Warlocks of Chiloé
beings in the Chilean mythology
The warlocks of Chiloé ("brujos de Chiloé" or "brujos chilotes" in the Spanish language) are people of Chiloé Archipelago said to practise witchcraft linked to Chilote mythology. The source of their witchcraft is often attributed to a legendary encounter between Basque navigator José de Moraleda y Montero and Huilliche machi Chillpila. Chillpila is said to have defeated Moraleda in a duel of witchcraft, obtaining a book of European magic as reward. Belief in witchcraft was common in the archipelago, reaching such influence that in 1880 Chilean authorities put warlocks on trial who they claimed ruled the archipelago through a secret society.
Legend
Popular belief has attributed to the sorcerers of Chiloé a complex organization, the help of magical creatures, and numerous powers and weaknesses.
The warlocks are said to have had a secret society called La Recta Provincia or La Mayoria. Its origins date back to the Chilean colonial period, when navigator José de Moraleda visited Chiloé in 1786.
According to legend, José de Moraleda y Montero challenged the power of the machi Chilpilla to a "magic" competition. Moraleda was defeated, and Chilpilla ran his ship aground when he tried to leave the island. Accepting his defeat, Moraleda gave Chilpilla a magic book, from which some indigenous people (among them, Machis and Kalkus) would be instructed.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Warlocks of Chiloé” as beings in the Chilean mythology. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7969511. The first chronological checks are 1880 and 1786.
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This entry incorporates text from “Warlocks of Chiloé” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.