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Carbuncle (legendary creature)

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Carbuncle (Spanish: carbunclo, carbunco; Portuguese: carbúnculo) is a legendary species of small animal in South American folklore, specifically in Paraguay[1] or the mining folklore of northern Chile.[2] The animal is said to have a red shining mirror, like hot glowing coal, on its head, thought to be a precious stone.[1][1]

To the colonial Spaniards and Portuguese, the creature was a realization of the medieval lore that a dragon or wyvern concealed a precious gem in its brain or body (cf. § Early accounts).

Etymology

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Main article: Carbuncle (gemstone)

The English word carbuncle and the Spanish word carbunclo comes from the Latin carbunculus, meaning "little coal" (i.e. carbon).[2][5] Carbunclo is used to refer to ruby because this gemstone's shine is said to resemble the glow of hot coal.[6][5] However, it is garnet and not ruby that is said to have been the mineralogical identity of the so-called "carbuncle of the ancients".[1]

In turn, the creature was named after the red gem. It was around the 1600s, Spanish conquistadors[a] began to apply the name to a mysterious small animal they saw in South America.[1][2]

In Spanish, the forms carbunclo, carbunco are attested,[7][2] and rarely perhaps carbúnculo also.[2][b] The term carbunclo/carbunco could also mean "firefly".[12]

The creature may sometimes called farol (meaning "lantern"),[11] though this might be considered a separate creature of the lore of the La Plata area in Argentina.[13]

Sources

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Descriptions of the carbuncle came mostly from 17-19 century Spanish language sources which remained untranslated,[14] but an entry for "carbuncle" appeared in the English translated version of the Book of Imaginary Beings (1969) by Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges,[1] even though the entry on this creature was unincluded in the original Spanish edition.[4] Some later publication in Spanish, such as El Libro de la Mitología (1997/1998) by Chilean writer Renato Cárdenas.[5][14]

Early accounts

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The chaplain and explorer[c] Martín del Barco Centenera describes it in La Argentina (1602) as "a smallish animal, with a shining mirror on its head, like a glowing coal".[1][16] As explained in the Book of Imaginary Beings, this explorer Barco Centenera "underwent many hardships hunting the reaches of Paraguayan rivers and jungles for the elusive creature; he never found it."[1]

The mirror in the carbuncle's head was likened to two lights observed by Spanish explorers in the Strait of Magellan by another conquistador Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, who also commented the gem was reminescent of the legend about a gemstone supposedly hidden in the brains of a dragon. Oviedo probably had read from the dragon lore given by Isidore of Seville in the 7th-century Etymologiae.[1]

18th century

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Cover of Monstruo Prodigioso que apareceu no reino do Chile (1751)

In an account of the prodigious monster that appeared in the mountains of the Kingdom of Chile (published 1751), a group of men follow a moving source of light, which would dim and shine. One of the men explained his belief that "this light must come from some carbuncle [stone], often said to be the most precious stone in the world; [the stone] shone at night [lodged] on the head of a certain species of dragon, which was rarely caught, because it only grazed[?] at night by the light of that brilliant stone.. and when it sensed any noise, it covered the said stone with a membrane, which they had for that purpose, making everything dark.."[17] The village seniors, who dubbed the beast the "Bruto" ("brute") then discussed its capture in a trapping pit.[18]

Whether this beast should be considered the carbuncle monster per se, commentary on this beast has pointed to a connection between the Latin American carbuncle monster and the medieval lore that a vouivre (guivre≈wyvern) holds a carbuncle gem on its head.[21]

Friar Feijóo's Teatro crítico universal (1726–1739) writes on the current myth about a supposed creature with a "carbuncle" on its head, better called a "Astro Elemental" since it purports to be worth ten times as much as diamond. He believes travelers to the East invented or imported such fable that a King of Persia here or an Emperor of China there owned such a gem, but these were fabulous, and the gem was really only a (mined) ruby.[22] He also read Louis Moréri's encyclopedia entry under Dolomieu village that in 1680 a flying dragon had been slain which carried a carbuncle on its forehead.[23] Feijóo considered this a concocted old wive's tale or fable, but knows of a painting depicting the dragon of Dolomieu as cat-headed, and wonders if this might be the origin of the rumor, which he heard many times, of the animal with the carbuncle on its forehead bearing the shape of a cat.[22]

