, 1854 At the time of the arrival of Europeans, the Mapuche organized and constructed a network of forts and defensive buildings. Ancient Mapuche also built ceremonial constructions such as some earthwork
mounds discovered near Purén. Mapuche quickly adopted
iron metal-working (
Picunches already worked
copper) Mapuche learned
horse riding and the use of
cavalry in war from the
Spaniards, along with the cultivation of
wheat and
sheep. In the 300-year co-existence between the Spanish colonies and the relatively well-delineated autonomous Mapuche regions, the Mapuche also developed a strong tradition of trading with Spaniards, Argentines, and Chileans. Such trade lies at the heart of the Mapuche silver-working tradition, for Mapuche wrought their jewelry from the large and widely dispersed quantity of Spanish, Argentine, and Chilean silver coins. Mapuche also made headdresses with
coins, which were called
trarilonko, etc.
Mapuche languages , 1848. Mapuche languages are spoken in Chile and Argentina. The two living branches are
Huilliche and
Mapudungun. Although not genetically related, lexical influence has been discerned from
Quechua. Linguists estimate that only about 200,000 full-fluency speakers remain in Chile. The language receives only token support in the educational system. In recent years, it has started to be taught in rural schools of Bío-Bío, Araucanía, and Los Lagos Regions. Mapuche speakers of
Chilean Spanish who also speak Mapudungun tend to use more
impersonal pronouns when speaking Spanish.
Cosmology and beliefs Central to Mapuche cosmology is the idea of a creator called , who is embodied in four components: an older man (), an older woman (), a young man, and a young woman. They believe in worlds known as the and . Also, Mapuche cosmology is informed by complex notions of spirits that coexist with humans and animals in the natural world, and daily circumstances can dictate spiritual practices. The most well-known Mapuche ritual ceremony is the , which loosely translates as "to pray" or "general prayer". These ceremonies are often major communal events that are of extreme spiritual and social importance. Many other ceremonies are practiced, and not all are for public or communal participation but are sometimes limited to family. The main groups of deities and/or spirits in Mapuche mythology are the and (ancestral spirits), the (spirits in nature), and the (evil spirits). Central to Mapuche
belief is the role of the (shaman). It is usually filled by a woman, following an apprenticeship with an older machi, and has many of the characteristics typical of
shamans. The machi performs ceremonies for curing diseases, warding off evil, influencing weather, harvests, social interactions, and
dreamwork. Machis often have extensive knowledge of regional
medicinal herbs. As biodiversity in the Chilean countryside has declined due to commercial agriculture and forestry, the dissemination of such knowledge has also declined, but the Mapuche people are reviving it in their communities. Machis have an extensive knowledge of sacred stones and sacred animals. Quilapán Like many cultures, the Mapuche have a
deluge myth () of a major flood in which the world is destroyed and recreated. The myth involves two opposing forces: (water, which brings death through floods) and (dry earth, which brings sunshine). In the deluge almost all humanity is drowned; the few not drowned survive through
cannibalism. At last, only one couple is left. A machi tells them that they must give their only child to the waters, which they do, and this restores order to the world. Part of the Mapuche ritual is prayer and animal sacrifice, required to maintain the cosmic balance. This belief has continued to current times. In 1960, for example, a machi sacrificed a young boy, throwing him into the water after an
earthquake and a tsunami. The Mapuche have incorporated the remembered history of their long independence and resistance from 1540 (Spanish and then Chileans and Argentines) and of the treaty with the Chilean and Argentine governments in the 1870s. Memories, stories, and beliefs, often very local and particularized, are a significant part of the Mapuche traditional culture. To varying degrees, this history of resistance continues to this day amongst the Mapuche. At the same time, a large majority of Mapuche in Chile identify with the state as Chilean, similar to a large majority in Argentina identifying as Argentines.
Ethnobotany Ceremonies and traditions is the Mapuche
New Year celebration.
