Hey everyone, Dave here bringing you another
installment of Interdimensional Swap. This week
we have an episode from the podcast Susto, and
this show fucking rules. It's a paranormal folklore
podcast focused mainly on like Hispanic and Latin
American like folklore monsters and cryptids
and spooky spirits and shit. It's a lot of fun.
The host Aiden is fucking amazing. The good thing
about it is that if you like what you hear, they
have what I would call a very extensive bat catalog,
and I highly recommend checking it out. Yeah,
so this week, I'm going to bring you an episode
from them covering a vampiric creature known
as, and I'm probably butchering this, Obchanchu.
I hope I pronounced that right. It's like a Bolivian
folklore tale. But yeah, definitely check it
out. Again, this is Susto. Enjoy. a ghoul friend
my name is adrian or aiden either way i am the
host of the podcast susto Susto is the Spanish
word for fright and it's also a cultural illness
or a phenomenon most common in Latin American
cultures in which people believe that when someone
experiences a scare that is severe enough, the
soul separates from the body. There are different
remedies for this based on which community you're
speaking to. However, I titled my show Susto
because it is centered on paranormal folklore
from Latin American cultures. You're probably
wondering, who the hell is this guy? What is
he doing here? Well, Dave and Sarge were so gracious
as to allow me to possess their podcast this
week to share my show with you. So if you are
into scary stories, if you are into history and
culture, then you may really enjoy Susto. At
least, I hope you do. And... If you do, you can
listen to Susto every other Thursday on any podcast
platform. You can also visit my website sustopodcast
.com. That's S -U -S -T -O podcast .com. And
you can follow me on every social media at at
sustopodcast for any and all updates on the show.
Once again, I hope that you enjoyed this episode
and my show. Thank you to Dave and Sarge for
inviting me to the cryptid cocktail party. And
I will haunt you later. Bye. Rolando had been
on the road since dawn. The world around him
was a cathedral of stone and sky, with the high
Andes mountains stretching forever. serrated
peaks like broken teeth biting into the clouds.
The sun hadn't yet burned through the morning
mist, and the air shimmered thin and sharp, a
cold that lived in the bones. His small pickup
truck crawled along a dirt road carved into the
mountainside with one lane clinging to cliffs
that dropped away into nothingness. Below, Valleys
folded and refolded into a gray -green sea of
slopes, where llamas grazed like ghosts in the
distance. The road wound upward through switchbacks
and blind corners, its edges dusted with frost.
It was beautiful, heartbreakingly so. The kind
of beauty that humbled you, made you small. but
it was also a place that could swallow a person
whole without a sound. He had told himself this
trip would be good for him. It was a chance to
clear his head, deliver supplies to a mining
camp two days up the range, and feel a little
less stuck. He liked being alone. The mountains
didn't ask questions. They didn't judge. They
simply watched. But the warnings still echoed
in the back of his mind. Don't travel alone through
the cerros at night. Keep your doors locked.
And if you see an old man walking by the road,
don't stop. People in the village had said it
with half -smiles, half -serious, as if teasing
him for being a city boy. He'd laughed it off,
saying the only things to fear out there were
bandits and bad weather. Still. He brought his
pistol. By mid -morning, the fog had lifted.
The road somehow narrowed even more, barely hugging
the side of the mountain. One wrong turn could
mean a plummet into a bottomless mountainside.
Rolando tightened his grip on the wheel and slowed
down. He hadn't seen another vehicle in hours.
No one lived up here except shepherds and the
occasional miner. Then, he saw something ahead.
A man stood by the roadside, leaning on a stick.
He looked impossibly small against the rock face.
He was hunched, wrapped in a torn poncho that
fluttered in the wind. His face was nearly hidden
by a wide, dust -stained hat. Orlando hesitated.
The man didn't wave, didn't call for help, just
stood there, watching. Finally, Rolando rolled
down the window. Está bien, abuelo. You need
help? The old man turned his head slowly, as
if the air itself resisted him. His eyes were
shadowed, but Rolando could see the tremor in
his hands. The man spoke, his voice rasping like
dry leaves. My home, up the mountain, too far
to walk. His words were slow, broken as if each
one took effort to lift from his chest. Rolando
glanced at the road. It wound up the slope like
a serpent, sharp switchbacks disappearing into
cloud. He sighed and opened the passenger door.
Está bien, abuelo. Get in, I'll take you. They
climbed for what felt like hours. The truck jolted
over rocks and washed out gullies. rattling every
bolt. Rolando tried to make small talk. So, how
long you lived up here? The old man's voice came
low and dry. Long time. You got any family? Gone.
Rolando chuckled awkwardly. You don't talk much,
huh? No need. Something about his voice made
Rolando's skin prickle. It was too calm, too
patient, almost like the man was saving his breath
for something important. He risked a glance at
his passenger. The old man's eyes were fixed
ahead, unblinking. His hands were folded in his
lap, but the fingers twitched now and then, like
they had a mind of their own. The road narrowed
again. and Rolando focused on driving. By late
afternoon, clouds rolled in fast. A storm was
building, looking like dark curtains sliding
across the peaks. Rolando checked the dashboard
clock. They should have seen a village by now.
A few houses, a fence, something. But there was
nothing ahead. Only rock and fog. Abuelo, he
said. forcing a smile. You said your home was
up here, right? How much further? The old man
slowly turned his head. We are close. Something
in the way he said it made the hair rise on the
back of Rolando's neck. Still, he drove on. Minutes
later, the road ended in a flat clearing of stone
and dust. No houses, no fences. Just a black
mouth of a cave cut into the mountain. Rolando
frowned. This... this is your home? Yes. Come
in. I thank you. I make food. The old man was
already opening his door. His movements were
deliberate, almost mechanical. Rolando hesitated.
