El Pombero

Known mainly in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, the Pombero is a forest elf that is in charge of protecting the fauna and flora of those who kill more animals than they are going to eat or cutting down trees that they will not use.

The Pombero is a native of Guaraní mythology (some authors differ in this), very popular in Paraguay, in certain parts of southern Brazil, and in Argentinean areas such as Misiones, Corrientes or Entre Ríos.

This being likes to harass and rape women, murder those who unnecessarily deteriorate nature, and punish those who dare to pronounce his name aloud or lack respect by imitating their whistle, which they say is chilling and up to 30 seconds.

Your Name

In Guaraní, the name given to it is "Cuarahú-Yara", which means "Owner of the Sun". However, this is only apparent, for that is the name of a reddish old man with one eye on his forehead, dog's teeth, long arms and huge hands. This being, according to the specialist Felix Coluccio, is not a modality of the Pombero but a differentiated entity. Thus, the true origins of his name would have to be sought in southern Brazil, where he is called "Pombeiro" to spy on, and in the aborigines of the Argentine pampas, who call "the fireman" the explorer who marches on the advance line When recognition tasks are being carried out. From there, it is believed that the name can be a fusion of both, or a deformation of one or the other.

Traditional version of the Pombero

The first references to the Pombero show him as a tall, skinny, stout, ugly, and very hairy. However, this version is not relevant at present, not only because there is virtually no information about it, but because, in a way that we could call "almost official", the Pombero is popularly known as a kind of elf. This is the traditional version, both in the current folklore and in that of decades ago.

In the version (the traditional one), the Pombero is a kind of small, ugly, strong, brown, very hairy man with long arms and huge hands, elbows and knees without joints (for which he makes coarse and grotesque movements ), Short legs with inverted feet that disorient whoever tries to track him, a huge virile member to abuse women carnally, a long beard - in certain versions, so large that covers the limb -, a straw hat and a bag To the shoulder, although the bag is doubtful, because it comes from its confusion with the Kari-Vosá, another mythological being.

Whatever the details of its appearance, the Pombero walks through the woods, usually shelters in houses or other abandoned buildings to rest, and never fails to travel, at least among the areas where it has been seen.

His abilities are diverse: he can become invisible and betray his presence through something as subtle as a chill in whom he is supposedly touched; Can slide in very narrow spaces, run fast on four legs, imitate the singing of many birds (especially nocturnal), the whistle of a person and the sound of vipers or other animals.

The main mission of the Pombero is to care for Nature, guarding the mountain and watching over the lives of wild animals. For this reason, and although it allows the hunting, it is infuriated when it sees that a hunter kills more than it will consume, when a fisherman only looks for entertain, when a woodcutter cuts wood that will not employ and, in sum, when any one produces unjustifiably damage to The flora or fauna. Its surveillance is almost impossible to circumvent, since it can supposedly metamorphose and, for example, be observing everything in the form of an owl ...

At the time of punishment, the Pombero can be really ruthless and cruel. In some parts of Argentina, for example, they believe that if they find a child hunting for birds, they will forcefully abandon it, away from home, dead or stunned, depending on the case. Specifically in the Chaco (Argentina), it is believed that the Pombero can suck blood from children, leaving them dry and hanging from some tree ...

Like the traditional elves, the Pombero can be naughty and fastidious: it frees cows and other animals from its pens, disperses hens or other groups of domestic or wild animals, steals tobacco, spreads corn, consumes honey if it is within reach, He picks up the eggs of the hens, and tames the horsemen of his horses, among other things.

Particularly known is the lust of the Pombero. This, taking advantage of his invisibility, often awakens women with malicious caresses, especially if they sleep outside, as often happens in summer. Certain women have been raped by the Pombero, and when they have a child of him, it is usually something like the father, unfortunately ... In this type of eagerness the Pombero, when he has taken a liking to the beauty of certain young people, has come to kidnap them Some say that he can hypnotize them), he has raped them in the forest, and there he has left them abandoned, usually pregnant, with torn clothes and body covered with dirt and bad smell (the Pombero stinks). However, he likes to rape savagely, as a punishment, unfaithful wives and young women who have grown up without being baptized. So far it would seem that the Pombero's chosen ones are lost, but many believe that if they offer honey or tobacco in a good way, the Pombero will leave intact "honor."

Now, despite being a rapist, the Pombero also has a sensitive side with women. Indeed, in Corrientes (Argentina) they believe that he usually falls in love with the pregnant women who are gestating girls, and who protects them when they sleep or walk alone in the dark, sometimes revealing their presence in something as soft as a chirp.

On the other hand, one can win the friendship or sympathy of the Pombero if he makes gifts. You must leave tobacco, honey or liquor on a bench or chair or in a visible place behind the house, saying a short prayer or prayer. They say that if he gets his friendship, he will take care of the house, the ranch, the animals and the belongings of the favored, as well as guide him to the biggest prey to hunt, the fattest and juicy fish, and the Fruits more exquisite and fresh ... However, winning the friendship of Pombero is not a simple task, since the offerings must be made for thirty consecutive nights without interruption; But also, if you want a specific favor - especially in what is to find lost things and be successful with crops and farm animals - you can ask first the favor, tell you what will be given for thirty nights Followed, wait for the favor to be fulfilled and then proceed to comply with what was offered. And it is better that it be, because the Pombero is infuriated when he does a favor and is not paid ...

As counterpart to the above, there are those who have won the enmity of the Pombero. If this is so, the enmity will hear strange noises at home, see moving objects, doors that open, things that fall without explanation, or even steps and voices without apparent source ... That better person should not leave the hunt, Because the Pombero will try to confuse him in the thicket of the forest, which may not come back alive ...

Another thing to keep in mind is that someone can irritate the Pombero without becoming his enemy, but experiencing unpleasant consequences and, if repeated, will surely have the enmity of the Pombero. Things that irritate him, besides unnecessarily damaging the flora and fauna, are to pronounce his name aloud, to imitate him (this will make him answer with shuddering sounds) and never to make him any gift. As they believe, possible consequences of irritating it are episodes of trembling, dumbness or confusion, all states that the Pombero can induce by only giving a touch of his hairy hands.

Still believe in the Pombero

Still today, but especially in the countryside, many claim to have experiences that betray the presence of the Pombero: branches that move without reason, noises of animals that are not seen, donkeys without head or things of that type, sounds of certain Bird species at sunset, farm animals that are dispersed for no apparent reason, etc ...

Jorge Alberto Martínez, an Argentine who investigated the validity of the belief in the Pombero, tells the following: "The truth is that, in addition, this myth continues in 2000, existing not only among people without studies, but Even among university students that I have analyzed. Less than a month ago, one of them referred to the story of the Pombero as a myth, and he was offended, telling me that he himself had seen it and that just as he impregnates women, with men he can be an unbearable reveler or a Valuable ally, both in harvests and in their own relations with women. The feeling she gave me of the Pombero was so vivid, that I almost believed it. I think that a mistake that we can sometimes make is to think of myths as something that happened, not as a living thing, which today continues to be based on experiences like the ones I have just described. Although my knowledge of Pombero began almost 20 years ago through a Paraguayan domestic employee, when I went into the culture of that country for other purposes, I discovered that it has a presence almost as important as the Holy Spirit within Catholic mythology . "

Evidence of their reality?

Recently, a video was posted on the internet showing children walking through the forest in Misiones, northeastern Argentina. While talking, one of the children sees something on the side of a tree, although the poor quality of the video does not show clearly what it is, but it is supposed to be the Pombero: