Mapuche

By Lydia Nakashima Degarrod

Huilliche, Lafquenche, Araucanians, Pehuenche, Picunche, Promaucae

The name "Araucanian" is of Spanish origin. Historically, Mapuche or "people from the land" was the term used to designate the Mapuche occupying the south-central area of the Chilean territory but now the term is used by all Mapuche. The terms "Huilliche" (people of the south), "Pehuenche" (piñon-eating people of the mountains), "Lafquenche" (people of the coast), and "Picunche" (people of the north) were used by the Mapuche to differentiate their regional areas. The term "Promaucae" (rebellious people) was given to the Mapuche by the Incas.

Aboriginally, the Mapuche occupied the region between the Río Choapa (32° S) and Chiloé Island (42°50' S). The majority of Mapuche live in the Chilean provinces of Arauco, Bío-Bío, Malleco, Cautín, Valdivia, Osorno, and Llanquihue between 37° and 40° S. (In 1975 the twenty-five Chilean provinces were reorganized into thirteen regions. Arauco, Malleco, and Cautín are now in the ninth region; Bío-Bío is in the eighth region; Valdivia, Osorno, and Llanquihue are in the tenth region.) Within this area summers are warm and the winters characterized by heavy rainfalls. The annual average rainfall is over 200 centimeters and the average temperature is 10° C. In Argentina, the Mapuche are found in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Mendoza, Chubut, La Pampa, Santa Cruz, and Neuquén (between 41° and 36° S and 73° and 78° W. Neuquén has the largest concentration of Mapuche.

The aboriginal population of the Mapuche has been estimated to have been between 500,000 and 1,500,000 at the time of the Conquest (mid sixteenth century). In 2002 604,349 Mapuche were counted in the Chilean census and in 2001 113,680 Mapuche were counted in the Argentinean census.

The Mapuche language, Mapudungun, belongs to the Mapuche Stock and is comprised of several dialects. In Chile these are: Mapuche proper, Picunche, Pehuenche, Huilliche, and Chilote. Mapuche proper was spoken from the Bío-Bío to the Tolten rivers at the time of the Conquest; at present it is spoken in the provinces of Bío-Bío, Maule (in the seventh region), Arauco, Cautín and Ñuble (in the eighth region). Picunche was spoken from Coquimbo to the Río Bío-Bío. Pehuenche is spoken from Valdivia to Neuquén. Huilliche is spoken in Chile in the province of Valdivia and in Argentina in the Lake Nahuel Huapí region. In Argentina, Moluche or Nguluche and Ranquelchue are also spoken. Moluche is spoken from Limay to Lake Nahuel Huapí. Ranquelchue was spoken on the plains of La Pampa and can now be heard in Chalileo, General Acha, and on the Río Colorado.

Archaeological evidence suggests the existence of an Mapuche culture by 500 BC in the territory of present-day Chile. The aboriginal Mapuche were hunters and gatherers and practiced horticulture and incipient agriculture. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Araucanians were divided into three geographically contiguous ethnic groups: the Picunche in the north, the Mapuche in the central-south, and the Huilliche in the southern section. At this time the Incas invaded the Araucanian territory, dominating the Picunche. The Picunche were influenced more by the Central Andes cultures in their material culture and technology than were the Mapuche and the Huilliche, but the organization of their economic, social and religious life was like that of other Mapuche groups. The Inca invasion was stopped at the Río Maule by the Mapuche and the Huilliche.

In the mid-sixteenth century the Spanish arrived and established a military outpost in central Chile. Only the Picunche were conquered by the Spanish. They were forced to work in the gold mines and to perform agricultural tasks. The Picunche eventually mixed with the Spanish rural population, and by the seventeenth century the Picunche had completely disappeared as an ethnic group. The Mapuche and the Huilliche managed to keep their independence from the Spanish and the Chileans for almost four centuries by waging guerrilla warfare. The horse was adopted by the Mapuche soon after the middle of the sixteenth century and it was used effectively in warfare and hunting.

In the eighteenth century the Mapuche and the Huilliche started to migrate to Argentina in search of horses to continue their battle against the Spanish. In their search for horses, they began their geographical and cultural expansion in the Argentinian territory, which lasted 150 years. Three Indian groups were Araucanized: the Pehuenche, the Puelche, and the Pampa. By the end of the eighteenth century, all these groups spoke the Mapuche language and had acquired their beliefs and traditions. The Mapuche and the Huilliche controlled all the area between the vicinity of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, San Luis, and the Río Negro from the cordillera to the sea. Three permanent chiefstainships were established in the Argentinian territory. In Chile, the Mapuche and the Huilliche continued their war with the Spanish for over two centuries. Two major treaties were signed between the Mapuche and the Spanish in which the Spanish Crown recognized the independence of Mapuche territory. The conflict between the Mapuche and whites was rekindled, however, after Chile became independent from Spain in 1818.

The Chilean government promoted European colonization of Mapuche territory by establishing the reservation policy of 1866, which favored white colonists. The Mapuche and especially the Huilliche lost a great deal of land to German settlers. With the loss of land, the Huilliche began to lose their traditional way of life. Two major rebellions were staged by the Mapuche, both of which were defeated by the Chileans. Following the last major rebellion (1880 to 1882), the Mapuche lost their political autonomy and military power. In Argentina, the military campaigns under generals Julio Roca and Conrado Villegas in 1879-1883 completely defeated the Indian confederates and drove most of the Indian survivors beyond the Río Negro and into Neuquén.

In Chile, the present reservation system was established in 1884, and the Mapuche were relocated to reservations; in Argentina they were arrested and confined to remote areas. At the present time, they form two relatively differentiated modern ethnic groups: the Argentinian Mapuche and the Chilean Mapuche.

Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the Mapuche lived in small clusters of semi permanent to permanent settlements arranged in a dispersed pattern. Three to eight patrilocal families or households inhabited each settlement, each living in its own dwelling. The settlements were located mostly in valleys or plains along rivers and streams. The Mapuche never lived in towns. Their dwellings consisted of huts (rukas) situated in prominent places so approaching visitors could be seen and the animals could be observed. The typical ruka had a timber or cane framework; an oval, polygonal, or rectangular ground plan; and a thatch roof extending nearly to ground level. Dimensions ranged from 3 to 6.5 meters in length and from 3 to 4 meters in breadth. There were one or two smoke holes at one or both ends of the roof. Although this type of ruka can still be found, modifications involving the use of shingles, cement, brick, or wood instead of thatch are becoming common. The number of rukas determines wealth: poor Mapuche live in one ruka, whereas wealthy ones have separate rukas for sleeping, eating, and storage.

Between AD 500-1000 and 1500 Mapuche subsistence was based on a combination of food gathering, hunting, fishing, horticulture, and incipient agriculture. Their diet was and continues to be predominantly vegetarian. Horticulture is believed to have developed among the aboriginal Mapuche between 500 and 1500. In the valleys, horticulture and incipient agriculture were combined with hunting and gathering, whereas in the highlands only hunting and gathering were practiced. In the coastal areas, fishing and gathering shellfish were supplemented with hunting. The plants cultivated by the Mapuche of the valleys were maize, kidney beans, squashes, quinoa, oca, peanuts, chili peppers, and white potatoes. The latter are believed to have been domesticated by the Mapuche. Irrigation agriculture was practiced by the Picunche in the northern part of Mapuche territory. The Mapuche were herders as well as farmers, raising llamas for meat and wool. By the end of the eighteenth century, llamas were replaced by horses, mules, sheep, pigs, and other domesticated animals introduced by the Spanish.

The twentieth century Mapuche agriculturists cultivate European crops using steel plows and farming techniques learned from the Chileans, such as the three-field system of land rotation and crop rotation. Woven blankets, pottery, and wood- and stone work are sold to tourists in the markets of cities near the reservations. Women sell part of the produce from their gardens in the local markets.