The air here felt heavier. colder as if it came
from inside the cave itself. Uh, maybe next time,
abuelo, I still have to - Please. The single
word was like a weight. Rolando felt foolish
for being nervous. He'd given the man a ride.
Maybe a few minutes wouldn't hurt. He reached
behind the seat and took his pistol, just in
case, and followed the old man. The air inside
the cave was colder and felt still, dead. Rolando's
breath came out in clouds that hung too long
before fading. He could still smell the truck's
engine oil on his jacket, the dust of the road
clinging to him like memory. The old man shuffled
away, his back bent, voice rasping low. This
way, hijo. This way. Again, Rolando hesitated.
His flashlight beam trembled across the stone,
catching what looked like bones. Small ones.
Animal, maybe. Maybe. The old man turned, his
shadow stretching impossibly tall against the
cave wall. Rolando opened his mouth to speak,
but the words froze. The man was smiling. A slow,
cracking smile that showed teeth. Too sharp.
Too long. Then the skin on his face began to
ripple, veins rising like roots beneath the flesh.
The old man lunged. Rolando stumbled back, firing
instinctively. The shot hit the creature square
in the chest. It staggered, but didn't fall.
For a moment, Rolando's heart soared with hope.
Maybe he'd stopped it. But then… The abchanchu
looked down at the smoking hole in its chest
and smiled wider. He fired again, and again.
The echoes bounced off the stone until it sounded
like the mountain itself was laughing at him.
The abchanchu didn't flinch. It took a step forward,
then another. Each footfall was soft, as deliberate
as a hunter closing distance not out of haste,
but hunger. Rolando turned and ran. He could
see the faint glow of daylight ahead from the
mouth of the cave. He was going to make it. Run,
hijo. He looked back just long enough to see
it not walking, but gliding, almost floating,
its body unfurling into something massive, horned,
wings of shadow brushing the walls. Rolando burst
out into the light. Stumbling into the gravel
and dust, he turned and raised the pistol again,
hands shaking, tried to aim, but he was out of
bullets. The Apchanchu emerged in front of him,
framed by the cave's darkness with red eyes gleaming
like coals. It was smiling again. It let him
crawl away a few feet before stepping closer.
Its voice came soft. mocking like a lullaby.
Almost. Then, in a blur, it was on him. Rolando
kicked, clawed, struck with his fists, but the
creature pinned him easily, its strength inhuman,
absolute. The Apchanchu leaned close, the stench
of rot and blood thick in its breath, and whispered,
You should have kept driving. Then the bite,
a deep tearing, and Rolando's world went dark.
The last thing he saw was the creature's face,
shifting. The old man's features returned as
if nothing had changed. It licked the blood from
its lips and smiled down at him. Fool, it said
softly, as Rolando's body went still. Hours later,
The mountain road lay quiet again. The truck
had gone missing from outside the cave, leaving
an empty mountaintop. And inside the cave, nothing
stirred. Sometimes travelers say when the wind
cuts just right through those peaks, you can
hear a voice carried down from the heights. A
slow, broken voice, calling out for help. My
home, up at the mountain. And if you stop to
listen, or even if you stop to help, you'll see
an old man standing by the road, hat pulled low
against the wind. And when he looks up, you'll
see that his mouth is stained red. Welcome back,
old friends. Thank you so much for listening
to that story. And a big thank you to Jeffrey
for helping me write this one. Once again, we're
going to go ahead and jump into some Apchanchu
myths. So the first one, this is from a urban
legends mystery and myth .com. This is an entry
simply called the Apchanchu, Bolivia's ancient
Andean vampire legend. So again, as it says here,
this story comes to us from Bolivia. And this
says the night in the Andes is colder than you
expect. Mist curls along the lonely mountain
road, and your lantern's flame struggles against
the darkness. Ahead, you notice a figure hunched
on the ground, a frail old man wrapped in tattered
clothes. He groans as if in pain, one arm stretched.
toward you. Instinct tells you to help. But in
Bolivian legend, this is exactly what Apchanchu
wants. Because the moment you lean down to offer
a hand, the old man's eyes glow red, his teeth
sharpen, and you realize too late that pity has
led you straight into the arms of a vampire.
So obviously, this is a vampire story or a version
of a vampire story, right? Because as we know,
there are so many and we're going to go through
a few of them later that they talk about here.
But the first ones that were the first creatures
that came to mind, or the first susto episodes
that came to mind, of course, were the Pistaco,
which I know is something similar, the Vampires
of Pisco, Peru, of course, and the Tio. I think
the Tio is this entity that the miners in Bolivia
pray to in tandem with their Catholic beliefs.
So just some interesting things to think about,
and I will put those in the description notes
below so that you all can check those out if
you want to. Oh, and of course, I almost forgot
the Tlalpuchi, which... is one of my favorite
life stories to tell. So I don't know how I almost
forgot that. But those four, they will be in
the description notes. You can, if you haven't
heard them, you can go back and listen to them.
Or if you feel like doing a susto vampire tour,
then you can listen to those groups of episodes
after this one. So this continues. Who or what
is Abachanchu? The Abachanchu is a vampire -like
figure from Bolivian folklore. Unlike the suave,
seductive vampires of European legend, Abachanchu
does not lure victims with charm or beauty. Instead,
it preys on compassion. So again, this idea of
seeing this elderly person on the side of the
road. And I will say, I didn't see anything about
the typical assigned genders to this creature.
