Machi (Shaman)
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Machi (Shaman)
A machi is a traditional healer and religious leader in the Mapuche culture of Chile and Argentina. Machis play significant roles in Mapuche religion. In contemporary Mapuche culture, women are more commonly machis than men but it is not a rule. Description As a religious authority, a machi leads healing ceremonies, called Machitun. During the machitun, the machi communicates with the spirit world. Machies also serve as advisors, and oracles for their community. In the past, they advised on peace and warfare. The term is sometimes interchangeable with the word ''kalku'', however, ''kalku'' has a usually evil connotation whereas ''machi'' is usually considered good; this, however, is not always true since in common use the terms may be interchanged. The Mapuches live in southern South America mostly in central Chile ( Araucanía and Los Lagos) and the adjacent areas of Argentina. To become a machi, a Mapuche person has to demonstrate character, willpower, and courage, bec ...
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Mapuche Machis
The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious, and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage as Mapudungun speakers. Their habitat once extended from Aconcagua Valley to Chiloé Archipelago and later spread eastward to Puelmapu, a land comprising part of the Argentine pampa and Patagonia. Today the collective group makes up over 80% of the indigenous peoples in Chile, and about 9% of the total Chilean population. The Mapuche are particularly concentrated in the Araucanía region. Many have migrated from rural areas to the cities of Santiago and Buenos Aires for economic opportunities. The Mapuche traditional economy is based on agriculture; their traditional social organization consists of extended families, under the direction of a ...
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1960 Valdivia Earthquake
The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami ( es, link=no, Terremoto de Valdivia) or the Great Chilean earthquake (''Gran terremoto de Chile'') on 22 May 1960 was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4–9.6 on the moment magnitude scale. It occurred in the afternoon (19:11 GMT, 15:11 local time), and lasted for approximately 10 minutes. The resulting tsunamis affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia, and the Aleutian Islands. The epicenter of this megathrust earthquake was near Lumaco, approximately south of Santiago, with Valdivia being the most affected city. The tremor caused localised tsunamis that severely battered the Chilean coast, with waves up to . The main tsunami traveled across the Pacific Ocean and devastated Hilo, Hawaii, where waves as high as were recorded over from the epicenter. The death toll and monetary losses arising from this widespread disaster are not ...
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Shamanism Of The Americas
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into the physical world for the purpose of healing, divination, or to aid human beings in some other way. Beliefs and practices categorized as "shamanic" have attracted the interest of scholars from a variety of disciplines, including anthropologists, archeologists, historians, religious studies scholars, philosophers and psychologists. Hundreds of books and academic papers on the subject have been produced, with a peer-reviewed academic journal being devoted to the study of shamanism. In the 20th century, non-Indigenous Westerners involved in countercultural movements, such as hippies and the New Age created modern magicoreligious practices influenced by their ideas of various Indigenous religions, creating what has been term ...
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Juan Ignacio Molina
Fr. Juan Ignacio Molina (; (June 24, 1740 – September 12, 1829) was a Chilean Jesuit priest, naturalist, historian, translator, geographer, botanist, ornithologist, and linguist. He is usually referred to as Abate Molina (a form of Abbot Molina), and is also sometimes known by the Italian form of his name, Giovanni Ignazio Molina. He was one of the precursors of the theory of the gradual evolution of species, 44 years before Darwin, who repeatedly quoted him in "The Origin of Species". Biography Early years Molina was born at Guaraculén, a big farm located near Villa Alegre (General Captaincy of Chile), where he lived until he was 5 years old. In the current province of Linares, in the Maule Region of Chile. His parents were Agustín Molina and Francisca González Bruna. From an early age he was attracted to the nature of his environment, and in addition to his school work, he enjoyed observing nature on the family farm, which he visited periodically, alternating with ...
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Francisco Núñez De Pineda Y Bascuñán
Francisco Núñez de Pineda y Bascuñán (1607–1682) was a Chilean writer and soldier. He was born in Chillán Viejo, Biobío Region, Chile. In 1629 he participated in an expedition to defeat the Mapuche, but, during the Battle of Las Cangrejeras, he was taken prisoner by the cacique Maulicán, who kept him captive for seven months. After being released, he rose through the ranks to become commander of the fort of Boroa in 1654, and he was eventually appointed Maestro de Campo in 1656 by Governor of Chile Pedro Porter Casanate and had an important role in the Spanish victory in Conuco and the relief of the fort of Boroa. From his experiences among the Mapuches, he wrote in 1673, the chronicle ''Cautiverio feliz y razón individual de las guerras dilatadas del reino de Chile'' (''Happy Captivity and Reason for the Prolonged Wars of the Kingdom of Chile''), which constitutes one of the most important and realistic descriptions of the customs of the Mapuche people, as well a ...
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Francisca Linconao
Francisca Linconao Huircapán (born September 18, 1958), also known as Machi Linconao, is a '' machi'' (a Mapuche spiritual authority) and human rights activist in Chile. She became the first Indigenous rights defender in Chile to successfully invoke the 1989 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention when she sued to stop a company from logging a forest adjacent to her community. In 2021, she was elected as a representative of the Mapuche people to the Chilean Constitutional Convention election. Early life Linconao was born in Padre Las Casas, Chile, in 1958. She was one of nine children, and her father died when she was a baby. Despite her initial hesitation, wanting to stay in school, at age 12 she became a ''machi'', a Mapuche traditional healer and religious leader. She went on to become both a spiritual leader and a human rights defender for the Mapuche people. ''Machi Linconao v. Palermo'' In 2008, she submitted a protection action known as a ' against Sociedad Palermo ...
