imbunche

English

Noun

imbunche (plural imbunches)

2. (folklore) In Chilote folklore, a deformed humanoid monster that protects the entrance to a warlock's cave.

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /imˈbunt͡ʃe/ [ĩmˈbũnʲ.t͡ʃe]
• Rhymes: -untʃe
• Syllabification: im‧bun‧che

Noun

imbunche m (plural imbunches)

1. (folklore) imbunche (in Chilote folklore, a deformed humanoid monster that protects the entrance to a warlock's cave)
   • 1915, Julio Vicuña Cifuentes, Mitos y Supersticiones Recogidos de la Tradición Oral Chilena, page 68:

     Los Brujos tienen la costumbre de robar niños varones de seis meses a un año de edad, para hacerlos Imbunches, lo cual realizan obstruyendo todos los agujeros naturales del cuerpo de sus pequeñas víctimas. Si los padres del niño llegan a descubrir su paradero, los Brujos le lanzan una rociada y el Imbunche muere, quedando su cadáver en el mismo sitio.

     The Sorcerers have a habit of stealing male children between six months and one year of age to turn them into Imbunches, which they do by plugging all the natural holes of their small victims' bodies. If the child's parents manage to discover their whereabouts, the Sorcerers release a spray and the Imbunche dies, leaving its corpse in the same place.

Further reading

• “imbunche”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10