I've seen like elderly man when we looked up
pictures and stuff. A lot of the depictions were
like this, this really small older man. I didn't
see anything about the Apachanchu being only
one gender. So who knows? Again, this is one
of the things that could be prescribed to any
sort of rep. But for the sake of this episode,
we will probably be referring to Apachanshu as
he. And so this continues, often described as
a frail elderly traveler. Again, they're not
using a specific gender here. The Apachanshu
disguises itself as helpless to trick passersby
into approaching. When its victims lean close,
the vampire strikes, draining blood until the
traveler is left lifeless on the road. It is
feared not only as a monster, but also as a warning
that evil often wears the mask of weakness and
kindness can be twisted into a fear. fatal mistake,
which it's so interesting because I feel like
I try to help people when I see people in need,
right? I will say I've never picked up a hitchhiker.
I don't think I've ever really seen a hitchhiker.
But I think maybe because of stories like this,
you know, we see other like horror movies or
thrillers or we hear the stories where We're
basically told not to do that. So, you know,
even if you consider yourself an empathetic person
or somebody who wants to help people in need,
there's still that fear in the back of your mind.
You know, I lied. I did give this man a ride
one time in my hometown from the Walmart to I
forgot where, like somewhere in the town. And
I remember telling him because I agreed to give
him a ride and we're walking to my car. And then
I stopped and I looked at him dead in the eye
and I said, do you have a knife? Or I was like,
you don't have a weapon or something, do you?
I was like, because I don't feel like fighting
today. And he was like, no, no, no, no, man.
I swear to God, I just need a ride. And I was
like, all right, get in the car. But also, for
all he knows, I could have been the weirdo who
was going to hurt him. So, you know, sometimes
you just got to trust in people that I think
that is the only time that I've given a stranger
a ride like that. And it worked out. So, OK,
he was not a not an upchanchu. I was safe. But
this continues the origin of the story and its
variations. The upchanchu is deeply rooted in
the Andean oral tradition. of Bolivia, though
variations of the story appear across South America.
So this talks about it's kind of two different
routes. So there's the Andean roots. Some folklorists
suggest that the Apchanchu may have pre -Columbian
origins tied to earlier myths of demons or hungry
spirits that lurked along the trade roads through
the mountains. And we're going to talk about
that idea a little bit later here. But then there's
also, of course, as always, good old colonial
Spanish influence. And this says when European
vampire tales spread through South America, they
blended with indigenous lore, shaping the Apachanchu
into a more familiar blood drinking figure. So
it seems like this kind of vampiric aspect to
the Apachanchu due to Spanish influence. And
that's not what like the OG story is. But this
also says that while most stories focus on the
frail old man disguise, some variations claim
the Apachanchu can take animal forms or vanish
into the mist after an attack. And again, we're
going to bring that up a little bit later. I'm
just planting all the Apachanchu seeds right
now. This says the legend endured because of
the dangers of travel through Bolivia's remote
mountain passes. Bandits, illness, and exposure
often claim lives, and stories of a vampire lying
in wait offered a supernatural explanation for
why some never came home. So again, there's this
idea that I think we've seen before where people,
and again, I mentioned the tlawalpuchi earlier,
that people use sometimes these creatures or
these stories to explain their, or process their
own grief or their own trauma. So with the tlawalpuchi,
it was the infanticide that happened overnight
in that community. And with this, you know, it
seems like people are, for whatever reason, they're
traversing these mountainsides. or this mountainous
region. And then their loved ones pass away when
they're doing that, when they're traveling. And
so they were taken by the Apachanchu or the Apachanchu
got a hold of them, right? And this page continues.
It talks about modern sightings or encounters.
And that's kind of a continuation of that topic.
It says, while the Apachanchu is firmly rooted
in folklore, occasional encounters are still
whispered. Travelers found pale and collapsed
on lonely roads are sometimes attributed to the
Apachanchu, especially if no illness or robbery.
explains death. Some modern stories speak of
roadside beggars in Bolivia who seem to appear
and disappear strangely, vanishing into mist
when ignored. And researches of vampire folklore
point to Apchanchu as proof that the idea of
blood -drinking predators exists across cultures,
not just in Europe. Because, of course, I think
many of the depictions or the stories of vampires
come from European influence, but it would make
sense then that Spanish influence on this story,
right? So this is what I was really interested
in on this page. They talk about similar vampires
and blood -drinking creatures around the world.
And there's a list of them here. This one, I'm
going to go through these. And this first one
is the Strigoi from Romania. That sounds like
I said that right, right? I don't know. Strigoi.
Strigoi. I feel like I've heard that kind of
accent, that Romanian. I mean, of course, with
like many vampire movies, right? But this says,
these restless spirits are said to rise from
the grave to torment their families, spreading
diseases and drinking blood. Unlike the elegant...
vampires of fiction, strigoi, are grotesque revenants,
corpse -like and hungry. They are considered
to the direct ancestors of Bram Stoker's Dracula
and are feared in rural Romania, where villagers
sometimes exhume suspected corpses to prevent
a strigoi outbreak. So there's an actual influence
on communities to stop these things from coming
out because of their belief in them. This next
one is the Pontianak, which is from Malaysia
slash Indonesia, and it says, a terrifying ghost
of a woman who died in childbirth, which reminds
me of the, I think it was the Tsitsimime, which
is the story of people who passed away during
childbirth, that their souls became these kind
of like warrior -like deities in the sky. They
were the stars. I think that's the one. Correct
me if I'm wrong. And this continues. At first,
she appears as a stunningly beautiful woman,
drawing in men with her long black hair and pale
skin. But once lured close, she reveals a ghastly
corpse -like face and long nails that tear flesh.
