![Mapuche Machis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Mapuche_Machis.jpg)
The mythology and religion of the indigenous
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 ...
people of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina is an extensive and ancient belief system. A series of unique legends and myths are common to the various groups that make up the Mapuche people. These myths tell of the creation of the world and the various deities and spirits that reside in it.
Overview
In order to describe the beliefs of the
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 ...
people, it is important to note that there are no written records about their ancient legends and myths from before the
Spanish arrival, since their religious beliefs were
passed down orally. Their beliefs are not necessarily homogenous; among different
ethnic groups
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
, and the families, villages, and territorial groups within those ethnic groups, there are variations and differences and discrepancies in these beliefs. Likewise, it is important to understand that many of the Mapuche beliefs have been integrated into the
myths and legends of Chilean folklore, and to a lesser extent,
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
in some areas of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. Many of these beliefs have been altered and influenced by
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, due largely to the
evangelization
In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...
done by
Spanish missionaries. This happened chiefly through the
syncretism
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in t ...
of these beliefs and also through misinterpretation or adaptation within both Chilean and Argentine societies. This syncretism has brought about several variations and differences of these core beliefs as they have become assimilated within
Chilean,
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
and even Mapuche culture. Today, these cultural values, beliefs and practices are still taught in some places with an aim to preserve different aspects of this indigenous Mapuche culture.
Above all the similarities between the common religion and
mythology of South America and its
indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
, the religious beliefs and myths of the Mapuche people stand out because of their unique characteristics that reflect the Mapuche moral, social, cosmological and religious
idiosyncrasy
An idiosyncrasy is an unusual feature of a person (though there are also other uses, see below). It can also mean an odd habit. The term is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity. A synonym may be "quirk".
Etymology
The term "idiosyncra ...
.
There are differing views among scholars if
ancestors
An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
play a significant role in the Mapuche religion.
Indigenous Spiritual Thought and the West
Like many other indigenous American cultures, the Mapuche embrace a cyclic concept of time. Cyclic time is an alternative to the mode of linear thought dictated by European rationalism and positivism which has been the prevailing model in the Western world for the last 400 years. Linear time corresponds to a Jewish philosophical revolution based in Zoroastrianism that serves as an oppositional theory to the theory of cyclic time. This understanding of time was fundamental for the development of the West and the birth of modernity/modern thought.
Indigenous groups emphasize that «The West has historically negated the existence of indigenous philosophy, diminishing it to the category of simple Cosmology, folklore, or mythic thought». While the interaction of linear thought with cyclical has resulted in a prime example of cultural syncretism, this interaction has affected the essence of Mapuche beliefs, given that it has changed the core of the Mapuche vision of the Universe by imposing a linear concept of time.
In the vertical plane (spiritual)
Much like ancestral spirits (
Pillán
The Pillan (of Mapudungun origin; singular ''pillán'' and plural ''pillanes'' in Spanish) is a powerful and respected male spirit in Mapuche mythology.
According to legend, the Pillan are good spirits, but they can also cause disasters, since t ...
), humanity (che) participates in both worlds, maintaining a dynamic equilibrium between good and bad. The world of mankind is called
Mapu
The Popular Unitary Action Movement or MAPU ( es, Movimiento de Acción Popular Unitario) was a small leftist political party in Chile. It was part of the Popular Unity coalition during the government of Salvador Allende. MAPU was repressed du ...
, and above this exists th
Ankawenu(sky/heavens). Pedagogically, the three dimensions are described to be interrelated and conform with the structure of the Mapuche universe in the vertical plane:
Wenu Mapu On the upper end of Nag Mapu is Wenu Mapu, the “land of above”, a sacred and invisible space where the divine family resides with the good spirits and the Mapuche ancestors.
Nag Mapu:This refers to the central land, also known as "the land that we walk on”. This visible space is inhabited by humans and nature.
Miñche Mapu On the bottom end of Nag Mapu is Miñche Mapu, the underworld, where the force of evil and malignant spirits can be found.
On the horizontal plane (earthly or Nag Mapu)
Principle article
Nag mapu
Likewise, that is why, in the ritual aspect, Mapuche religiosity is not expressed through temples or through the construction of other sacred buildings. On the contrary, it is expressed through intimate contact with nature, ''
Ngen {{about, Mapuche mythology, other uses, NGEN (disambiguation)
In Mapuche mythology, Ngen or " Ngen-ko " are spirits of nature of the Mapuche beliefs. In Mapudungun, the word ''ngen'' means "owner".
Legend
The Ngen are those that manage, govern an ...
'', and the Earth represented by
Ñuke Mapu.
Thus, a clearing in the forest, surrounded by trees (ideally
canelos
Canelos is a rural parish of the canton of Pastaza, in the province of Pastaza. It is located to the southeast of the city of Puyo.
In the 1860s, Canelos was a canton itself, comprising the villages of Canelos, Sarayaku, Lliquino, Andoas and ...
) and purified through ritual dance, becomes the most sacred temple for the Mapuche. The only construction permitted is the
''rewe'', a trunk of canelo on which steps have been carved that allow the officiant, either the
''Machi'' or the
''Ngenpin'', to climb to its summit.
Cosmogony
''See also'':
Cosmogony
Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of the cosmos or the universe.
Overview
Scientific theories
In astronomy, cosmogony refers to the study of the origin of particular astrophysical objects or systems, and is most commonly used i ...
''and''
Admapu.
Mapuche
cosmogony
Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of the cosmos or the universe.
Overview
Scientific theories
In astronomy, cosmogony refers to the study of the origin of particular astrophysical objects or systems, and is most commonly used i ...
designates the origin of the Mapuche in the ''
Ñuke Mapu''. It is said that before populating the Earth, spirits watched from above and only saw deserts, until they were permitted to enrich the land with innumerable different beings made from the clouds. Only then did humans come down from the sky, learning the language of nature and bringing the Mapuche language - the same language spoken in the sky. The spirits promised them that they would allow them to return in the future.
Trengtreng and Kaykay
''Principle article'':
Tenten Vilu and Caicai Vilu
Another well known cosmological myth describes Chile's geography through the legend of
Tenten Vilu and Caicai Vilu. Due to the historical interaction between myths and Christianity, the Mapuche and Huilliche versions of this myth are profoundly entwined with the biblical story of the
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
. Later on, Mapuches interpreted this big event as a rebirth of the Mapuche and a phenomenon that is repeated over time, like a major universal purification. Nevertheless, this relation between the Universal Flood was created by Christians, because the original Mapuche story tells us not of a great flood but of a cataclysm generated by an earthquake and a subsequent tsunami, a more probable occurrence in a place like the West coast of South America.
Divinities and spirits of the past
The religious beliefs of the Mapuche are primarily based on spirit worship of ancestors (mythical or real), and spirits, and elements of nature. These spirits do not correspond to “deities”, as is commonly understood in the Western world. With regard to deities, not even in the oldest aspects of the Mapuche religion does there exist a principal spirit that is considered to be the supreme “God”, creator of the universe and of man, although the word “
Ngenechén” is often translated as “God”. This God-Ngenechén relation is likely a forced equivalence created by
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
in their missionary zeal during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as a means of making
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
more acceptable and adaptable. Jesuit influence (The Jesuits, however, were great estimators of the depth of Mapuche transcendental thought) created numerous false equivalences that were nonetheless absorbed by the naturally syncretic Mapuche culture; generating enormous confusion and change that to date has not yet been overcome.
The divinities and spirits of the ancestors can be divided into:
*
Ngen {{about, Mapuche mythology, other uses, NGEN (disambiguation)
In Mapuche mythology, Ngen or " Ngen-ko " are spirits of nature of the Mapuche beliefs. In Mapudungun, the word ''ngen'' means "owner".
Legend
The Ngen are those that manage, govern an ...
: Primordial spirits (In Mapuche thought, the Ngen represent the essence of all things that exist in the world).
*
El: Primordial creator spirits (In Mapuche thought, the El represent the essence of creation of all things that exist in the world).
*
Pillán
The Pillan (of Mapudungun origin; singular ''pillán'' and plural ''pillanes'' in Spanish) is a powerful and respected male spirit in Mapuche mythology.
According to legend, the Pillan are good spirits, but they can also cause disasters, since t ...
: Benign, masculine spirits.
* : Benign feminine spirits.
*
Wekufe
The wekufe, also known as huecufe, wekufü, watuku, huecufu, huecubo, huecubu, huecuvu, huecuve, huecovoe, giiecubu, güecubo, güecugu, uecuvu, güecufu; is an important type of harmful spirit or demon in Mapuche mythology. The word wekufe comes f ...
: Evil spirits.
However, in Mapuche thought, good and bad do not radically contradict each other as they do in Christian culture. Thus, it is possible for wekufe to act for good and pillán for bad, without generating confusion between these two classifications of spirits.
* Pu-am: The representation of the soul or the universal spirit.
* Am: Soul or spirit of living beings.
The most important beings are:
*
Ngenechén: Spirit or deity that governs humans.
*
Antu Antu may refer to:
* Antu (goddess), a goddess, in Akkadian mythology
* Antu (Mapuche mythology), the Pillan spirit in the Mapuche mythology
* Antu, India, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India
* Antu County, in Jilin, China
* Alpha ...
o Chau: Also called Antu fucha (ancient sun God). Antu also has a feminine dimension known as Antu kuche (ancient moon Goddess), that in reality is the representation of his wife
Kuyén.
* Elche: Spirit known as creator of mankind spirit.
* Elmapu: Spirit known as creator of mapu (Earth).
It is also possible that there could be a sole creator with a different name, which is likely due to Christian influence.
The ancient spirits that existed prior to the creation of Mapu, were understood to be represented by the Ngen, El, Pillán y Wangülén, who were made of light, passion, intuition, dreams, and understanding. Each of these were related to Pu-am, who existed in each of them and of whom each of them were a part. All of them were ageless, simultaneously ancient and young.
Cosmology
Central to Mapuche cosmology is the idea of a creator called ''ngenechen,'' who is embodied in four components: an older man (''fucha/futra/cha chau''), an older woman (''kude/kuse''), a young boy, and a young girl. They believe in worlds known as the ''Wenu Mapu'' and ''Minche Mapu.'' 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 ''Ngillatun,'' which loosely translates "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 ''
Pillan
The Pillan (of Mapudungun origin; singular ''pillán'' and plural ''pillanes'' in Spanish) is a powerful and respected male spirit in Mapuche mythology.
According to legend, the Pillan are good spirits, but they can also cause disasters, since th ...
'' and ''Wangulen'' (ancestral spirits), the ''
Ngen {{about, Mapuche mythology, other uses, NGEN (disambiguation)
In Mapuche mythology, Ngen or " Ngen-ko " are spirits of nature of the Mapuche beliefs. In Mapudungun, the word ''ngen'' means "owner".
Legend
The Ngen are those that manage, govern an ...
'' (spirits in nature), and the ''
wekufe
The wekufe, also known as huecufe, wekufü, watuku, huecufu, huecubo, huecubu, huecuvu, huecuve, huecovoe, giiecubu, güecubo, güecugu, uecuvu, güecufu; is an important type of harmful spirit or demon in Mapuche mythology. The word wekufe comes f ...
'' (evil spirits).
Sun and moon worship among the Mapuche have parallels among the Central Andean peoples and the
Inca religion
The Inca religion was a group of beliefs and rites that were related to a Inca mythology, mythological system evolving from pre-Inca times to Inca Empire. Faith in the ''Tawantinsuyu'' was manifested in every aspect of his life, work, festivities ...
.
Indeed in among Mapuches as well as Central Andean peoples the moon (
Mama Killa
Mama Quilla (Quechua ''mama'' mother, ''killa'' moon, "Mother Moon", hispanicized spelling ''Mama Quilla''), in Inca mythology and religion, was the third power and goddess of the moon. She was the older sister and wife of Inti, daughter of Virac ...
, Cuyen in Mapudungun) and the sun (
Inti
INTI International University & Colleges are private university colleges located in Malaysia. The main campus was initially known as INTI University College until 31 May 2010 when the Higher Education Ministry announced its upgrade to universi ...
, Antu in Mapudungun) are spouses.
[ ]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 ...
, Quechua
Quechua may refer to:
*Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru
*Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language
**So ...
and Aymara
Aymara may refer to:
Languages and people
* Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language
** Aymara language, the main language within that family
** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...
words for the sun and the moon appear to be a borrowing from Puquina language
Puquina (or Pukina) is a small, putative language family, often portrayed as a language isolate, which consists of the extinct Puquina language and Kallawaya, although it is assumed that the latter is just a remnant of the former mixed with Que ...
. Thus the parallels in cosmology may be traced back to the days of the Tiwanaku Empire in which Puquina is thought to have been an important language.[
]
The Human in Mapuche Mythology
''See also'': Mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
''and'' Religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
.
The origin myth of the Mapuche. The objective of the human being in the Mapu is to populate it and care for it, while waiting for the arrival of all the spirits to this world. The descendents of the first human beings formed the '
Lituche
'' (the original village).
The spirit and human death
For the Mapuche, the essence/soul of human beings always lives in intimate contact with nature. One example of this is the celebration of all Mapuche rituals in tree clearings. For this, before all else, exists th
Pu-Am
a universal soul that permeates all living things. From this universal essence comes that of every man, th
Am
that accompanies his body until he dies. However, humans are not the only beings with Am - all living beings possess their own essence. Only the wekufe
The wekufe, also known as huecufe, wekufü, watuku, huecufu, huecubo, huecubu, huecuvu, huecuve, huecovoe, giiecubu, güecubo, güecugu, uecuvu, güecufu; is an important type of harmful spirit or demon in Mapuche mythology. The word wekufe comes f ...
lack an essence.
In respect to the carnal death of a man, when a man dies, his Am becomes
Pillü
' and resists separating from his body. But the state of his ''pillü'' is very dangerous because the ''wekufe'' can take possession of the soul and enslave it or it can be used by the '' Calcu''. To save herself, the anima must travel to the island of
Ngill chenmaiwe
' that the dead can reach with the help of the '' Trempulcahue'': in this place it will become
Alwe
'. Thus, at the funeral, family and friends of the deceased try to drive away the soul essence with shouts and strikes. Once in the ''alwe'' form, the soul essence can return to be close to its loved ones without the threat of the ''wekufe'' and in this way help its descendents - above all its grandchildren. In some cases, when the human being has achieved actualization on the island of ''Ngill chenmaiwe'', the ''pillü'' can transform into ''pillán'' or '' wangulén''. Finally, with the passage of time, when the descendants of the deceased have lost memory of the deceased, the ''alwe'' returns to reunite with the ''Pu-Am'' and thus the cycle reaches its conclusion.
The spiritual path of human beings
In Mapuche culture, the ultimate goal for humans is to reach a path that allows one to achieve knowledge in its four forms:
* Creativity
Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed literary w ...
* Imagination
Imagination is the production or simulation of novel objects, sensations, and ideas in the mind without any immediate input of the senses. Stefan Szczelkun characterises it as the forming of experiences in one's mind, which can be re-creations ...
* Intuition
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning. Different fields use the word "intuition" in very different ways, including but not limited to: direct access to unconscious knowledge; unconscious cognition; ...
* Comprehension
If a human succeeds in reaching this path, he gains knowledge about himself and his role, meaning that he becomes the owner of his own
filew
' (destiny) and can become a ''pillán
The Pillan (of Mapudungun origin; singular ''pillán'' and plural ''pillanes'' in Spanish) is a powerful and respected male spirit in Mapuche mythology.
According to legend, the Pillan are good spirits, but they can also cause disasters, since t ...
'' after death. Thus, there is not a significant separation between the divine spirit and human beings, not solely because the latter have been created by the former, but rather because they themselves can become a ''pillán'', if they are men, or a '' wangulén'', if they are a woman. From here, they will be able to live in the
wenumapu
'. The extraordinary importance of respect for parents, and grandparents especially, in Mapuche culture is derived from here. This value is the first of all the duties in the '' admapu'', the collection of Mapuche traditions. So that the soul essence of a human being may become a ''pillán'' or a ''wangulén'', there must exist a great descendancy that continues to remember the deceased and honor their memory. As such, a fundamental need for each Mapuche is to have many children that will produce many grandchildren. For those who do not have descendents would be a true Mapuche drama, given that it compromises the possibility of achieving ''filew'' and reaching ''wenumapu''. Thus, in the world view of the Mapuche, the spirits of the ancestors, the ''Pillán'', and also the numerous ''Ngen'' intervene very often in human dealings through use of natural forces. In this way, the ''Wekufe
The wekufe, also known as huecufe, wekufü, watuku, huecufu, huecubo, huecubu, huecuvu, huecuve, huecovoe, giiecubu, güecubo, güecugu, uecuvu, güecufu; is an important type of harmful spirit or demon in Mapuche mythology. The word wekufe comes f ...
'' do it, generally with the help of the '' Calcu''. The former reward the men who stay loyal to the ''admapu'' through the fruits of nature, while they punish (or permit the ''Wekufe'' to punish) with droughts or floods, earthquakes and disease.
Color conception of the cosmos
Between the Mapuche people, color is intimately associated with the understanding of the universe and its respective dimensions.
* Blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...
(kallfü) is an optimum color and it is frequently seen on concrete levels of daily life, such as in the scarves that mapuche women use to cover their heads, common dress, and in the paint used in rooms as well as general home decorations. As such, white and blue are ritual colors of excellence, prominent in principle Machi symbols and the guillatún. These two colors are always present in the Mapuche view of the benevolent supernatural space. However, their respective arrangement is not set nor governed by normative origins, given that blue and white are colors naturally perceived in the sky depending on the meteorological and climatic conditions.
* Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
(kurü) symbolizes the rain as well as material and spiritual power. The Mapuche view this color with intensity, and it is generally used by those in positions of power such as the Lonko, Ulmen, and Machis. This is possibly due to the fact that black is the most difficult color to dye traditional Mapuche fabrics.
* Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
(kelü) is commonly associated with fighting, warlike behavior or battle, and blood. Consequently, red is a prohibited color in the guillatún. Nonetheless, red also has positive connotations given its relation with the color of flowers in the region, especially the copihue
''Lapageria'' is a genus of flowering plants with only one known species, ''Lapageria rosea'', commonly known as Chilean bellflower or copihue (''copeewueh'', from Mapudungun ''kopiwe''). ''Lapageria rosea'' is the national flower of Chile. It ...
.
* Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
(karü) symbolizes nature in all of its splendor and exuberance; it represents the fertilization of the earth, its fertility, and the land itself.
Main figures in the Mapuche belief system
Human beings within the Mapuche belief system
The Mapuche religion is not an organized religion and does not have temples or a priestly caste.
* 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 ...
* Machi: A man or woman who serves as an intermediary between the visible world and the invisible world. He or she knows all of the natura
lawen
(in mapudungún
Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...
: lawen ‘medicine’) as their uses. Is the authority on traditional medicine and the expert on the secrets of the Mapuche world. To be chosen as Machi, one must achieve a religious role o
txemon
(in mapudungún
Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...
: ''txemon'' ‘healing’) through a ceremony known as machitún
Dungumachife
Intermediary between the lof and the newen (power) of the machi when found i
küymi
(trance), where he acts as an interpreter or assistant in the healing ritual.
* Ngenpin: Owner of words, official speaker and spiritual guide during the ritual performance. When it coincides with the lonko person it is calle
genpin lonko Zugu.
Pelom
People with special characteristics that can see the future.
Mythological beings
** Anchimallén
** Chonchón
** Colo Colo
Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo () is a Chilean professional Association football, football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano they play in the Chilean Primera División, from which they have List of unrelegated a ...
** Cuero
** Epunamun
** Gualicho
''Gualicho'' (named in reference to the gualichu) is a genus of theropod dinosaur. The type species is ''Gualicho shinyae''. It lived in what is now northern Patagonia, on what was then a South American island continent split off from the superco ...
** Guallipén
** Guirivilo
** Laftrache
** Piuchén
** Sumpall
** Trelke-wekufe
** Trempulcahue
** Trentren Vilu y Caicai Vilu
*
Zapan-Zucum
ref> Specifically Huilliches:
** Canillo
Canillo () is one of the parishes of Andorra. Canillo is also the name of the main town of the parish. The parish is considered the religious center of Andorra with the Sanctuary and Chapel of Our Lady of Meritxell, patron saint of Andorra, and co ...
** Chaotroquin
** Huenteao
** Millalicán
** Pucatrihuekeche
Machi
In the mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
and belief
A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take i ...
s of the Mapuche people, the ''machi'' "shaman", a role usually played by older women, is an extremely important part of the Mapuche culture. The machi performs ceremonies for the warding off of evil, for rain, for the cure of diseases, and has an extensive knowledge of Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
an medicinal herbs, gained during an arduous apprenticeship. Chileans of all origins and classes make use of the many traditional herbs known to the Mapuche. The main healing ceremony performed by the machi is called the ''machitun''.
Legends and mythical creatures
The most important myths are:
* the legend of Trentren Vilu and Caicai Vilu
The legend of Trentren Vilu (Trengtreng or Tenten) and Caicai Vilu (Kaikai) is a Mapuche flood myth that tells the story of a fierce battle between two mythical snakes, ''Ten Ten-Vilu, Trentren Vilu'' (trentren="related with the earth", vilu="sna ...
( Ten Ten-Vilu and Coi Coi-Vilu
Coi Coi-Vilu or ''Caicai-Vilu/Cai Cai Vilu'' (from Mapudungun ''Kaykayfilu'': ''Kaykay'' a name, and ''filu'' "snake") is the Mapuche god of water (or goddess, in some versions found in Chiloé) and, according to Mapuche myths (later also foun ...
)
* the Cherufe
The Cherufe is a large man-eating mythical creature found in the Mapuche religion of the indigenous Mapuche people of south-central Chile.
Description
The Cherufe is an evil humanoid creature made of rock crystals and magma. It is said that Cheru ...
* the Chonchon
The Chonchon ( es, chonchón from arn, chonchon) is a mythical bird from Mapuche religion also present in Chilean and southern Argentine folk myth.
Legend
The Chonchon is the magical transformation of a kalku (Mapuche sorcerer). It is said onl ...
* the Colo Colo
Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo () is a Chilean professional Association football, football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano they play in the Chilean Primera División, from which they have List of unrelegated a ...
* the Gualichu
Gualichu, or gualicho, in Mapuche mythology and mainly in the Tehuelche culture, was an evil spirit or demon, comparable but not similar to the Devil.
Description
As the Araucanians had not a properly called god of evil, Gualichu was not worshi ...
* the 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 ...
* the Ngen {{about, Mapuche mythology, other uses, NGEN (disambiguation)
In Mapuche mythology, Ngen or " Ngen-ko " are spirits of nature of the Mapuche beliefs. In Mapudungun, the word ''ngen'' means "owner".
Legend
The Ngen are those that manage, govern an ...
spirits
* the Nguruvilu
The Nguruvilu (from Mapuche language, Mapudungun ''ngürü'', "fox" and ''filu'', "snake"; also known as: ''Guirivilo'', ''Guruvilu'', ''Ñuruvilu'', ''Ñirivilu'', ''Ñivivilu'', ''Ñirivilo'' and ''Nirivilo'') is a creature originating from the ...
* the Peuchen
The ''Peuchen'' (also known as ''Piuchen, Pihuchen, Pihuychen, Pihuichen, Piguchen,'' or ''Piwuchen'') is a creature from the Mapuche mythology and Chilote mythology pertaining to southern Chile, a much feared shapeshifting creature that can inst ...
* the Pillan
The Pillan (of Mapudungun origin; singular ''pillán'' and plural ''pillanes'' in Spanish) is a powerful and respected male spirit in Mapuche mythology.
According to legend, the Pillan are good spirits, but they can also cause disasters, since th ...
spirits
* the Trehuaco
* the Wekufe
The wekufe, also known as huecufe, wekufü, watuku, huecufu, huecubo, huecubu, huecuvu, huecuve, huecovoe, giiecubu, güecubo, güecugu, uecuvu, güecufu; is an important type of harmful spirit or demon in Mapuche mythology. The word wekufe comes f ...
spirits
See also
* Chemamull
Chemamüll ("wooden person", from Mapuche ''che'' "people" and ''mamüll'' "wood") are Mapuche statues made of wood used to signal the grave of a deceased person.
Description
The ''chemamüll'' are carved wooden statues, usually more than tall, ...
* Chilean mythology
Chilean mythology includes the mythology, beliefs and folklore of the Chilean people.
Evolution
Chilean mythology covers of a large collection of myths and legends from the beliefs of Chile's indigenous groups (Mapuche, Tehuelche, Changos, Dia ...
* Chilote mythology
The Chilote mythology or Chilota mythology is formed by the myths, legends and beliefs of the people who live in the Chiloé Archipelago, in the south of Chile. This mythology reflects the importance of the sea in the life of Chilotes.
Chilote myt ...
* Mapudungun
Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...
* Misión Jesuita Mapuche The Misión Jesuita Mapuche is a modern Jesuit mission based in Tirúa, Arauco Province, Chile. The mission serves indigenous Mapuche communities and local non-Mapuche Catholics alike. