About this myth
Xolas (Genesis) is a
In a nutshell
Myth summary
Xolas was the supreme deity associated with creation, life, and death according to the Kawésqar culture of Tierra del Fuego (South America). The deity would place the soul into humans when they were born and retreive it back when the person passed away.
Belief system
Kawésqar Culture
Polytheistic
Kawésqar culture refers to people who occupy the southern most islands in Chile and Argentina (Tierra del Fuego).
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Xolas
Main deity
Xolas was the supreme deity who created everything according to the beliefs of the Kawésqar people in Tierra del Fuego (South America).
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More information
The Xolas Genesis creation myth comes from the people of Tierra del Fuego in South America, modern day Patagonia. Xolas was a supreme deity in older Chilean civilizations known as Kawésqar, Kaweskar, Alacaluf or Halakwulup (meaning "mussel eater" in Yaghan). These latter names are also attributed to the people who occupy the western portion of Tierra del Fuego to this day. However, according to the National Library of Chile, the term Alacalufes is not correct.
"Between the Taitao peninsula and the Strait of Magellan , by the channels and fjords in which the southern landscape breaks, the Kawéskar lived - misnamed Alacalufes by many scholars -, always above their hallef(canoe), visiting places where there is an abundance of shellfish or where you can hunt sea lions or huemules." [1]
In any case, Xolas created the Earth and everything else according to the myth.[2]
Notes
Cite this page
OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "Xolas (Genesis)." OMNIKA – World Mythology Index, OMNIKA Foundation, 06 May. 2019, omnika.org/stable/137. Accessed 5 Jul. 2024.
OMNIKA (2019, May 06). Xolas (Genesis). Retrieved from https://omnika.org/stable/137
OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "Xolas (Genesis)." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created May 06, 2019. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://omnika.org/stable/137.