The Pontiac Ooh, super cool. This continues the
Asambosam, which is from West Africa and the
Ashanti people. the Apchuncha's ambush on lonely
roads, attacking when victims least expect it.
That is terrifying. Imagine just walking through
a forest, jungle, whatever it is, and this thing
just comes down and snatches you to eat you.
This continues, and these are some ideas that
I might circle back to for future episodes, but
this is from Colombia, and this is La Patasola.
It says, another South American vampire legend.
La Patasola begins as a vision of beauty, often
appearing to lone men in the jungle. Once she
has her victim, attention, she transforms into
a hideous one -legged monster with sharp fangs.
She then drinks the victim's blood, sometimes
consuming their flesh. Her legend, like Ap Chan
Chu's, is a warning about deception and misplaced
trust. Also, I'm going to say this now. If at
any point I have said Ap Chun Cha instead of
Ap Chan Chu, please pretend that I did not. Because
I feel like I maybe just said it wrong right
now. And I swear to God, I cannot go back and
record everything. I don't have the time. I'm
just going to say that now. If you heard it,
no, you didn't. The next one here is the Saucoyant
from Trinidad, Guayana, and Venezuela. It says
a witch -like vampire who lives as an old woman
by day, but at night sheds her skin and transforms
into a fiery ball of light. In this form, she
slips through cracks and keyholes to suck the
blood of sleeping victims. If she drinks too
much, the victim dies. To defeat her, folklore
says you must find her discarded skin and destroy
it with salt or fire, trapping her in her fiery
form forever. This one sounds really cool. I
would love to do a story on this one. This has
so many elements from other things, right? So
there's this witch, first of all, a witch who
can transform into anything, right? You think
of Tlalpuchi, Lechuza, just general witches that
can transform into, like I said here, a ball
of fire or a ball of light. And then you have,
again, those general, in Mexico, they say witches
can turn into balls of fire. The Tlalpuchi can
turn into mist or a ball of light and travel
that way. But this, I... really, really like
this detail. I think it's so interesting that
to defeat her, you need to find the skin that
she shed when she transformed and destroy the
skin so that she cannot return to the human form.
And I'm assuming that it's not sustainable for
her to survive as this ball of light, right?
This fiery ball of light. So it's very, very
interesting there. The second to last one here
is the Chonchon from Chile and Argentina. It
says one of the strangest vampire figures of
South America. The Chonchon is said to be a sorcerer
who trans... So very much like hearing the cries
of Alachusa, of La Llorona, hearing the whistle
of El Silbon again, with this idea of sound and
these monsters or these creatures or spirits
that if you hear them... It's a bad omen. Just
hearing it is bad luck enough. And the last one
here is the Pistaco from Peru and Bolivia. It
says, though not a vampire in the traditional
sense, the Pistaco is a frightening Andean legend
about a creature, or sometimes a man, that drains
both fat and blood from its victims. Again, like
I mentioned earlier, the Pistaco, rooted in colonial
fears and exploitation by Spaniards, the Pistaco
endures as a cultural warning about outsiders
preying on local communities. It's linked to
blood drinking and its Bolivian setting. make
it a close cousin to the Abchanchu. So again,
thank you, urbanlegendsmysteryandmyth .com for
the entry on the Abchanchu and this amazing comprehensive
list of all these other similar creatures from
around the world. Okay, the next entry that we
have here is a quick Wikipedia entry. This is
really, really short. It's literally one sentence.
It says, Abchanchu is a legendary Bolivian vampire
who shapeshifts into the form of a helpless elderly
traveler. When a pastor by offers to help him,
Abchanchu... victimizes them and drinks their
blood. The victim dies of blood loss or disease.
Very simple. That is the elevator pitch, the
tell us a little bit about yourself for the Apachanchu.
The one after that is a, this is a academic link.
This is from a book and this one's also very,
very short. This is from Gale eBooks, I believe.
And this is from a book titled The Encyclopedia
of Vampires and Werewolves, second edition by
a Rose. Mary Ellen Gilly, I believe. And it's
on the first page. It starts with literally it's
like an encyclopedia entry. It's a really quick
entry. And similar to the Wikipedia entry, this
says Obchanchu, Bolivian vampire. The Obchanchu
pretends to be a kindly old man who loses his
way. His well -meaning, helpful victims are either
stricken with a fatal disease or are stuck to
dry of their blood while they are asleep. And
I wasn't able to find any other mention of the
Obchanchu from what was available. online about
this text. So I think it was literally just it
was listing through these are all the different
kinds of vampires and werewolves around the world,
which I should find this book because I would
love to go through that. The next one is from
cryptidindex .com. It's titled Abchanchu, the
vampire of Bolivian folklore. And it says among
the myriad of cryptids and legends scattered
across the globe, the Abchanchu stands out as
a sinister figure from Bolivian folklore, often
described as a shape -shifting And this one,
it breaks down all of the abchanchu again. So
there may be some repeats here, but as always,
we want to get as many different perspectives,
right? So this one talks about its physical description,
and it says, rarely, if ever, described in concrete
detail. And we've already been seeing that through
these resources that we're going to. It says,
legends suggest that it has the ability to shapeshift,
often appearing as an old and frail individual
to deceive its victims. This disguise is effective
in eliciting sympathy as travelers feel compelled
to aid the seemingly helpless figure. However,
once its prey is close enough, the Apachanchu
reveals its predatory nature, striking with precision
and leaving no chance for escape. So again, it's
praying. on and counting on that sympathy and
that kindness from its victims, which I think
compared to other creatures and cryptids and
what have you that have been featured on Susto
is an interesting take because most of them is
they rely on like trickery, which I mean, this
is trickery, right? It's decepting people and
using their kindness against them. But it's like
tricking people in other ways, like with the
sound thing, right? Usually like with El Silbon's
whistle, La Llorona's cries, some, I think La
Silbon. Naba with the backward facing feet, things
are opposite of what they seem. So if you hear
something farther away, that means it's closer.