Ceramics were probably introduced in the northern cultures of Mapuche territory in the last 500 years prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the mid sixteenth century. By the time of their arrival, the Mapuche were skilled in fashioning baskets, blankets colored with native dyes, cordage and netted objects, pottery, and wood and stone objects. With the introduction of sheep by the Spanish, weaving became more important. Silversmithing was introduced in the late eighteenth century and became highly developed. The twentieth century Mapuche make textiles, baskets, and stone-and woodwork both for domestic use and for cash sale in the local markets.

Exchange between the Mapuche consisted of reciprocated favors. Chilean Mapuche traded with the Argentinian Mapuche for salt and animals in exchange for weavings and alcohol. Trade between the Mapuche and the Spanish and, later, the Chileans, was fairly common in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; however, there were no established markets. Generally, Mapuche traded animals and weavings for alcohol and European goods.

When swidden agriculture was practiced, men cut down and burned the forest, whereas women did the planting, weeding, and harvesting of the gardens. During times of war farming was performed primarily by women. Since the relocation to reservations, farming has become the main occupation of men. Women, in addition to their domestic work, engage in the small-scale cultivation of vegetable gardens. Children start to help their parents in farm activities when they are young. At an early age, they begin by taking care of the animals. As they grow older, boys help their fathers with farm activities, whereas girls help their mothers with domestic tasks. Minga, a communal form of reciprocated labor in which kin members and neighbors participate, was and continues to be resorted to for the construction of houses and agricultural tasks.

Among aboriginal Mapuche land lacked importance because their economy did not emphasize extensive agriculture. In the second half of the eighteenth century, land was owned communally by a group of families. Each family owned the land they cultivated and grazed. Property was administered by chiefs, who apportioned plots to families. Reservation settlement in 1884 changed this situation, weakening common holding and strengthening individual holding and inheritance. Three thousand small reservations were mapped by surveyors from 1884 to 1920. The Chilean authorities gave the head of a kinship group a land deed (titulo de merced) granting use to him and to the (named) group members. The reservation policy of 1884 gave chiefs an opportunity to receive more land if there was division. Under this policy, upon petition of one-eighth of the households, the reservation would be disbanded and the land given in severalty title to household heads, with additional land given to chiefs as inducement.

In the early part of the twentieth century, this policy, combined with the increase in population and diminishing agricultural productivity, produced the greatest pressure to divide land. In the 1920s, however, the division of land came almost to a standstill. The Mapuche resisted disbandment. The government continued its efforts to attempt to appeal to individual Mapuche and bypass the authority of the chiefs. In 1927 the law pertaining to the disbanding of reservations was changed to require only the appeal of a single household. After this measure failed, the government decreed that even this single vote was not necessary and that it could disband reservations at its own discretion. In 1931 the law was again changed; it stipulated that the votes of one-third of the households of a reservation were needed. In March 1979 Decree-Law 2568 went into effect, providing for the division of Mapuche communal land into individual plots if only one occupant demands it, whether Mapuche or non-Mapuche. The majority of the Mapuche now live on reservations (the number of reservations has decreased to fewer than 2,000). They can bequeath their land, lend it, or rent it, but they cannot sell it or dispose of it in any permanent way. The sale of land is possible only after the reservation is divided.

The system of descent is patrilineal, tracing back to a mythical ancestor who is believed to be a creator of the lineage. Until the nineteenth century the kuga kinship and naming system existed: each lineage, or kuga, had its own name, which was given to its male children shortly after birth. Members of each group had a particular loyalty to one another and sided with one another during arguments.

Traditional kin terms follow the Omaha system insofar as a man will call his mother's brother's daughter "mother," and she will call him "son."

The ideal marriage was and continues to be the "mother's brother's daughter" marriage. Sororal polygyny, sororate, and levirate marriage customs were common. The basic marriage process involved negotiations over a bride-price, a dramatized capture of the bride-to-be, the payment by the prospective groom, and then the marriage ceremony. Divorce was common, most often occasioned by sterility, infidelity, desertion, or ill-treatment. In all cases, the bride-price was returned to the husband. At present, these traditional practices have been almost completely replaced by monogamy.

