is still a tragic realization.
Reference:
Chile travel. (2019, May 03). Retrieved July 03, 2020, from https://chile.travel/en/10-must-see-islands-of-the-chiloe-archipelago
Gragko. (2016, February 08). El Ruende. Retrieved July 06, 2020, from https://gragko.blogspot.com/2016/02/el-ruende.html
El Ruende. (n.d.). Retrieved July 06, 2020, from http://mitosyleyendasdeamerica.blogspot.com/2009/10/el-ruende.html
Picture Source: Pinterest
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