The legend of Peru

The name of this legend is El Muqui. The origin of this legend is from Peru. El Muqui is a goblin who lives in Peruvian caves, according to Peruvian mythology. Most of the history of this is combined with stories. So let's start with a story and then talk about the origin of this urban legend. Many years ago, a guy named Demetrio lived with his family. His family is a poor family. That family struggled to get three meals a day.

Then one day, in the area of Pasco, a Swiss mining company started drilling a mine. Then they needed laborers for the mining, so everyone in the village of Demetrio also joined the company as a worker. In order to increase the work, the company started giving additional salaries to the people who were mining more materials. It started causing competition between the workers. By issuing this cash prize, the work of mining took place at a faster pace.

He wanted to win that prize, so he started working hard. To recover from the tiredness, he carried a bag of cocoa leaves with him. He would chew them whenever he felt tired. One day, while working, his cocoa bag was lost, as it was the first day he did not take it seriously. The same event took place on the second day too. When Demetrio became irritated, he enquired harshly to the man next to him. The man said he did not know anything about it. Then a third worker came near him and said in a squeaky voice that this might be the act of muqui. Demetrio asked the worker about muqui. The worker said that Muqui was the king of caves. The answer did not convince him. So on the third day, he placed the cocoa bag in the same place and hid behind a rock nearby.

After some time, he saw the bag moving, so he switched on the torch and pointed it over the bag. There he saw a very small man, with red eyes and a thick beard. He also wore the dress of a miner while taking away the bag filled with cocoa leaves. Muqui asked Demetrio whether he knew him. In a shivering voice, Demetrio said "I know you are muqui." Then, after some time, Muqui made a deal with Demetrio: if he brought a bag full of cocoa leaves every week, then Muqui would show him the place where there were more materials. He also agreed to it.

Then, after some days, he saw everyone mining many materials in a day. Everyone in the mine got richer. One day, when Demetrio was meeting Muqui, he was angry. Muqui said that you were the only one who stood by your word. You brought cocoa leaves every week without fail. If you want to be alive, never come back here. These were the last words of Muqui. Muqui made a deal with every worker in the mine. After becoming rich, everyone forgot about the deal that they made with Muqui. After some days, Demetrio heard the news that the mine he was working at was destroyed, and nobody who worked there was alive. There are also many stories which are said with a slight modification.

The maximum height of muqui is said to be two feet only. There is no exact time line from which this urban legend started. While searching for its origin, there are many stories all around the world. The story and features of mining elves match with this. Some even claimed that muquis are unbaptized children. But according to many people, muqui are some kind of demon.