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Warlock Of Chiloé
The Warlocks of Chiloé ("Brujo de Chiloé" or "Brujo chilote" in the Spanish language) are people of Chiloé Archipelago said to practise witchcraft linked to Chilote mythology. The warlocks may be real, purported or legendary persons. The source of the witchcraft is often attributed to a legendary encounter between Basque navigator José de Moraleda y Montero and Huilliche machi Chillpila who defeated Moraleda in a duel of witchcraft obtaining a book of European magic as reward. Belief in witchcraft has been common in the archipelago reaching such influence, that in 1880 Chilean authorities put on trial warlocks said to rule the archipelago through a secret society. Legend Popular belief has attributed to the sorcerers of Chiloé a complex organization, the help of magical creatures, and numerous powers and weaknesses. The Warlocks are said to have had a secret society called La Recta Provincia or La Mayoria. Its origins date back to the Chilean colonial period, when navigat ...
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Toqui
Toqui (or Toki) ( Mapudungun for ''axe'' or ''axe-bearer'') is a title conferred by the Mapuche (an indigenous Chilean and Argentinian people) on those chosen as leaders during times of war. The toqui is chosen in an assembly or parliament ('' coyag'') of the chieftains (loncos) of various clans (Rehues) or confederation of clans (Aillarehues), allied during the war at hand. The toqui commanded strict obedience of all the warriors and their loncos during the war, would organize them into units and appoint leaders over them. This command would continue until the toqui was killed, abdicated (Cayancaru), was deposed in another parliament (as in the case of Lincoyan, for poor leadership), or upon completion of the war for which he was chosen. Some of the more famous Toqui in the Arauco War with the Spanish introduced tactical innovations. For example, Lautaro introduced infantry tactics to defeat horsemen. Lemucaguin was the first Toqui to use firearms and artillery in battle. Non ...
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Lonko
A lonko or lonco (from Mapudungun ''longko'', literally "head"), is a chief of several Mapuche communities. These were often Ulmen (Mapuche), ulmen, the wealthier men in the lof. In wartime, lonkos of the various local rehue or the larger aillarehue would gather in a koyag or parliament and would elect a toqui to lead the warriors in battle. ''Lonco'' sometimes forms part of geographical names such as the city of Loncoche (English: "head of an important person"). References Mapuche Lonkos, History of Chile Indigenous leaders of the Americas, * Titles of national or ethnic leadership Mapuche words and phrases {{Chile-stub ...
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Medicine Man
A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and ceremonial leaders in their particular cultures. Cultural context In the ceremonial context of Indigenous North American communities, "medicine" usually refers to ''spiritual'' healing. Medicine men/women should not be confused with those who employ Native American ethnobotany, a practice that is very common in a large number of Native American and First Nations households.Alcoze, Dr Thomas M. Ethnobotany from a Native American Perspective: Restoring Our Relationship with the Earth" in ''Botanic Gardens Conservation International'' Volume 1 Number 19 - December 1999Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry,Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Sustaining Our Lives and the Natural World at ''United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Ser ...
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Kallawaya
The Kallawaya are an indigenous group living in the Andes of Bolivia. They live in the Bautista Saavedra Province and Muñecas Province of the La Paz Department but are best known for being an itinerant group of traditional healers that travel on foot to reach their patients. Hannß, Katja. "The Etymology of Kallawaya". Journal of Language Contact (10), 2017, p. 219-263 According to the UNESCO Safeguarding Project, the Kallawaya can be traced to the pre-Inca period as direct descendants of the Tiwanaku and Mollo cultures, meaning their existence has lasted approximately 1,000 years.They are known to have performed complex procedures like brain surgery alongside their continuous use of medicinal plants as early as 700 AD. Most famously, they are known to have helped to save thousands of lives during the construction of the Panama Canal, in which they used traditional plant remedies to treat the malaria epidemic. Some historical sources even cite the Kallawayas as the first to ...
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Kalku
Kalku or Calcu, in Mapuche mythology, is a sorcerer or witch who works with black magic and negative powers or forces. The essentially benevolent shamans are more often referred to as '' machi'', to avoid confusion with the malevolent kalku. Its origins are in Mapuche tradition. The word kalku is a borrowing from Puquina language Its adoption by Mapuches fits into a pattern of parallels in the Mapuche and Central Andean cosmology (Inca religion) dating back to the times of Tiwanaku Empire when Puquina was an important language. Description The ''kalku'' is a semi-mythical character that has the power of working with ''wekufe'' "spirits or wicked creatures". An example of a ''wekufe'' is the Nguruvilu. The ''kalku'' also have as servants other beings such as the Anchimayen, or the Chonchon (which is the magical manifestation of the more powerful ''kalku''). A mapuche ''kalku'' is usually an inherited role, although it could be a ''machi'' that is interested in lucrative ends or ...
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