Indigenous People of Chili: The Mapuche

The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south- central Chile and southwestern Argentina. This group of people account for a wide range of different groups that have varying ethnicity's, yet share a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a dialectal heritage. The term Mapuche refers to all of the different groups and the whole is sometimes referred to as “the people of the north.” The Mapuche people make up about 4% of the Chilean population and are mostly concentrated in the Araucania region.

The origin of the Mapuche is unclear and the language of the Mapuche, Mapudungun , has been classified as being closely related to the Penutian languages of North America. The traditional economy of the Mapuche is agriculture: their traditional society consists of family, extended family, which are under the direction or rule of one called the “lonko” or chief. In times of war the different groups of “the people of the north ” would unite and elect one member from all groups to lead them, this particular person is called the “toqui .”

Up until the 17^th and 18^thcentury the Mapuche people inhabited the valleys that laid in between the Itata and  Tolten rivers, before some groups began migrating eastward into the Andes and Pampas. This is where they began to fuse and create relationships with the indigenous people of these regions. Ethnic groups of the Andes and Pampas regions include the Poyas, Pehuenche and several other smaller groups, all of which took on the Mapuche language and all shared the same cultural characteristic as “the people of the north .”

The Mapuche successfully over time resisted the many, many attempts by the Inca Empire to overpower them. This is a considerable feat considering the Mapuche people had no organization of state. Without the knowledge or know how they successfully fought against the Sapa Inca, Tupac Yupanqui and his army. One such battle called “Battle of the Maule” was a three day blood bath. The point to this battle was to stop the Inca conquest at the edge of the MauleRiver and the.  indiginous people of the region won.Throughout the 17^thcentury the Mapuche’s and the governors of Chili made a series of treaties in order to end the hostilities. By the end of the 18^thcentury many Mapuche “lonko’s” accepted the way of the Spanish, yet still compromised enough to be able to practice their independency.

Today many descendants of the Mapuche people live across southern Chili and Argentina; some of those descendants still maintain their traditions and still continue to live by utilizing agriculture. However like many other varying groups of people, some of the Mapuche descendants have moved to nearby cities, where there is better economic growth opportunities. Land disputes still continue in some Mapuche areas. Violent disputes still continue to rage on, mostly in the northern sections. In attempts to diffuse these types of situations some are calling for a drastic change in how the indigenous people of Chili are treated, considering the Chilean population is 80% indigenous.

One of the best known arts and contributions seen coming from the Mapuchepeople comes by way of textile. One of the oldest examples of textile art that has ever been found and documented belongs to the indigenous people of Chili. Fabrics were made from camel and sheep fur; the fur of these animals was longer and much thicker than that of the traditional cattle. The indigenous people began to breed camel and sheep, because of the structural integrity it blended to the textile fabrics and arts. Currently indigenous women continue to make these fabrics according to their knowledge of their ancestral history. The art of textile is passed on from generation to generation, mother to daughter and so on. At present, the fabrics woven by the Mapuche continue being made for domestic use, as well as to sell on the market. Many of the fabrics made today are a major source of income for many Mapuche families