Those who commit the sin of incest are condemned to stalk the night as terrifying creatures known as Jarjachas.
This legend of the high mountains traces deep roots into Peru’s indigenous past. Should you find yourself in the high plains and valleys of the Peruvian Andes, you will be happy you read this.
You will know you must beware of the Jarjacha: the demon of incest; werewolf of the Andes.
Or should we say were-llama?
Indeed, the Jarjacha (Qarqacha in Quechua) is a physical being, not a spirit like the Condemned. It is a man or woman cursed by God for the sin of incest, transforming in the night into half human, half animal.
English pronunciation: Har-ha-cha
The Legend
This tale is not a personal experience. It is written in 1st person for artistic effect. It is adapted from ‘true’ stories found on Youtube and around the internet.
Tonight, we are hunting the Jarjacha.
My Uncle Pedro called together all the men of the village and they arrived one by one, weapons in hand. My uncle carried a metal crucifix sharpened to a point on the bottom end.
When all were gathered with ropes, machetes, picks, and axes in hand, Uncle Pedro turned to us and warned: “Remember, all of you. When we find it…do not look it in the eyes!”
How did I come to be standing here, in the Junín village where I was born, surrounded by men with weapons prepared to hunt down a supposedly mythical beast?
You see, I’m only 20 years old, and I haven’t seen my family since I started university in the capital city of Lima two years ago. This is the first real holiday I’ve had and I jumped at the chance to return to Junín for a few weeks. I hopped on the overnight bus in Lima but couldn’t sleep at all from the excitement of returning home to my peaceful mountain village.
I should have known from the stories my grandparents told me that there were more than just wild animals out there in the darkness deepened by the surrounding mountain walls.
Indeed, I had heard more recent rumors about an aloof brother and sister that lived down the road from us. The locals were saying that they were involved in, well, scandalous relations that shouldn’t occur between two people of the same blood. I dismissed it as local gossip not worthy of attention – nothing but petty farmers, I thought.
My two years in the capital were already turning me into an arrogant city dweller.
The first few days home passed uneventfully. I spent the days eating, talking, and helping in the fields with my extended family. Some of the students who visit their rural provinces from university don’t like working on the farm. I, however, found comfort in the work after being away so long.
It began with a sound in the night.
I woke up suddenly a few hours before dawn to a horrible cry I’d never heard before.
“Haaaar…Haaar…Haaaar.”
It sounded far away but it startled me. It seemed neither human nor animal, but something in-between.
Then I realized it wasn’t the sound that startled me, but a cold chill that had suddenly passed over me. I looked out the window and could have sworn I saw something turn the corner around the house. However, I saw and heard nothing more.
I had almost forgotten the incident until two days later. A young villager of only 16-year-old was found less than a kilometer away from the village. He was dead, a look of fear on his face, or at least what remained of it.
Nearly half of his head and skull were eaten away. As if someone, or something, had taken a bite out of it and sucked out the insides.
It was around this time that everyone in the village started noticing that the brother and sister down the road from us were acting very strangely. Especially the brother. His sister, who was normally as reclusive as her sibling, even reached out for help.
She explained his strange behavior at home: sudden bursts of anger in which he would destroy things in the house. He was also speaking to her in a rough, growling voice that was not his own.
The Hunt
Word got around about the siblings and the strange death of the young man. My Uncle Pedro, a respected leader in the village, called a meeting of only his most trusted friends and family members. He opened the meeting with:
“I know what has happened to the young man who is acting strangely. I also know what happened to the boy they found yesterday.”
He explained that for the crime of incest, the brother had been cursed by a higher power. At night, the young man was transforming into the creature known as the Jarjacha. He said that when it makes eye contact with its victims they are paralyzed, and the Jarjacha proceeds to devour the brains of the immobilized person. Everyone understood that this is what had happened to the young man they had found dead the day before.
That’s why we are gathered together tonight, and that’s why my Uncle Pedro is holding a metal crucifix with a sharp point. He says driving it into the monster’s heart is the only way to kill it.
He says it has the body of a llama with powerful claws and a human-like face. The creature emits a terrible cry of “har har har” that sounds far away when the creature is near and close when the creature is far away. That’s when I realized, the sound I’d heard that night and the chill I’d felt had been from the immediate presence of the Jarjacha.
We found the Jarjacha after hours of searching. It was exactly as my uncle had described and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There were nine of us: three approached with ropes to tie the creature down while four others came wielding their metal weapons. I stayed back with my uncle who still held the metal crucifix.
Two of the men in front had forgotten my uncle’s warning and charged in while looking the creature directly in the eyes. It frantically bit into their skulls with razor sharp teeth while they were frozen in place.
Our numbers eventually overwhelmed the Jarjacha. When it was tied down, my uncle approached and plunged the metal crucifix into its heart, killing it instantly. It was buried there along with the crucifix, and our village was safe again.
Since then, everyone believes in the tale of the Jarjacha. They warn their children and grandchildren of the curse and the terrible consequences of the sin of incest. One thing I know for sure, I will never see the mountains the same way again. The scenery is beautiful, the sky infinite, the food warms the heart and the belly – but I’ll never forget the dark magic that still courses through the rivers of the silent mountains.
The True Story?
All of the Jarjacha stories seem to point to the legend originating as a warning against the prohibition of incest. This prohibition comes from long before the arrival of the Spanish to Peru. It is certainly not unreasonable to suggest that the Jarjacha comes directly from a pre-Columbian legend.
Some elements, such as the metal crucifix, are obviously European influences.
Another interesting point to note is that some stories – both modern and ancient – actually portray the Jarjacha as the protagonist. I mean, I guess incest is offensive, but the image of seven or more farmers tying up, beating, and stabbing the creature through the heart almost make you feel sorry for it (and the person who transforms into it).
It’s possible that the Jarjacha is based on an indigenous deity that has become demonized and vilified by Christian missionaries in order to colonize the territory in the past. This is speculative on my part but if you look at the case of Supay (translated by the Spanish as “the devil”) it is clear that many neutral Andean gods and creatures have become “evil” only after colonization.
The Jarjacha legend has a number of variations, particularly in the appearance of the creature. Some describe it as I have in the story which appears to come from the central regions. Some versions also say the Jarjacha appears as a two headed llama instead of having the face of a man. Moving south in the Peruvian Andes to Ayacucho we see other manifestations of the Jarjacha; they describe it as having the head of a wolf and the body of a bat.
We hope you enjoyed this chapter of Terrifying Legends of Peru and make sure to check out the rest of this spooky series.
Please don’t forget to like, share, and comment as your feedback is valuable to us – thanks for reading and see you next time!
Source and Related Links:
Leyendas del Terror – El Jarjacha (Youtube)
El Jarjacha (Youtube)
Leyenda Urbana 2016 (Youtube)
Historia de Terror Real – La Jarjacha (Youtube)
La Jarjacha en el Granero (Youtube)
Jarjachas
© Michael Lee Dreckschmidt, 2017. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Michael Lee Dreckschmidt and Living in Peru with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
