Muki (mythology)

The muki (Quechua for asphyxia, also for a goblin who lives in caves, also spelled muqui or mooqui) is a goblin-like creature in the mythology of the Central Andes in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. He is known to be a miner and his existence is constrained to underground spaces: The muki lives inside the mines.

Despite the distance and the isolation of the mining camps, the belief and the description of the muki is consistent throughout Peru, from the highlands of Puno in the south to Cajamarca in the north. Nonetheless, the names differ: chinchiliku (Moquegua and Arequipa), anchanchu or janchanchu (Puno), jusshi (Cajamarca) and muki (Pasco and Andean regions of Bolivia).

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