The legend of the calafate

Myths and history

The ñire, lenga and coihue forests start changing to a characteristic tone, announcing the arrival of autumn and giving the trees a multicolored appearance which ranges from intense red to golden shades and orange.

This transformation happens again and again since immemorial times.

This area was occupied by the tehuelches, original owners of the land. When winter approached, they began to emigrate on foot towards the north, where temperatures were not that extreme and they could still hunt.

Patagonian tradition has kept a legend related to these migrations. It is said that once, the old folk healer of a tehuelche tribe, Koonex, could not walk any longer: her old and tired legs were exhausted, but the rest of the tribe could not stop.

So Koonex understood the natural law of fulfilling one’s destiny. The women of the tribe made a hut with guanaco furs and collected lots of firewood and food, leaving everything to the old woman, as they said goodbye to her with the family singing.

The calafate, a typical shrub from southern Patagonia

Koonex, back home, fixed her tired eyes in the distance, until the people of her tribe got out of sight behind the ridge of a plateau. She stayed there on her own, ready to die. All living beings were going away. She began to felt the silence like a heavy and sweeping sleepiness.

The multicolored sky died away slowly. Many suns and many moons came and went until spring arrived. Then, sprouting began, and the swallows, plovers, happy chingolos, and chatty budgerigars started to return... Life was coming back.

A flock of little birds alighted over the leathers of Koonex’ s hut, singing merrily. Suddenly, the voice of the old woman came from inside the hut; she was scolding them for having left her alone during such a long and hard winter.

A little chingolo, recovered from the surprise, answered: -“we left because in autumn food becomes scarce, and we do not have anywhere to shelter during winter”. “I understand you” – Koonex replied- “that’s why, from now on, you will have food in autumn and a good shelter in winter, and I will never remain alone again”.... And then the old healer stopped talking.

Suddenly, a gust swept away the leathers of the hut. Instead of Koonex, there was a beautiful thorny shrub, with perfumed yellow flowers. In mid summer, the delicate flowers became fruits and before autumn they started to ripen, taking a purple blue color of exquisite taste and high nutritious value.

Since that day on, some birds did not emigrate again and those that had left, after hearing the news, returned to try the novel fruit, and fell in love with it.

The tehuelches also tried it, and adopted it forever. They scattered the seeds over the whole region and, since then, “the one who he eats calafate, shall always return...”

See Also
El Calafate		Glacier Perito Moreno
Lake Argentino		The legend of the calafate
Mount Fitz Roy		Trekking over the ice