Castillo also preserves , a primordial, hairy guardian of rivers who seduces women and steals gold. Unlike European goblins, El Mohán is ambiguous: dangerous to careless miners, but a protector of aquatic life. Through him, Castillo critiques colonial gold extraction and modern environmental destruction. The Mohán’s treasure is not metal, but the river’s purity—a lesson increasingly urgent in Colombia’s post‑conflict era.