General description

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The description of the animal vary; and "no one ever saw it well enough to know whether it was a bird or a mammal, whether is had feathers or fur".[1][d] In Chile some say it moves like a firefly in the night.[2]

In Latin American lore, it is said to hold treasures inside so whoever manages to capture it will become wealthy. An alleged specimen seen in Ovalle on the Tulahuén hill in Coquimbo Region, Chile shone bright from the jewel and gold inside it.[25][26] Or else, such gemlike gleam is supposed to be a guiding beacon to naturally occurring treasures.[28] In Catamarca Province, Argentina, the carbunclo is considered an imaginary animal that emits a much light from its head, while many believed the light source to be a carbuncle (gem).[11]

In Tarapacá, it is said to look like a bivalve[e] with a strong white-blue shine from within the shell which can be observed from a distance 1 league away; this "bivalve" has an acute sense of hearing, so that it can quickly detect humans approaching, and clam up inside its hard shell, and be mistaken for a stone.[29][30] According to some, it is shaped like a corncob[f] but is articulated or jointed, and according to a witness who tracked it, it had bluish white light leaking from the joints, and had more than four limbs.[g][25][2]

It was a creature larger than a mouse but equipped with a hard shell, as crudely described by a certain laborer who was in too much of a hurry to kill it and seize the gold and riches from the shell before attracting the greedy notice of others. It is commented that the man got rich but science suffered the knowledge lost.[h][25][26]

During the great drought of 1924–25 there were reported sightings of carbunclos on moonless nights.[2] Around 1925 a family of carbunclos was seen descending from the mountain of Tulahuén towards Río Grande (Coquimbo Region).[2]

Chilote mythology

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In the Chilote mythology of southern Chile the carbunclo is said to be the "guardian of the metals".[2][31] Descriptions of it vary, from a luminescent small dog,[31] a luminescent bivalve,[31] a cat with a luminescent lock or tuft under its beard[i] or a greenish-red fiery light reminiscent of fireflies.[31] Varitation in color has been explained as the creature's property of taking on the color of the metal or treasure it is guarding.[5] Whoever becomes owner of the luminous beard is said to become free from poverty.[7]

The carbunclo is said to manifest itself at night around the Southern Hemisphere winter solstice (late June).[31][32]

Legend prescribes a certain method which needs to be followed in order to retrieve the carbunclo's treasure: First, a length of string, or a belt (or some personal belonging[5])[j] must be cast towards the carbunclo which will snatch it and disappear. The treasure seeker shall wait and return to the site in the morning before dawn, and search for signs of the thrown object, as the tail end of it should be sticking out of the ground to mark the buried treasure, and the spot will usually be the foot of a spiny calafate (Berberis microphylla, Magellan barberry) shrub.[k][31] The treasure seeker must wait again, until midnight, to dig it up in a certain prescribed way: with a new shovel in hand and in the company of an old widow holding a black cat. When he has dug a vara (Spanish yard) deep, he must throw the black cat into the hole, which will vanish, but soon reappear the woman's hands, and for each fresh yard dug, the cat must be tossed in again. If this ritual is not performed, the digger will die in the pit due to noxious gas. He must also not show any sign of fear the treasure will turn into rock.[31][32]

Brazilian or Guarani mythology

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In the state Rio Grande do Sul of Brazil, the lore of the carbúnculo as a fabulous animal and provender of riches[l] had formed around the time of conquest, and was spread through missionaries. Conflation with this tradition may have created the mythical lizard known in the Guarani languages as the teiniaguá [pt][m], though others only concede vaguely that there was some sort of Christian influence on the lore of the teiniaguá in Guarani mythology.[37]

