Statue represents Cai Cai Vilu (Left) and Tren Tren Vilu (Right)
Cai Cai Vilu is an enormous sea serpent (although it can also be considered a dragon according to other reports) from traditional Chilean folklore, inhabiting the coasts of the Chiloé Archipelago. According to legend, Cai Cai Vilu was ill-tempered, and its gender is debated. Chilote tradition says it is female, but more recent versions state that its gender is male or of indeterminate origin. Cai Cai Vilu is the supreme ruler of the sea, controlling it at will, in contrast to its rival, Tren Tren Vilu, who controlled the land and watched over its inhabitants. Cai Cai Vilu was wrathful. According to the stories, it became angry when the Chilotes did not appreciate all that the sea provided, so it erupted in fury, striking its tail against the seabed, raising the sea level to wipe out the inhabitants, with the aim of drowning them all. Tren Tren Vilu, seeing this, ordered the hills to increase in size to save the land animals and humans, using its powers to transform... Those who fell into the form of birds so they could escape, and those who drowned into the form of fish. Once this happened, Tren Tren Vilu and Cai Cai Vilu clashed. The fight between the two serpents was so fierce that it ended in a draw. Cai Cai Vilu now rests at the bottom of the sea, causing tsunamis with the movement of its tail as it moves in its sleep. The battle between the two serpents shaped the current geography of the archipelago.
According to Mapuche tradition, Cai Cai Vilu was the son of a Pillan (a Pillan is a powerful ancestral spirit in Mapuche mythology). He was the son of Peripillan, a Pillan who, as punishment, was transformed into Cai Cai, and the son of Antu, a great Pillan, who was transformed into Tren Tren. Tren Tren was then sent to watch over the land alongside the Ngen, nature spirits. According to this same tradition, Cai Cai Vilu was content with the piece of land he obtained and began to slumber, leaving his position as ruler of the ocean to... Millalobo, another being, while Tren Tren Vilu ended up becoming enraged, causing volcanoes to erupt and earthquakes to occur due to man's attitude