And if you hear it closer, that means it's farther
away. And with the footprints, if you see them.
because the footprints are backwards. If you
see them walking away, then it's actually walking
towards you and vice versa. So, or just straight
up hunting, right? Versus this, the Apchanchu
doesn't really, it's hunting is very chill. I
don't know how to say that in a more elegant
way, but it just kind of, it just sits and waits,
you know, and it lets its victims do the work.
This continues on this site. It says origins
and legends. The origins of the Apchanchu are
deeply rooted in Bolivian folklore, particularly
in the Andean. regions where the harsh landscapes
and isolated roads create an ideal setting for
tales of terror. Stories of the Apchanchu were
likely passed down orally, serving as warnings
to travelers to remain cautious and wary of strangers.
Some interpretations suggest that the Apchanchu
represents more than just a mythical predator.
It is thought to symbolize the dangers of isolation
and the vulnerability of individuals in remote
areas. Others argue that it serves as a metaphor
for treachery, a reminder that not everything
is as it seems. seems, and danger often hides
behind a facade of innocence. I'm going to skip
down this page to a that says scientific explanations
and theories. And this says skeptics often seek
to rationalize tales of the Apachanchu by attributing
them to psychological and cultural factors. The
cryptid's guise as an old and frail individual
may reflect a deeply ingrained fear of vulnerability
and deception. Again, we keep getting this idea
over and over again. Others suggest that sightings
of the Apachanchu could be explained by encounters
with individuals suffering from severe illnesses
or conditions that give them a ghastly appearance.
Thus fuel, this legend. This continues, another
theory posits that the Abchanchu legend served
as a practical warning to travelers. By instilling
fear of strangers and the unknown, the story
may have discouraged risky behaviors and encouraged
vigilance, which would have been crucial for
survival in remote and perilous environments.
I think also it could serve, yes to travelers,
but to specifically travelers who are from that
area. They brought up the Pistaco earlier, and
we know that there is Spanish influence on the
origins of this story itself. And so it's that
kind of warning of outsiders or strangers, not
only just people you may not know from your own
community, but strangers to the community. And
more specifically, in this instance, colonizers,
right? Okay, and heavily incurred, this isn't
necessarily a source, we could have used it as
one, but this is a comic, it's called the Anchanchu.
And we're going to talk about that pronunciation
next. But this is from, I believe, their artist,
I'm not sure, you know, like authors have pen
names. Is it the same thing for an artist? So
either way, this is a comic, and it's a comic
titled El Anchancho. And I think the quote artist
name is Minjosh, but I think their actual name,
it's here at the bottom, and it was attributed
to them. And another page that I found this art
on is Armin Castellon, which Armin, we have similar
last names, Castellon, Castellanos. What is up,
primo? But if you're interested in looking...
this up. This is it seems like it's maybe a comic
site. It says In English, 24 in 24 or 24 en 24.
So 24 en 24 .blogspot .com. And if you just search
that with Anchanchu, then you should be able
to find this. But yeah, it's a fun comic if you
want to read through that. And I really like
the art style and the way that they depicted
the Abchanchu or Anchanchu as we will delve into
a bit deeper here about those different pronunciations.
Jeff left a note for us here and it says pre
-colonial Anchanchu. These cave demon myths eventually
merged with European vampire myths to become
the modern day Abchanchu. First, we want to get
an understanding of where specifically this is
coming from. This is a website called Aymara
.org. And this was written by Jorge Pedraza Arpasi.
Not only will the direct links for all of these
be in the Seuss to Google Docs on Patreon, but
Jorge has specifically asked that we link to
Aymara .org. So you will find a link to this
page in the description notes. Jorge gave us
a really, really neat insight into the Aymara
people. And just to kind of tell you all a bit
about them, so we know a bit more about their
perspective. This says Aymara is a language which
spoken by approximately 1 .6 million persons
around the Titicaca Lake. More precisely, according
to the last census of both Bolivia and Chile,
both in 1992 and Peru in 1993, there are approximately
1 .2 million Bolivian Aymara speakers, roughly
290 ,000 Peruvian speakers, and roughly 48 ,000
Chilean ones. All these speakers conform the
Aymara people. In the province of Tupe, Yaoyos,
at 300 kilometers south, East of Lima City are
the last 600 speakers of Hakaru, which, in accordance
to the M .J. Hardman, is a familiar but separate
language from Aymara. However, in accordance
to other language classification catalogs, Hakaru
is only a dialectical variation from Aymara.
The existence of Hakaru is an indicator that
in ancient times, Aymara language spread in wide
areas of the present Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and
Argentina, far away from the Titicaca Plateau.
Examples of these areas are inside the present
Peru at Arequipa provinces, at Apurima provinces,
at Cusco provinces, at Puno Northeast provinces,
and inside present Bolivia at Potosi, Cochamba,
and Oruro. So that's more so about their language.