The notion that the "red devil" (Portuguese: anhangapitã, Spanish: añangapitanga[n]), the Andean carbunco (Portuguese: carbúnculo) and the teiniaguá of the missionaries are the same creature by different names was held by Spanish philologist Daniel Granada,[38] but the insistence on equating the three has faced criticism.[39] A connection between the carbúnculo and the mythical Guarani serpent mboitatá [pt] has also been proposed by Granada and Carlos Teschauer [pt], but refuted by Câmara Cascudo who didn't think the serpent was connected with gold.[39] Or else, Granada or Teschauer had thought the golden lizard (lagarto-de-ouro) from the Mãe-do-Ouro cycle could be connected to the carbunco.[36]

Rational explanations

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According to some, the carbuncle is explainable as a bivalve mollusk which glows because of bioluminescence from the "cauquil" (Noctiluca scintillans) or fireflies.[31]

In games

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The carbuncle is a stock monster character in the Final Fantasy series of RPG game-playing, and "appears as a small creature, fox- or squirrel-like, with green or blue fur, depending on the game".[14] It also appeared in the game Madō Monogatari and Puyo Puyo, the latter having reused many of the monster characters from the former.[14]

See also

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  • Alicanto – Bird from Chilean mythology
  • ryū no agito no tama wo toru (竜の頷の珠を取る, lit. 'taking the jewel from the dragon's jaw/chin') - a sinetic synonym is riryō ganka no tama (驪竜頷下の珠, lit. 'jewel below the jaw/chin of the lilong dragon')

Explanatory notes

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  1. ^ That is to say, 1602 book by Centenera, whom Borges considers a conquistador, since he calls Oviedo "another conquistador".
  2. ^ The diacritically marked form carbúnculo may be left out, since this seems mostly used as a medical term i.e., "anthrax"[8] or the red tumor resultant[9] in 19th century publications. The English term "carbuncle" can also refer to anthrax or the red tumor caused by it. Sometimes the accented form denotes the gem.[10]
  3. ^ A conquistador according to Borges who calls Oviedo "another conquistador".
  4. ^ The legendary shiny winged bird, the alicanto, which leads ones to a cache of treasure, may be commingled or conflated with the carbuncle.[13] And in the 1751 text, the creature was thought to be a flying dragon.[24]
  5. ^ The phrase "bivalve (bivalvo)", which indicates a mollusc, was not explicitly used originally by Vicuña. See quote below.
  6. ^ Spanish: choclo, hence "corncob", though possibly better rendered as corn on the cob or maize ear
  7. ^ The witness named as Eulogio Rojas, in the year 1879.
  8. ^ Allegedly caught by Gaspar Huerta, making a canal in Las Tunas in Quile (i.e., in Coquimbo Province [es]) The location is south of La Serena, Chile according to Montecino, who (citing Vicuña 1947) writes as if the man forgot everything, but even though the man did not notice the fine details and disposed of the carcass quickly to escape notice, and quoted as saying «era más grandecito que un ratón y que tenía concha» in Vicuña 1915 (after Silvestre 1904)
  9. ^ Cavada (1914): "de la barba un mechón luminoso",[7] "en la barbilla un mechón luminoso"[2]
  10. ^ Winkler calling it a "lasso"[32] appears to be embellishment.
  11. ^ There is a Calafate (myth) [es] about its origin attached to this plant.
  12. ^ propiciador de riquezas
  13. ^ Spelling forms: teiuiaguá,[33][34] teiniaguá,[35] Or teiú-yaguá,[36] also "teyuyaguae[s]" by Granada.[36]
  14. ^ Translated meaning in Portuguese: "Diabo Vermelho", from Guarani: anhangá 'spirit, devil' + pinta 'red'

