27 Facts About Mapuche

Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of present-day south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of present-day Patagonia.

In times of war, the Mapuche would unite in larger groupings and elect a toki to lead them.

At the time of Spanish arrival, the Araucanian Mapuche inhabited the valleys between the Itata and Tolten rivers.

Since then the Mapuche have become subjects, and then nationals and citizens of the respective states.

Name "Mapuche" is used both to refer collectively to the Picunche, Huilliche and Moluche or Nguluche from Araucania, or at other times, exclusively to the Moluche or Nguluche from Araucania.

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Mapuche identify by the geography of their territories, such as:.

Archaeological finds have shown that Mapuche culture existed in Chile and Argentina as early as 600 to 500 BC.

Genetically the Mapuche differ from the adjacent indigenous peoples of Patagonia.

Spanish expansion into Mapuche territory was an offshoot of the conquest of Peru.

The northern Mapuche tribes, known as Promaucaes and Picunches, fought unsuccessfully against Spanish conquest.

Between 1550 and 1553 the Spanish founded several cities in Mapuche lands including Concepcion, Valdivia, Imperial, Villarrica and Angol.

Mapuche numbers decreased significantly following contact with the Spanish invaders; wars and epidemics decimated the population.

The Mapuche then initiated a general uprising which destroyed all the cities in their homeland south of the Biobio River.

In 2010 the Mapuche launched a number of hunger strikes in attempts to effect change in the anti-terrorism legislation.

In 2018, the Mapuche were suing Exxon, French company TotalEnergies and Pan American Energy.

At the time of the arrival of Europeans, the Mapuche organized and constructed a network of forts and defensive buildings.

Ancient Mapuche built ceremonial constructions such as some earthwork mounds recently discovered near Puren.

Mapuche quickly adopted iron metal-working Mapuche learned horse riding and the use of cavalry in war from the Spaniards, along with the cultivation of wheat and sheep.

Mapuche made headdresses with coins, which were called trarilonko, etc.

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.

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.

Part of Mapuche ritual is prayer and animal sacrifice, required to maintain the cosmic balance.

Mapuche have incorporated the remembered history of their long independence and resistance from 1540, and of the treaty with the Chilean and Argentine government in the 1870s.

Such trading enabled the Mapuche to obtain those goods that they did not produce or held in high esteem, such as horses.

At present, the fabrics woven by the Mapuche continue to be used for domestic purposes, as well as for gift, sale or barter.

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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.

Notable Mapuche poets include Sebastian Queupul, Pedro Alonzo, Elicura Chihuailaf and Leonel Lienlaf.