Until the nineteenth century the domestic unit was a patrilocal extended family composed of a central male, his wives, and their children and grandchildren. Currently (late twentieth century), a domestic unit generally consists of a couple and their children and may include one of the couple's parents.

Position and inheritance were patrilineal, passing from father to son. Before settlement on the reservations, inheritances consisted mainly of herds and movable goods. By the late twentieth century the importance of land ownership has made property the most consequential inheritance, and both men and women inherit land.

In aboriginal times boys had to sleep outside, bathe daily, and abstain from certain foods in order to toughen themselves. They were trained in the use of arms, swimming, horsemanship, and oratory and accompanied their fathers to drink with the rest of the men. In the late twentieth century oratory and farming skills are taught to young boys. Girls are taught to take care of the home and their younger siblings. Datura stramonium and Latua pubiflora are used by the Mapuche as personality tests for their children; a mild tea is brewed from these plants and the parents observe the child's reactions and draw conclusions regarding the character traits she or he will develop.

Prior to pacification in the mid to late nineteenth century, the Mapuche derived personal prestige and personal rank from martial prowess, wealth, generosity, and eloquence of speech. The modern (twentieth century) Mapuche are divided into three loosely separated classes: the wealthy, the commoners, and the poor farm workers.

Kinship heads, called lonko, controlled agricultural labor and other cooperative (minga) ventures. A lonko's power extended only over his own household, and his prestige partly depended upon his generous hospitality. There was no overall chief in peacetime. When necessary, military commanders were elected by these lonko. After settlement on reservations (ca. 1884), the political power of the chief was temporarily strengthened. The chief's role in land allocation gave him control over marital and postmarital residence. The consequent division of land and the inability of the original chiefs to transfer their reservation land title to their heirs decreased their newly acquired political power. Modern (twentieth century) chiefs share their authority with councils of elders and heads of lineages. The chief's authority is restricted to inter- and intra-reservational matters.

During pre-reservation times, crimes of adultery, murder, and sorcery within the community were punishable by death. With the exception of sorcery, however, compensation was commonly made through payments. At present, troublemakers and people suspected of sorcery are usually evicted from the reservation as punishment. Since pacification, the Mapuche have been under the Chilean judicial system.

Prior to settlement on the reservations in the 1880s, feuds and raids between Mapuche were common. Each household defended its farm lands against trespass and avenged death or sorcery by means of blood feud.

The maintenance of a sustained and responsible link between the living and the dead is the central concept of Mapuche religious morality. The living are responsible for the propitiation of their ancestors, and rituals are performed to maintain a positive relationship with them. Dreams, the vehicle of contact with the supernatural, are an important aspect of the Mapuche spirtual life. Mapuche interpret their dreams daily to understand their present situation and learn about their future.

In aboriginal times, the Mapuche are believed to have had an animistic religion. At present, Mapuche religion is polytheistic, with the highest god located at the highest level of heaven. The family set of the highest god is formed by two couples, one young and one old. The most important of these gods is the male of the old couple. Located in descending order within this hierarchical heaven, there are the gods of fertility, of the morning star, of the stars, of the past warriors, of the rituals, of music, and of the cardinal points and climatic and meteorological forces. On the lowest levels there reside the spirits of Mapuche ancestors and the spirits of the volcanoes. The perrimontu are beings with ambivalent association with the forces of good. They aid shamans in their profession and cause sicknesses. The evil forces are called wekufe and are of three major types: natural phenomena, ghosts, and those of zoomorphic form. In spite of the prolonged contact with missionaries and whites, Mapuche religion has been little affected and Christianization has been minimal.

