#cherruve

[draconesmundi]

Smaugust Day 27: Fire

Introducing a ‘new’ dragon, the ‘flaming serpent’. This was inspired by comments on my last boitatá artwork by James-Silvercat (see here) talking about the version of the boitatá legend wherein the serpent is literally on fire.

There are lots of serpents on fire in the Americas, there is the great Gaasyendietha from Seneca mythology up in Lake Ontario in the USA, the boitatá in Brazil, and the Cherruve from Chile (A Book of Creatures covered it here), so I thought having a ‘flaming serpent’ species with many subspecies would be the best way to handle this.

The flaming serpent is a species of ‘feathered’ serpent, similar to the coatl. The ‘feathers’ are actually long thin scales called ‘psuedopennae’, and while the coatl has a green/blue iridescence, the flaming serpent has an black-gold-red iridescence, similar to some hummingbirds: 

(Gif of a Rufous Hummingbird - Selasphorus rufus - by stiekemekat)

The dragon can appear a dull brown or black until the light catches it in a certain way, and as it wiggles flashes like golden fire run down it’s body. They undulate as they swim or fly, like a living flame.

The shape of the scales can produce a whistling sound when the dragon is in flight, similar to the Mapuche legends of the peuchen, a blood-sucking flying serpent (and possibly yet another flaming serpent subspecies). This dragon will still have the spooky reflective eyes, but probably won’t have the bio-luminescent tail.

I am using this Smaugust prompt: https://draconesmundi.tumblr.com/post/625107202033778688

[gotojobin]

Cherruve #Cherruve #Cheruvoe #Cheurvoe #Cheurvue #Cherufe #MerryChristmas #happyholidays Cherruves are also capable of feeling more human emotions. One cherruve married a Cloud, and their beautiful daughter, ethereal and pale, was Snow. Despite the cherruve’s jealous attempts to keep his wife under lock and key, she was abducted by his mortal enemy Wind. Every now and then Wind would blow Cloud over the volcano, and her tears became rain, while the cherruve’s own despair turned into destructive eruptions. The cherruve redoubled his efforts to protect Snow, and kept her from leaving the mountain during the daylight hours. Snow’s curiosity about the world outside continued to grow, and one day she finally managed to escape her father and climb out into the light. She marveled at the sun, the songs of birds, the colors, all infinitely beautiful and unknown to her. The longer she stayed outside, the happier she was, and yet the weaker she felt. Her mother tried to protect her, but the spiteful Wind carried the Cloud away. When Snow sat down, exhausted, the love-stricken Sun came down to give her a kiss. When the cherruve finally caught up with his daughter, he found nothing but a puddle of crystalline water. Faron, L. C. (1964) Hawks of the Sun. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh. Guevara, T. (1908) Psicolojia del pueblo araucano. Imprenta Cervantes, Santiago de Chile. Latcham, R. E. (1924) La organización social y la creencias religiosas de los antiguos araucanos. Imprenta Cervantes, Santiago de Chile. Lenz, R. (1897) Estudios Araucanos. Imprenta Cervantes, Santiago de Chile. Pino-Saavedra, Y.; Gray, R. (trans.) (1967) Folktales of Chile. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Soustelle, G. and Soustelle, J. (1938) Folklore Chilien. Institut International de Coopération Intellectuelle, Paris.

[gotojobin]

Cherruve #Cherruve #Cheruvoe #Cheurvoe #Cheurvue #Cherufe #MerryChristmas #happyholidays The Cherruve is the Chilean spirit of comets and asteroids. Originally no more than the Araucanian meteorite, the cherruve’s role has since expanded to include lava, volcanoes, fiery exhalations, will-o-the-wisps, whirlwinds, and animate stone axes. Cherruve appearance varies from area to area, but it is usually described as a comet, or a great serpentine creature with a human head and lava dribbling from its mouth. Its appearance has been anthropomorphized to various degrees and conflated with aspects of European mythology; in the Andes it becomes a huge seven-headed dragon; elsewhere it is confused with dragons, devils, and giants, or bipedal goats with flaming eyes. Cherruves live underground and in volcanoes, and streak across the sky by night. The appearance of a cherruve in the sky heralds the spread of an epidemic, the death of a great leader, or other misfortunes, while the cherruve’s vomit is lava and its movements underground cause earthquakes. They make thunder by tossing human heads. The more dragon-like cherruves may demand the sacrifice of Mapuche maidens, and will withhold the flow of rivers if their demands are not met. Comets, asteroids, and meteors are all cherruves, as are meteorites and oddly-shaped volcanic rocks. Cherruve rocks are collected by sorcerers, who use them to carry out their evil purposes by sending them at their enemies. They are ordered to suck blood and inflict death and disease, and can operate on their own, returning diligently to their masters after performing their duties.