Trauco is an 80-centimetre tall creature, similar to a gnome, that lives in the woods near the Chilote people. It looks like a strong short man. He carries a stone axe in his right hand, which he replaces with a staff when he is faced with a girl. He wears a hat made of dried grass and a poncho. He doesn’t have feet, only stumps. People say he is the living representation of fecund love – the creator of new life. Some women think that he is a horrible little monster that scares everyone. These ladies think they have to keep away from him. Other women think he is attractive even though he is ugly.
Not only the girls worry about him, but also mothers, who know the consequences of his mischievous behaviour. They avoid sending their grown girls into the forest in search of firewood or in search of grass for the sheep because he can catch them on their way or give a blow to them with his wooden staff called “pahueldún”. These attacks do not happen if they are accompanied by their youngest siblings. He prefers to act when he sees girls alone in the forest.
Trauco is always on the alert, hanging from a tree and lurking in the forest for his victims – attractive, single girls.
As soon as it gets dark, he returns home to be with his bad-tempered and feared wife – Fiura. When he wants to know details of his future victim, he disguises himself as a bunch of quilineja[1] and sneaks into the kitchen, where all the family get together in the evenings. If someone tries to catch him, he disappears in the shadows.