Chemamüll ("wooden person", from

Mapuche 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 sha ...

''che'' "people" and ''mamüll'' "wood") are

statues made of wood used to signal the grave of a deceased person.

Description

The ''chemamüll'' are carved wooden statues, usually more than tall, that represent the stylized body and head of a human being. Statues may have male or female features. The Mapuche used whole logs of either ''

Nothofagus obliqua ''Nothofagus obliqua'', commonly known as Patagonian oak, ''roble'', ''pellín'', ''roble pellín'', and ''hualle'' in its early state of growth or roble beech, is a deciduous tree from Chile and Argentina. It grows from 33 to 43° south latitude ...

'', a hardwood, or

laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

for their chemamüll. The Mapuche made chemamüll in pre-Columbian times in a manner similar to

headstone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...

s. According to testimony in books, chemamüll helped the deceased's soul reunite with its ancestors. This sculpture stood by the deceased during the funeral and was then erected over the grave.

References

External links

Chemamüll images in Precolumbian museum, in SpanishWeblog in Spanish about ''chemamüll''
Mapuche culture Wooden sculptures Death customs {{ethno-stub