The Legend of Elal

The Legend of Elal is the creation story of the Aonikenk, the ancient Tehuelche people of southern Patagonia. It tells how Kooch created the sea, the wind, the sun and the moon, and how the hero Elal flew on a swan to the summit of Mount Chaltén to create the first people from there.

The tears of Kooch and the origin of the world

At the beginning of time, Kooch, the creator of all things, felt so overwhelmed by his lonely existence in the darkness that he began to weep inconsolably for a long time, and with his tears he created Arrok, the primordial sea. As he gazed upon his first creation, Kooch let out a sigh that gave rise to Xoshem, the wind. It was Xoshem who separated the waters from the dry land. But Kooch could not see his creation clearly until he tore the darkness apart, which brought forth Xaleshen, the sun; and so that the nights would not be so dark, he created Kéenguenkon, the moon-woman, who soon became an evil and powerful being. Xaleshen and Kéenguenkon fell in love and gave birth to Karr, the first star of the day, who was given dominion over the tides.

The birth of Elal

Kooch had thus created Patagonia and the oceans, one to the east and the other to the west. In the western one he created an island inhabited by giants and other creatures, such as the animal-men. One of those giants, Nosithej, abducted the mouse-woman and fathered Elal with her. When he discovered the pregnancy, Nosithej, in a rage, killed the woman, intending to devour the unborn child, but at that moment the earth roared and Nosithej was left bewildered. Seizing that moment of confusion, Terrguer, the field mouse who was his grandmother, rescued the child and hid him in her cave, and so saved his life.

The flight of the swan to the Chaltén

Elal grew up very quickly and soon became a being of great physical strength, who challenged his father and ended up killing him, thus freeing all the animal-men from the tyranny of the giants. After that, Elal had to leave the island, and he did so flying on the back of his friend Kóokne, the swan. Thousands of other birds joined them on their journey toward the sunrise until they reached Patagonia, and they came down on the summit of Mount Chaltén.

Elal creates the Tehuelche

From the summit of the Chaltén, Elal saw a deserted land and decided to turn one of the flocks that had escorted him into the first people, the Tehuelche. Then he created all the other living beings. Elal taught people to hunt, and for that he created the bow and arrows. He also gave them fire so they could cook their food, and he divided the year into seasons. In addition, he established moral rules and laws, the prohibition of incest and exogamous marriage.

The separation of the worlds

But the giants sought to avenge the death of Nosithej and to punish Elal by seizing his kingdom and destroying his work. Elal could not face them all, so he decided to separate the world of people from the world of the giants; but, in doing so, the Tehuelche became mortal beings.

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