If we descend into the darkest abysses of witchcraft in America, we will find the Imbunche. This creature is not a myth born of fear of the unknown, but the result of perverse human engineering. It belongs to the folklore of Chiloé and is intrinsically linked to the 'Recta Provincia,' a powerful secret society of warlocks that ruled the archipelago in the shadows for centuries. The Imbunche is not born; it is made. And that fabrication is one of the most tragic and repulsive stories an anthropologist can record.
The Imbunche is, originally, a human being. A firstborn male child, who is either given to the warlocks before nine days old or kidnapped by them. Once in the sect's possession, the baby is taken to the 'Quicaví Cave' (the seat of magical power) to be transformed into the guardian of the cave. The process is a torture designed to dehumanize him physically and spiritually. The warlocks break his right leg and twist it onto his back. They do the same with the left. The broken limbs heal in this unnatural position, forcing the creature to move in the future on its hands and stumps, like a spider or a deformed animal.
But the transformation doesn't end there. To ensure the Imbunche can never communicate with the outside world, the warlocks sew up its bodily orifices. They sew its eyelids, allowing it to see only shadows. They sew its mouth, leaving only a tiny opening for feeding. It is also said that they obstruct its anus and genitals, altering its physiology so that it does not defecate like a normal human, but rather its body processes waste internally and magically. Its diet consists of goat meat, black cat's milk, and, according to darker versions, human flesh from the corpses the warlocks use for their rituals.
The result, years later, is an abomination. The Imbunche grows into a hairy, twisted, mute, and ferocious being, living chained or loose inside the cave. It has no will of its own; it is the warlocks' pet and slave. Its function is to be the doorkeeper: no one enters or leaves the cave without the Imbunche's permission. But it is also an oracle. It is said that the warlocks consult the Imbunche to know the future. If the creature screams or emits guttural sounds, it is an omen of misfortune or death; if it is calm, it is a good omen.
For the common people of Chiloé, the Imbunche is absolute terror. Hearing its screams at night means that the 'Mayoría' (the council of warlocks) is meeting or that someone is going to die. The most disturbing aspect of the myth is its proximity to judicial reality. In 1880, the Chilean state prosecuted the warlocks of Chiloé in a real historical trial. During the trial, witnesses spoke of these practices, and although no living Imbunche was found to be presented in court, instruments and confessions were found suggesting that the deformation of children was not just a legend. The Imbunche is the ultimate metaphor for the loss of humanity: a being that was an innocent child, literally twisted and silenced by the power of others to serve dark ends, condemned to live in a cave without even knowing what sunlight is.