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Borges, translated by di Giovanni (1969),[3] quoted by Alelano (2014).[4]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Montecino Aguirre, Sonia (2015). "Carbunclo (Carbunco, Carbúnculo)". Mitos de Chile: Enciclopedia de seres, apariciones y encantos (in Spanish). Catalonia. p. 130. ISBN 978-956-324-375-8. Reprint 2017 (unpaginated)
  3. ^ Borges, Jorge Luis; Guerrero, Margarita (1969). "Carbuncle". Book of Imaginary Beings. Translated by di Giovanni, Norman Thomas. Dutton. pp. 51–52.
  4. ^ a b Arellano, Ignacio [in Spanish] (2014). "Un pasaje oscuro de Góngora aclarado: el animal tenebroso de la Soledad primera (vv. 64-83)" (PDF). Criticón (in Spanish). 120–121: 227.
  5. ^ a b c d e Cárdenas, Renato (1998). "Carbunclo". El libro de la mitología: historias, leyendas y creencias mágicas obtenidas de la tradición oral (in Spanish). Punta Arenas: Editorial Atelí. p. 42.
  6. ^ Montecino citing RAE 1992 (Real Academia Española)[2]
  7. ^ a b c Cavada, Francisco Javier [in Spanish] (1914). "Carbunco o Carbunclo". Chiloé y los chilotes: estudios de folk-lore y lingüistica de la provincia de Chiloé (república de Chile) accompañados de un vocabulario de chilotismos y precedidos de una Breve reseña histórica del archipiélago ... Revista de folklore chileno 5 (in Spanish). Imprenta universitaria. p. 430.
  8. ^ e.g. Littré, Emile (1893 )Dictionnaire de médecine: Glossaire Espagnol, s.v. "Carbúnculo"
  9. ^ Nuevos elementos de cirujía y medicina (1846). 1: 212, s.v. "Carbúnculo"
  10. ^ Barcia, Roque (1880) Primer diccionario general etimologico de la lengua espanola s.v. "Carbunclo" 1, 2 and "Carbúnculo"
  11. ^ a b c Cavada, Francisco Javier [in Spanish] (1915). "Breve Estudio Lingüístico". Boletín de la Academia Chilena correspondiente de la Real Academia Española (in Spanish). 1. "Carbunclo". p. 400.
  12. ^ Cavada (1914), p. 307 and Cavada (1915)[11]
  13. ^ a b Vicuña Cifuentes, Julio [in Spanish] (1914). "Mitos y supersticiones recogidos de la tradición oral chilena". Revista chilena de historia y geografía (in Spanish). 9 (13). I. El Alicanto, pp. 399–401. (= Reprint 1915, pp. 1–2).
  14. ^ a b c d Escande, Jessy (2023). "Foreign Yet Familiar: J. L. Borges' Book of Imaginary Beings and Other Cultural Ferrymen in Japanese Fantasy Games". Games and Culture. 18 (1): 8–9. doi:10.1177/15554120211060258.
  15. ^ de Angelis, Pedro, ed. (1910) [1836]. "La Argentina o la Conquista del Rio de la Plata, Poema Histórico por el Arcediano D. Martin del Barco Centenera". Coleccion de obras y documentos relativos a la historia antigua y moderna de las provincias del Rio de la Plata (in Spanish). Vol. 2 (2 ed.). J. Lajouane & cia. pp. 197–198.
  16. ^

    «Y no lejos de aquí, por propios ojos,
    el carbunclo animal veces he visto.
    Ninguno me lo juzgue por antojos,
    que por cazar alguno anduve listo.
    Mil penas padecí, y mil enojos,
    en seguimiento de él, ¡mas cuán bien quisto
    y rico y venturoso se hallara
    aquel que Auagpitán vivo cazara!

    Un animalejo es, algo pequeño,
    con espejo en la frente reluciente
    como la brasa ignita en recio leño,
    corre y salta veloz y diligente.
    Así como le hirieren echa el ceño
    y entúrbiase el espejo de repente,
    pues para que el carbunclo de algo preste
    en vida el espejuelo sacan de éste.

    ¡Cuán triste se halló, y cuán penoso
    Rui Díaz Melgarejo! Que hallado
    había, a mí me dijo, de uno hermoso;
    perdiolo por habérsele volcado
    una canoa en que iba muy gozoso.
    Yo le vi lamentar su suerte y hado
    diciendo: «si el carbunclo no perdiera,
    con él al Gran Philipo yo sirviera».

