(ORDO NEWS) — A sculpture in the form of a human body with a bull’s head – the Minotaur – was found along with a giant mask measuring 1.4 by 1 meter in a lake in Argentinean Patagonia.
Six meters from the shore and four meters from the surface, it is easy to see and even easier to scare. The underwater statue, one and a half meters tall, weighs 250 kilograms, has two horns and hides its heart behind a padlock, like in a safe.
Many of those who have visited Marie Menuko have reported seeing the mysterious object submerged in the lake in March and April.
The 23-year-old man, who did not want to reveal his identity and asked to be called Christian, set off in a kayak on Sunday, April 10.
When he returned to one of the bays where his family was, he noticed that there was something under the water. He turned the kayak around and walked back to see if this strange stone reminded him of anything.
“And then I saw it, it was a minotaur. At first it scared me. There are many myths about this lake, and we all laugh at them, but I think there is some truth in these stories,” the man told a local newspaper. At that moment, all his doubts about supernatural beings were confirmed.
In the middle of the lake was a submerged minotaur, fortunately for Christian and the people living near the lake, this minotaur is made of iron and cement.
Now that the Minotaur had been seen, could he reach out and touch him?
Christian said that he tried to dive to the statue in an attempt to get a better look at it. In the end, he failed and returned to the shore where he spoke with one of his cousins and together they returned to the submerged minotaur.
“He didn’t believe me. At first he told me that I was playing him, but I insisted so much that he agreed to go,” recalls Cristiano.
Upon arrival, his 18-year-old cousin’s impression was the same as Cristiano’s when he saw the statue. “I saw his frightened face and laughed. I told him, ‘You didn’t believe me, this is it,’ and he relaxed a bit.”
They jumped into the water and tried to dive, but did not touch the sculpture. None of them were trained and they didn’t have the equipment to do it.
“But we were able to see her, which is good,” said the 23-year-old, who returned to the area the following weekend and became obsessed with the topic.
“After that day, I became a fan of water,” he said.
So, what did the minotaur mean?
Christian began to figure out what the minotaur was doing when submerged in the lake and found a possible story to explain it.
Mapuche culture
The group of indigenous peoples currently living in south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including part of Patagonia, is called the Mapuche.
In the Mapuche worldview, there is something called “Gen Ko”, which is a kind of protective energy of each place.
“Each element of nature has its own, and that’s why the Mapuche always ask permission to enter the water or cut down a tree. They ask permission from Gen Ko,” he explained.
Also, within this same culture, when these natural elements feel attacked, they appear.
“I think we’re doing a lot of damage to the environment and we should take care of it. Have you seen how many oil wells there are around this lake? This is a real problem, and maybe that’s why someone put this minotaur in the lake. To warn that we’re doing something wrong,” he explained.
In order to better understand the strange story of the submerged minotaur in the middle of the lake, the newspaper LM Neuquén turned to Lefxar Navel of Lof Nyuen Mapu of the Neuquen Mapus confederation, who explained: “In our culture, all the elements, in general, have their own Gene, and ‘Ko’ means water. So “Gen Co” refers to the protective energies of water.”
Also, for the Mapuche, “Mari” means ten, and “Menuco” means wetlands.
“This area, before it was flooded and the lake was created, was a very important place, because there were many plants that were used in medicine, and they have a very important gene,” Navel explained to Lefxar.
And he continued, based on his Mapuche worldview: “When there are big places like a river, a lake or a mountain, these energies are personified in animals or in supernatural things. So maybe this minotaur means such protection.”
For his part, he explained that, apart from the view this sculpture might evoke, Gen Ko could not be seen by everyone. “They are always there, but not everyone can see them.
We always ask permission to intervene when we enter the lake or during ceremonies. There are people in our culture who can see them in all natural elements,” says Lefxar Navel.
Christian returned to Lake Marie Menouco two weeks later and wanted to see the minotaur again.
He went to the lake, and his goal was to get as close as possible to the minotaur. Although he got into the kayak and tried, he did not succeed. “Whoever created the sculpture designed it in such a way that it can only be seen from above, without having to go down,” Cristiano said.
After several attempts and swimming to the Minotaur with friends, another discovery was made. Another sculpture was immersed in the lake – a giant mask.
Not far from the Minotaur, Christian and his friends stumbled upon a giant face protruding from the ground measuring 1.40 meters by 1 meter. It was carved with a wide open mouth with outlined lips, and the words “Eternal Journey” engraved on the cheekbones.
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