Chiloé Archipelago

File:Chonos.JPG

Satellite image of southern Chile. Chiloé Archipelago is marked with red, Guaitecas Archipelago with light blue and Chonos Archipelago with dark blue.

Chiloé Archipelago (Spanish: Archipiélago de Chiloé) consists of several islands lying off the coast of Chile. It is separed from mainland Chile by Chacao Channel in the north, the Chilotan Sea en the east and Gulf of Corcovado to the southeast. All of the archipelago except Desertores Islands that are part of Palena Province forms the Province of Chiloé. The main island is Chiloé Island (Spanish: Isla Grande de Chiloé).

Culture

A small church near Chacao

In part because of its physical isolation from the rest of Chile, Chiloé has a very special architecture and local culture. The Spanish, who arrived in the 16th century, and Jesuit missionaries who followed, constructed hundreds of small wooden churches in an attempt to bring Christianity to a pagan land; the result was a mixing of Catholicism and pagan beliefs. These unique buildings have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Architecture

Main article: Chilota architecture

Roof shingles in a house of Dalcahue.

Chilotan architecture is a unique architectural style that is mainly restricted to Chiloe Island and nearby areas.

In part because of its physical isolation from the rest of Chile, and access to different materials, Chiloé has a very special architecture that differs a lot from the typical Spanish colonial architecture. The Spanish who arrived in the 16th century, and Jesuit missionaries who followed, constructed hundreds of small wooden churches in an attempt to bring Christianity to a pagan land; the result was a mixing of Catholicism and pagan beliefs. These unique buildings have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Nearly all the houses and buildings in colonial Chiloe were built with wood, and roof shingles were extensively employed. Roof shingles of Fitzroya came to be used as money and called "Real de Alerce". In the late XIX century a lot of palafitos (stilt houses) were built in cities like Castro and Chonchi.

Mythology

Main articles: Chilota mythology and Chiloé creation myth

Chiloé have a rich folklore with many mythological animals and spirits (the Caleuche, the Trauco, the Pincoya, the Invunche, etc.). Chilota mythology is based on a mixture of indigenous religions (the Chonos and Huilliches) that live in the Archipelago of Chiloé, and the legends and superstitions brought by the Spanish Conquistadores, who in 1567 began the process of conquest in Chiloé and with it the fusion of elements that would form a separate mythology. Chilota mythology flourished, isolated from other beliefs and myths in Chile, due to the separation of the archipelago from the rest of the Spanish occupation in Chile, when the Mapuches occupied or destroyed by all the Spanish settlements between the Bío-Bío River and the Chacao channel following the disaster of Curalaba in 1598.

According to Chilotan mythology the origin of the archipelago lies in a fierce battle between two serpents, Ten Ten-Vilu (ten="earth", vilu="snake") and Coi Coi-Vilu (Co="water", vilu="snake").