    — Martín del Barco Centenera, Canto III, La Argentina[15]
  17. ^ Costa (1751), p. 10: "aquella luz devia ser de algum Carbunculo, do qual muitas vezes tinha ouvido contar que era huma pedra a mais preciosa que havia no mundo, e resplandecia de noite, e que esta se achava na cabeça de huma certa especie de Dragões, que rarissimamente se apanhavão, porque só pastavão de noite à luz daquella brilhante pedra, que em si tinhão; e que em sentindo qualquer rumor, cubrião a dita pedra com huma membrana, que para isso tinhão, e sicando tudo escuro.."
  18. ^ Costa (1751), p. 12, quoted by Ramos (2005), p. 352.
  19. ^ Ramos, Ana Margarida (2005). Os monstros na literatura de cordel portuguesa do século XVIII (PDF) (Ph.D.) (in Spanish). Universidade de Aveiro. p. I. El Alicanto, pp. 399–401.
  20. ^ Izzi, Massimo (1996): Diccionario Ilustrado de los Monstruos (ángeles, diablos, ogros, dragones, sirenas y otras criaturas del imaginario), Palma de Mallorca, José J.de Olañeta Editor, p. 94
  21. ^ Ramos (2005), note 357,[19] quoting Izzi (1996) on "basilisco"[?][20]
  22. ^ a b Feijóo, Benito Jerónimo (1781). "Discurso Secundo §VI. Carbunclo". Theatro critico universal. Revista de folklore chileno 5 (in Spanish). Vol. 2. Madrid: por Blas Román, Impressor de la Real Academia de Derecho español y Público. pp. 49–50.
  23. ^ Moréri, Louis (1689). "Dolomieu". Le grand dictionnaire historique (in French). Vol. 3. Paris: Chés Denys Thierry. p. 466. Cf. 1732 edition
  24. ^ Costa (1751).
  25. ^ a b c d Vicuña Cifuentes, Julio [in Spanish] (1915). "Mitos y Superstiones recogidos de la tradición oral chilena (Conclusion)". Revista chilena de historia y geografía (in Spanish). 15 (19). "XL. El Carbunclo". pp. 404–406. Quoted from: Silvestre, José (19 February 1904). "Algo de mitología zoológica en Ovalle" El Obrero (of Ovalle).
  26. ^ a b Montecino citing Ponce (2001),[2] apparently Ponce Castillo, Bartolomé (2001) "Barrenado". 9°Concurso de Historias y Cuentos del Mundo Rural, de FUCOA.
  27. ^ Coluccio, Félix [in Spanish] (1966). "El Caleuche". Enciclopedia folklórica americana e ibérica (in Spanish). L. Lasserre. p. 31.
  28. ^ Coluccio (1966),[27] and later Montecino citing Coluccio (1999)[2].
  29. ^ Vicuña: "This animal is described as being made up of two shells or valves, which can open and close, with the glow or fire in the hidden central part. The light is very bright, blue-white and visible for more than a league este animal como compuesto de dos conchas o valvas, que puede abrir y cerrar, teniendo el brillo o fuego en la parte central oculta, etc.".[25]
  30. ^ Montecino citing Plath (1973) and Ugalde (1993)[2]
  31. ^ a b c d e f g h Quintana Mansilla, Bernardo (1972). "El Carbunco". Chiloé mitológico (in Spanish).; Reprint 1987, pp. 75–76.
  32. ^ a b c Winkler, Lawrence (2015). Stories of the Southern Sea. First Choice Books. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-9947663-8-0.
  33. ^ Meyer, Augusto [in Portuguese] (1975) [1961]. Guia do folclore gaúcho (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Queluz de Baixo: Editorial Presença. p. 60.
  34. ^ Laytano, Dante de [in Portuguese] (1984). Folclore do Rio Grande do Sul: levantamento dos costumes e tradições gaúchas. Coleção Temas gaúchos 30 (in Portuguese). Porto Alegre: Escola Superior de Teologia São Lourenço de Brindes. p. 310. ISBN 9788570610133.
  35. ^ Laytano (1984), p. 254.
  36. ^ a b c Meyer (1975), p. 173.
  37. ^ Leal, Ondina Fachel (1989). The Gauchos: Male Culture and Identity in the Pampas. University of California, Berkeley. p. 141.
  38. ^ Meyer (1975), pp. 29, 173.
  39. ^ a b Leite, Ligia Chiappini Moraes [in Portuguese] (1988). No entretanto dos tempos: literatura e história em João Simões Lopes Neto. Coleção Leituras (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Martins Fontes. p. 167.

Bibliography

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