There is a long history of mining in the Andes mountains, and for generations, miners in Columbia, Bolivia, and Peru have told stories about creatures living in the man-made caverns in the mountains. One of these is the Muki.
The Muki is often depicted as doing things that a human miner would do, like wearing their clothing and carrying their lights. However, if it is trying to disguise itself as a human being, it is wildly unsuccessful, because its physical body is so different from that of humans that it would never be mistaken for one, even in a dark cave. The Muki is supposed to be a two-foot tall, pale, muscular creature with huge feet, lank blond hair, and enormous lamplike eyes. These legends probably evolved from even earlier tales from the region about underground monsters and demons that were believed to come from the underworld.
The Muki is sometimes described as a mysterious creature like a poltergeist who sabotages mining equipment and steals things from the miners. In other tales, they make deals with miners, agreeing to help them with their work in exchange for food – but it’s not always wise for humans to accept their offers. The Muki may be a trickster, or punish those who don’t carry out their part of the bargain by collapsing the cave they are working in, trapping the miners underground.