About the people themselves, this says that ethnically
the Aymara people are from the same group who
populated all the America since 1200 BC and who
are mostly known as quote Indians. There are
strong and deep ties between the Titicaca Lake
and the Aymara people. Such ties begin with the
name Titicaca, which comes from two Aymara words,
which are titi, and here they say it's cat, and
caca with Qs, which is gray color. That is, Titicaca
means the gray cat. The Titicaca Plateau is over
12 ,000 feet above the sea level. Therefore,
it should have a non -living climate, but the
waters of the lake warm all the region, allowing
to live millions of persons. Pedro Cieza de Leon
tells us that this plateau was the most populated
territory of the entire Inca Empire. Now we have
some really good background of who these people
were, right? In this same site, they talk about
the Anchucha in this segment about ancient religiosity
or pre -Christian religion in this area. So up
to the year 1550. Before that though, it says
the distinct Aymara towns of the antiquity have
had different local gods and thus various forms
of religiosity. However, these local varieties
were based on the two pillars of the Pan -Andean
religiosity as are the agricultural religiosity
and the worship of the ancestors. So we see this
in so many cultures is the two strongest or the
two main pillars of worship, religiosity, devotion,
however you want to identify that is usually
always agricultural or earth based and ancestors
are those that came before us who are dead. This
continues the ancient Aymara god Thunupa, who
is the central icon of the stone sculpture of
the gateway of the sun in Tiwanaku. personifies
various agents of the nature of the sun, wind,
rain, hail, that can influence, for well or for
worse, the agricultural production. So again,
this entity that can influence crops, harvest,
life, right? Another aspect of this agricultural
religion is the goddess Bachamama, or the mother
ground, the producer of the foods. This goddess
slash mother requires sacrifices, her favorite
being the fetus of a llama. So I think that's
where we got that kind of little detail of the
ghost llama. at the beginning of this episode,
which I think would make a cute little sticker,
a llama that's a ghost. I don't know why in my
head that's adorable. This continues, on the
other hand, the worship of the ancestors was
manifested in a material way in the construction
of tomb shrines, whose complexity was in agreement
of the importance of the deceased. Okay, now
we're going to talk about a bit the Unchanchu.
And I swear to God, I know that I said it wrong
again earlier, but you didn't hear that, right?
Exactly. So this says, the local gods are the
hills and the mountains regarded as guardians.
and protectors. This form of spirituality continues
in force until nowadays or modern day in which
each local hill has a name and is always invoked
like the local guardian. The devils were believed
to be from the underground and were known by
either Anchanchu or Saksra. Other small gods
reside in the water fountain. Another important
aspect related to the Aymada spirituality is
the ritual and natural medicine whose practices
is carried out by the Yatiri or the wise. The
Yatiris with the greater prestige and efficacy
since ancient times until the present century
are from the town Kalawaya in the mountain range
of Charasani in Bolivia. Again, this is saying
the brief mention here about the Anchanchu is
that they were just known as, quote, the devils
or these underground ne 'er -do -well spirits.
They're on that side of the spectrum of like
good or bad of spirits. And so they have their
good spirits, which are in the hills and the
mountains and their guardians. The opposite of
that is the Anchanchu. I'm not exactly sure when
or how that shift in the spelling or the pronunciation
of the Abchanchu or the Anchanchu to the Abchanchu
happened, but it did. The next one that we have
here is from a Bolivia .com under their technology
and astronomy kind of. section of the site. And
this is titled Anchanchu, the quote, demon most
feared by the Aymara people. And this says evil
in Aymara culture has a name, quote, Anchanchu,
a malevolent entity that preys on lonely people
and has an insatiable thirst for life. So we
kind of know we're getting this confirmation
that those are one the same. This says, quote,
in the countryside, it is believed that people
have up to 10 souls. Others say that women have
seven and men three. With so many, they are vulnerable.
to being stolen until the last one is reached
and then there is death, explained anthropologist
Milton Izaguirre. This continues, knowledge of
this evil entity has been passed down orally
in the Aymara regions and is one of the most
feared because it leads its victims to death.
Beliefs say that this quote paranormal presence
appears to its victims personified as animals
or terrifying beasts in order to frighten them.
The wise men say you should pretend you're not
alone. Quote, you have to pretend you're with
someone because they use any trick to deceive
you and drain your energy. You shouldn't be afraid
of them, even though the moment is tense. Don't
bother me. Go away. You have to say to them.
Explained the Amauta Juan Carlos Bayon to Urgente
.bo. This wraps up. The Amchanchu wants to take
away the Ahayu. It's spelled A -J -A -Y -U, which
I looked up, and there's also a link here in
the Susto Google Doc. It's essentially like the
life force or the soul. From this random site,
when I searched it up, wordmeaning .org, it says
it is a a word in Quechua language, which means
soul, spirit, cosmic energy, force, or entity
that contains the feelings and the reason. This
continues, the Anchanchu wants to take away the
Ahayu from its victims, and for this reason,
the most important thing is to control emotions
in the presence of symptoms. This is going to
sound really familiar. Some of the symptoms that
the Amautas associate with the arrival of the
Anchanchu are a common cold with headaches, general
malaise in the body, appearance of pimples on
the face, heaviness in the body, and chills.
Any element can be cured. First, this says, again,
sounds familiar, quote, any element can be cured.
First, you have to change its fortunes. Consult
the coca leaves to determine the cure and decide
whether to use animals, minerals, or plants.
The healing process and spiritual restoration
are then carried out accordingly. When it's done
in time, it can be cured. When it's too late,
it takes longer and requires more ceremonies,
Bayon concluded. susto. That is I think that
is that is literally to me that is what susto
is. So now we're going down the rabbit hole here.