A kalku is both a sorcerer and a witch. Kalkus, who are usually women, are trained in their arts by other kalkus. Their powers are obtained through dreams and visions. The forces of evil are activated when envious people ask kalkus to use the evil spirits to attack persons who are the objects of their envy. Shamans (machi), aided by their auxiliary spirits, ward off these evil forces. Although men used to practice shamanism during pre-reservation times, at present the majority of shamans are women. Selection as a shaman and the acquisition of shamanistic power is believed to occur in dreams and visions. Candidates are those who have suffered a prolonged and dangerous illness, display a greater ability to dream than others, and experience visions. The novice receives her training from a senior shaman. The training lasts anywhere from two to four years, during which time the trainee demonstrates obedience and works hard to learn herbal lore, ventriloquism, diagnosis of illness, and divination. After the training has been completed, the neophyte must demonstrate her expertise to other shamans and to the community in a ceremony called machiwüllun. The shamanic paraphernalia consist of a drum (kultrun) and carved pole (rewe). Shamans are assisted by the thungunmachife, or shaman interpreter, who translates the language of the shaman while she is in a trance.

The most important ritual among the Mapuche is the ngillatun. In the pre-reservation era, the emphasis of the ngillatun was militaristic, but with pacification it became mainly agricultural, except in times of crisis. The ngillatun celebrated near harvest time consists principally of agricultural rites conducted for the purpose either of thanking the gods for the harvest received or asking for a plentiful one. The ngillatun usually involves the participation of more than one community, and some involve as many as four communities, preferably neighbors. The frequency of this ceremony varies, but if several communities should cooperate as members of a ngillatun, they will take turns in hosting each other. In times of stress this ritual is conducted as soon as a catastrophic event has occurred and may or may not involve the participation of other communities.

The traditional art most practiced among the contemporary Mapuche is oratory; it is characteristic primarily of chiefs, but ordinary people also engage in it. Mapuche oral narrative can be classified into five categories: epeus (mythological tales, animal tales, and legends), peumas (dream reports), nut'amkans (narratives that recount the heroic deeds of past Mapuche warriors), weupins (formal speeches made by men at social and religious events), and qulkatuns (improvised sung narratives usually expressive of strong emotions). The main musical instruments are the kettle drum, flute, and trumpet. Men and women dance-but rarely together-imitating animals with masks and movement. Men and women engage in spontaneous singing at social gatherings.

In earlier times all sicknesses were believed to be caused by supernatural agents. Among contemporary Mapuche, however, there are two kinds of sickness: one caused by supernatural agents, the wekufe and the perrimontu, and the other by natural agents or environmental factors. Shamans treat all sicknesses with herbs and rituals.

After death, the soul is believed to undergo a series of transformations on its journey to the wenu mapu (the place of final rest). The soul has the potential of becoming an agent of evil if captured by the evil spirits on this journey. Special ceremonies are conducted by the relatives of the dead to ensure the safety of the soul. At its final destination the soul becomes an ancestral spirit. Through dreams and visions the ancestor visits the living and helps them. Funeral rites involve the gathering of friends and relatives of the deceased, ceremonial wailing, tearing of the hair, shamanistic autopsy, temporary preservation of the cadaver, and the heavy drinking of alcohol.

Censo 2002. Síntesis de Resultados. Santiago de Chile. 2003.

http://www.ine.cl/cd2002/sintesiscensal.pdf. Accessed May 13, 2008.

Cooper, John (1946). "The Araucanians." In Handbook of South American Indians, edited by Julian Steward. Vol. 2, The Andean Civilizations, 687-766. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 143. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.

Degarrod, Lydia Nakashima (1990). "Coping with Stress: Family Dream Interpretation in the Mapuche Family." Psychiatric Journal of the University of Ottawa 15(2): 111-116.

Faron, Louis (1968). The Mapuche Indians of Chile. New York: Holt, Rinehart &Winston.

Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos. Población por pueblo indigena. Total del país. Años 2004-2005. Buenos Aires, Argentina. http://www.indec.mecon.ar. Accessed May 13, 2008.

Stuchlick, Milan (1976). Life on a Half Share. London: C. Hurst &Co.

This culture summary is based on the article "Araucanians" by Lydia Nakashima Degarrod in the Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Vol. 7, South America, 1994. Johannes Wilbert, ed. Boston, Mass.: G. K. Hall &Co. Population figures were updated in May 2008 with advice from Lydia Nakashima Degarrod.