pishtaco
nounEtymology From a Quechua language term "pishtay", meaning "cut the throat of, cut up".
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Arts, Folklore, History, Human sciences, Literature, Media, Mysticism, Mythology, Philosophy, Publishing, Sciences A mythical white male demon in South American folklore, who steals and eats the bodyfat of indigenous South Americans, or cuts up their flesh to convert it into food.
- They are often told that the pishtaco is going to carry them off if they do not behave. Thus, they are taught to fear the mestizo and white man at an early age. The pishtaco also maintains conformity among adults. Individualism is not a norm ...1969, Journal of American Folklore:
- However, the pishtaco is not an Andean Minotaur. It is, rather, an indigenous Andean folk symbol of Spanish, and later criollo, colonialist oppression. Pishtacos are represented as white foreigners, ...1997, Milos Kokotovic, Confronting Postmodernism:
2 more examples
- For this part of the operation, the pishtaco is said to import specialized equipment from the United States, Germany, or Japan.2005, Don Kulick, Anne Meneley, Fat, →ISBN:
- This explains why the first pishtaco figures in the legend were priests and soldiers. As the power structure changed, so did the pishtaco figure. In later versions of the story he rode a horse and wore leather chaps like a rancher, ...2008, Jennifer McLagan, Fat, →ISBN, page 217: