Chilean brujos and the Caleu witchcraft tradition in Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna’s writings

Record summary

Nineteenth-century Chilean historical writing, including work by Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna, discusses local witchcraft traditions associated with Caleu and central Chile. Such accounts can include nocturnal lights, fiery signs, transformation narratives, and accusations of occult practice, making them useful for studying how luminous folklore was framed by liberal historians and rural testimony. The material is not a controlled investigation and may reproduce hearsay or elite caricature. Researchers should identify the exact Vicuña Mackenna publication and compare it with Chilean archival and ethnographic studies.