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.
La Voladora, as shown in the picture, is used by witches to send messages to each other, or to send bad omens to humans. The women who are selected to be La Voladora are ugly and obedient, and are either daughters of the witches or women who are loyal to the witches.
When witches need to use her service, la voladora is forced drink a special potion made with a plant and wolf oil.
Right after drinking this potion, the woman starts to vomit her guts and organs into a wooden container, which she hides. Then, she would transform into a kind of bird called bauda.
If the person designated by a witch to make certain offerings doesn’t agree to do so, la voladora has the right to kill them.
When she finishes her job, la Voladora flies back to find her guts and organs. After ingesting them, she returns to the human form. If an unfortunate Voladora couldn’t find her organs, she would be forever stuck in the form of a Bauda.
In the archipelago of Chiloé, people still hate seeing the Bauda. They avoid the birds because they can’t tell which ones are real Bauda, and which are voladoras who can’t transform back into human form.
Birds
Bars are one the animals most frequently used as spiritual symbols. Since they fly in the sky, birds are thought to be able to come closer to heaven than do humans on earth. They might be associated with a kind of power that humans cannot access, including the power to deliver curse on human-beings.
The sound of bauda is extremely terrifying, and hearing it signifies bad luck. The baudas, unfortunately, have thus become related to the mysterious and malevolent witches.
Witches
Since la Voladora is the witch’s tool, I want to take this chance to explore the archetype of witches in myths.
Unlike the sweet and gentle Mapuche princesses whom men pursue, the witches in Chilean mythology are feared, avoided, and hated. But aren’t people afraid of the which precisely because of her destructive power? A witch is not constrained by social expectations; she has the freedom and control to excise her black magic on almost anyone she wants.
For this reason, I’d rather be a witch than a princess.
Reference:
Chile travel. (2019, May 03). Retrieved July 03, 2020, from https://chile.travel/en/10-must-see-islands-of-the-chiloe-archipelago
Purrington, A., Published by Mr. Purrington Lifelong interest in Depth Psychology and the work of Carl Jung View all posts by Mr. Purrington, Purrington, P., Purrington, M., Lifelong interest in Depth Psychology and the work of Carl Jung View all posts by Mr. Purrington, & View all posts by Mr. Purrington. (2019, October 11). Birds in Alchemy... Retrieved July 03, 2020, from https://carljungdepthpsychologysite.blog/2019/11/10/birds-in-alchemy/
Picture Source: Pinterest
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