This is from a pmc .ncbi .nlm .nah. dot gov so
it's the national library of medicine the national
center for biotechnology information and this
is a publication this is a study and there's
a table here but this study is titled susto as
a cultural conceptualization of distress existing
research and aspects to consider for future investigations
this is published in it says 2023 wow and the
names attached to this that i see here are fanny
beatriz martinez rattle devon emerson hinton
and ulrich stangear but what i found in this
really quick search there's a table here table
one it says research that summarizes the definitions
perceived causes symptoms and management associated
with susto so it seems like there is susto in
bolivia and that's what they're that's they're
talking about without explicitly saying at least
in the english translation of that site but so
i searched bolivia and the first thing that popped
up on the table that said bolivia there is an
author field of investigation population location
definition is susto the perceived causes of it
and the symptoms of it. And so the author was
Berman from 2010. It was an anthropology study.
It says Aymara indigenous people from El Alto
in Bolivia. Again, the Aymara people as well.
And the definition is that susto is a spiritual
disorder in which the person loses some component
of their being in parentheses ahayu. It all ties
together. Okay, so I was right. It is literally
susto is what they were talking about. And the
ahayu is that kind of soul or the essence of
the person. Interesting. is nothing in this one
line when it's talking about susto and the aymara
people for the causes of it but for the symptoms
it says fever pain skin rashes asocial behavior
and strange manners crying and sleep problems
in children wow there are other parts of this
that have bolivia another one was roldan chicano
et al in 2017 transcultural nursing was the study
the location is bolivian immigrants in spain
It says, susto is a culture -bound syndrome.
Participants considered susto a disease in which
the soul of the person gets lost, of course.
This one, it does have causes. It says, unexpected
frightening events that cause the separation
of the soul from the body, which is how pretty
much I think I've always described it. Oh, wait,
I didn't even say earlier. I missed it earlier.
There was, here you go. There was a how to, I
guess, cure it. Yeah, the management of susto.
From that first entry that talks specifically
about the Aymada people, it says, calling the
lost being with some food, the affected person.
and likes a patient's clothes or a woolen thread
and removing strange influences from the patient's
body. Very interesting. Yeah. And there's all
these different rituals. There was another one
here. Again, another anthropology study from
roasting in 1993. The location was traditional
Kalawai healers of Bolivia, which again, we referenced
earlier and then all similar things. Okay. I
was like, cause I was reading through that page
and I thought this is. almost textbook of what
susto is. And so it just, it made sense to me.
And sure enough, I was able to, all I did was
connect the dots. Okay. This next source is from
mythological creatures. This one I thought was
interesting because the representation of the
Anchanchu is, it specifically describes different
ways it can manifest here. So here it says Anchanchu
is a fearsome demon from Aymara mythology known
for haunting dark, isolated locales. and manifesting
as both a red dog and a bald, pudgy older man.
So the red dog is something we haven't heard
in these other sources before. It says, he serves
as a supernatural gatekeeper over precious minerals
and forcing a strict ritual for access. His chilling
nocturnal appearances instill terror among those
who dare to traverse the Andean wilds after midnight.
So a lot of things in this site, again, mythologicalcreatures
.net, are very similar to everything else. But
I want to talk more about his... form or how
he is manifested. So here in this section, it
says form and powers. It says in many depictions,
Anchanchi's physical presence is both startling
and ambiguous, characterized by a striking red
canine form that glows in the dim of the pre
-dawn hours. This fearsome red dog with its intense,
almost supernatural aura prowls the lonely landscapes
with an air of menace and mystery. Yet, in other
portrayals, the demon assumes a bipedal human
guise, described as a pudgy, bald, older man
who exudes a deeply unsettling presence the human
aspect of his form features weathered skin and
piercing eyes that seem to reflect the depths
of ancient wisdom and cruelty his dual appearance
blurs the line between animalistic ferocity and
human cunning inviting both dread and complex
sympathy again that line of sympathy. Some accounts
detail subtle features such as a reddened complexion
that hints at the molten energies of the earth
beneath him. The physical contradictions in this
portrayal contribute to a rich mythic ambiguity,
challenging observers to decipher which aspect
of his being holds sway in any given encounter.
Overall, Anchanchu's dynamic and variable form
reinforces his role as a liminal figure straddling
the boundaries between the natural and the supernatural
realms. For some reason, this entry spoke a lot
about This idea, again, of those minerals, precious
minerals, earthly resources. So this starts to
delve into that area that we've spoken about
before of these things, these spirits or cryptids
or monsters, what have you, being protectors
of the earth. And so this says, unlike many mythic
entities that are solely malevolent, Anchanchu
also encompasses aspects of protection and authority
over natural resources. His dual nature as both
a fearsome spirit and a custodian of subterranean
wealth provides a complex... insight into the
Andean worldview. Over time, his multifaceted
character has spurred diverse interpretations
that reveal the intricate connections between
nature, the supernatural and human endeavor.
And then something that I thought was really
interesting here that sent me in a bit of a rabbit
hole as well was this thing about a dance. And
so it talks about, again, the protection of minerals,
earthly resources. This part says there exists
also a ceremonial aspect to his myth, most notably
through reference. It's kind of like you can
make a deal with him that if you do this dance,
that if you perform this dance, you get access
to these minerals or these resources. There's
another part of this that continues, and this
is really the part that sent me on that rabbit
hole. we'll dive a little bit into is towards
the end of this entry. It says festivals and
cultural performances occasionally incorporate
elements of his myth, reimagining the traditional
dance of the horns in new creative expressions.