Textiles exhibited in Museo Artesanía Chilena. One of the best-known arts of the Mapuche is their
textiles. The oldest data on textiles in the southernmost areas of the American continent (southern Chile and Argentina today) are found in some
archaeological excavations, such as those of Pitrén Cemetery near the city of
Temuco, and the Alboyanco site in the
Biobío Region, both of Chile; and the Rebolledo Arriba Cemetery in
Neuquén Province (Argentina). researchers have found evidence of fabrics made with complex techniques and designs, dated between AD 1300–1350. The Mapuche women were responsible for spinning and weaving. Knowledge of both weaving techniques and textile patterns particular to the locality was usually transmitted within the family, with mothers, grandmothers, and aunts teaching a girl the skills they had learned from their elders. Women who excelled in the textile arts were highly honored for their accomplishments and contributed economically and culturally to their kinship group. A measure of the importance of weaving is evident in the expectation that a man gives a larger
dowry for a bride who was an accomplished weaver. In addition, the Mapuche used their textiles as an important surplus and an exchange trading good. Numerous sixteenth-century accounts describe their bartering the textiles with other Indigenous peoples, and with colonists in newly developed settlements. Such trading enabled the Mapuche to obtain those goods that they did not produce or held in high esteem, such as horses. Tissue volumes made by Aboriginal women and marketed in the Araucanía and the north of Patagonia Argentina were considerable and constituted a vital economic resource for Indigenous families. The production of fabrics in the time before European settlement was intended for uses beyond domestic consumption. At present, the fabrics woven by the Mapuche continue to be used for domestic purposes, as well as for gift, sale, or barter. Most Mapuche women and their families now wear garments with foreign designs and tailored with materials of industrial origin, but they continue to weave ponchos, blankets, bands, and belts for regular use. Many of the fabrics are woven for trade, and in many cases, are an important source of income for families. Glazed pots are used to dye the wool. Many Mapuche women continue to weave fabrics according to the customs of their ancestors and transmit their knowledge in the same way: within domestic life, from mother to daughter, and from grandmothers to granddaughters. This form of learning is based on gestural imitation, and only rarely, and when strictly necessary, the apprentice receives explicit instructions or help from their instructors. Knowledge is transmitted as the fabric is woven, the weaving and transmission of knowledge go together.
Silverwork In the later half of the eighteenth century, Mapuche
silversmiths began to produce large amounts of silver finery. The surge of silversmithing activity may be related to the
1726 parliament of Negrete that decreased hostilities between Spaniards and Mapuches and allowed trade to increase between colonial Chile and the free Mapuches. The bulk of the Spanish silver coins originated from mining in
Potosí in
Upper Peru. The great diversity in silver finery designs is because designs were made to be identified with different (families), (lands) as well as specific and . Mapuche silver finery was also subject to changes in
fashion albeit designs associated with philosophical and spiritual concepts have not undergone major changes. All important Mapuche chiefs of the nineteenth century are supposed to have had at least one silversmith. Contemporary Mapuche literature can be said to be composed of an oral tradition and Spanish-Mapudungun bilingual writings. These were first described in Spanish in a chronicle of 1673. Among the Mapuche, "the spirits are interested in machi's gendered discourses and performances, not in the sex under the machi's clothes". In attracting the (possessing spirit), "Both male and female become spiritual brides who seduce and call their – at once husband and master – to possess their heads ... The ritual transvestism of male ... draws attention to the relational gender categories of spirit husband and wife as a couple ()." As concerning "co-gendered identities" of " as co-gender specialists", it has been speculated that "female
berdaches" may have formerly existed among the Mapuche. Currently, there's movement from communities, such as
lof, activist and artistic groups for the presence of mapuche
queer identities and their validity and existence in traditional indigenous spaces, from the publication of books, newspapers, articles , exhibits, performances and just participation as teachers or organizers in trawün (reunions with people from different communities to share information, celebrate events, among other things), koneltün (long stay events with the purpose of teaching, usually for learning
mapudungun) and kimeltün (classes) spaces. ==Mapuche, Chileans, and the Chilean state==