Wooden house, yellow shingles blue roof, with La Sirena mermaid effigy sitting at the side of a road, Caulin, Chiloe, Chile
In Chilote mythology, La Sirena is a beautiful mermaid, with blonf hair and golden scales, who cares for all fish, so of great help to the fishing communities of Chiloe Island. She also helps her sister, La Pincoya, Goddess of the Sea, to carry the bodies of drowned sailors to the phantom ship, Caleuche, so they can enjoy a happy after-life as they sail at night around Chiloe Island. Chiloe Island's isolation from the mainland, with self-reliance on the sea and land, has produced a rich combination of myth and folklore that intrigues visitors. Shingles, on the walls of buildings in Chiloe island are testimony to the arrival of German settlers in the Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, Llanquihue, Frutillar region in the mid-19th century. They were rarely used in Colonial Times. Thin, wide, long and lapped to stop rain, they are traditionally cut from the alerce or Southern Redwood Tree (Fitzroya Cupressoides). Locally known as 'tejuelas', the original dimensions were 90 cm long, 15 cm wide and 1 cm thick, one-third of the overall length being exposed. Many modern shingles are smaller. Paint, as here, brightens them
Size: 4287px × 2848px
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: america, beliefs, building, caulin, chile, chiloe, chilote, culture, effigy, fish, folk-tales, folklore, garden, geography, house, indian, island, la, legends, mapuche, mermaid, mermaids, myth, mythology, myths, paint, painted, shingles, siren, sirena, sirens, south, supernatural, superstitions, tejuelas, traditions, travel, wooden