As academic interest in indigenous mythologies
has grown, Anchanchu's narrative has been revisited
and recontextualized within the framework of
global myth studies. So again, the mention of
this dance, right? So I looked it up because
I've seen other parades where there are people
dancing in these masks. Some of them look like
handsome devils. Some of them just look like
faces. But the ones that are dressed as devils,
they have like the horse hair hanging off of
their clothing and they look really cool. I'm
going to maybe put a clip over that. But of course,
I had to look into what this dance was. And so
I found this site, this black platinum gold dot
com. And this entry is called The Truth Behind
Bolivia's Dance of the Devils. And this talks
about the origin and all that. So I was really
interested. It says every year for many centuries,
a battle between evil. and good is held over
12 ,000 feet above sea level in the small city
of Oruro in western Bolivia. Dancers donned in
technicolor and elaborate horned masks performed
the so -called Dance of the Devils or the Diablada
as they tried to defeat the Archangel Michael
only to fail in the end. While it might be the
most thematically poignant and visually striking
set piece of the festival, the Dance of the Devils
is only among the many exciting features of the
yearly Carnaval de Oruro. So, this dance of the
devils happens in this carnaval and people were
saying or like it was mentioned earlier and so
when i looked up dance of the horns in bolivia
this came up, this dance of the devils, because
it's kind of, it's known as different names,
or it gets translated or recontextualized into
different names. So this continues, the origin
of the dance of the devils. Most scholars have
concluded that this unique dance had its origins
in the Aymaran ritual of the demon Anchanchu,
and the Lama Lama dance honoring Tiwe, an Uru
god. Both of these dances can be traced back
to pre -Columbian Bolivia. However, there are
several conflicting theories regarding the true
origins of the dance. Although the dance had
already been performed as early as the 1500s
in the Andean region, its name started in 1789
in Oruro. So it was happening in the 1500s, but
it didn't get an actual name until the 1700s
in Bolivia, where the performers wore costumes
that resembled the devil in the parades known
as Diabladas. So they were also known as that.
It was in 1904 in Bolivia. when the first ever
organized viablada group with a defined choreography
and music appeared. There are also pieces of
evidence pointing to the origin of the dance
among the minors in Potosi, Bolivia. Chile and
Peru's regional dances may have their influences
on the modern version of the dance as well. So
again, all these things kind of like falling
in this timeline and just maybe changing a bit
or really the name or how they're known is what's
changing. As they're giving you names, they're
giving more structure. it's turned out into this
carnaval, right? And so this says the Carnaval
de Ororu. The festival of Carnaval de Ororu has
been observed by the indigenous Urujipo since
the pre -Columbian era before the upper Peru
area's local customs were outlawed by the Spanish
empire during the 17th century. However, instead
of disappearing, the festival learned to adapt
as it incorporated religious dimensions and Christian
iconography and became a model of syncretism
among cultures. This reminds me of a conversation
that I've had before about modern day like brujería,
hechicería, curanderismo, or just general, I'll
say Mexican folk magic and how the way that it
exists today is basically a testament to its
survival and the ways that it's had to assimilate.
It's had to take on like Catholic iconography
or practices in order to survive because like
it says here, those customs were being outlawed
by the Spanish Empire. And if it wasn't that
it was outlawed, then they were being erased
by many different ways, either by death or by
danger or intimidation. And so again, these practices
take on some of its colonizers, I guess, identity
so that it can keep on going. Okay, this continues.
As a result of the extensive history of Bolivia
as a crucial mining area, the festival evolved
to become a tribute to the Virgen de Socavón,
which is the patron saint who protects and watches
over miners. UNESCO recognized the carnaval in
2001 as a part of the tangible cultural heritage
of humanity and stated that the deteriorating
mining activity in the region is among the different
factors that threatens the indigenous communities
in the area. However, the carnaval itself doesn't
show any signs of threat as over 10 ,000 musicians
and 28 ,000 dancers participate in the main procession
or entrada that repeatedly traverses a route
of two and a half miles for 20 hours. The dance
of devils may have seen cultural transformation
and imperial oppression, but it has endured them.
all and continues to thrive year after year.
Exactly what I was trying to say earlier. That
was said so perfectly. Wow. Welcome back, Wolf
friends. I just want to address really quick.
If you are watching the video version of this,
I did have an outfit change. The lighting was
a bit different because I had to stop mid recording
to go to a dentist appointment. So speaking of
scary things, I know some people are really scared
of the dentist, but I thankfully it's just it
was a filling that got chipped and it's going
to need to be refilled. And that's fine. It's
nothing worse than that. It could have been way
worse. So I'm very happy, very fortunate that
I could go to the dentist and take care of that.
But just in case you were watching, you were
like, why did he change? That's why. Okay, so
thank you so much for listening. As always, you
can support the show by sharing it with your
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at Susto Podcast on every platform and leaving
positive ratings and reviews. Reviews like this
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from La Redo. Texas, so I am all too familiar
with these stories. I have also learned a lot
of new ones. Reminds me of those summers making
carne asadas and telling scary stories with friends
and family growing up. I've said this before.
This is my favorite kind of comment. I'm literally
just trying to recreate that moment for us because
I remember those nights. I can literally smell
it. I can see the backyard and see everyone around
me, see the cousins that I'm running around with,
hear all like the commotion and people yelling
and laughing, and then even It gets to that point
in the night. So that means so much to me whenever
I get comments like that. So thank you, HalfSleeper2018.
And if I read this comment before, I'm sorry,
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while we were talking about Patreon, a major
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You are... Thank you so much for your support.
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then, no te asustes. Bye!