Kai Kai Vilu, also spelled Caicai-Vilu or Coi Coi-Vilu, is the serpent deity of the sea in Mapuche mythology of southern Chile, described in tradition as the supreme ruler of the sea and all its creatures. According to the myth, Kai Kai was originally the son of a powerful spirit called Peripillan, transformed into serpent form as a punishment, and unleashed a great flood by crying out kai, kai, kai, causing rains that grew into a deluge covering the earth. This flood myth explains the origin of the distinctive geography of the Chiloe archipelago and the mountains of southern Chile, and pits Kai Kai against the rival earth serpent Tren Tren Vilu, also recorded on this atlas, in a foundational battle of Mapuche cosmology.
Facts
Attestation
Veneration TodayActively venerated in a living tradition 1 HistoricityNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 1 Function
Domain / Function Belief
TheologyPolytheistic: many gods 1 Sources
1. The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend
Anthony S. Mercatante, revised and expanded by James R. Dow, Facts on File
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