Pata de Lana

Tuesday 19 February 2008

We visited the Museum of the Chaqueño Man today, a museum celebrating the indigenous, gaucho, and gringo influences in this part of the continent, the Chaco. It was a neat museum, and the slightly different second floor was by far the neatest part. They had these little statues of characters from Guaraní mythology, and played a recording explaining their importance, telling little stories. This guy is called Pata de Lana, or Wool-Foot, because he wraps his feet in wool in order to be able to walk silently. He is a little dwarf who takes advantage of fights between couples to seduce the woman. Because of his silence, however, he is never caught by the jealous husband!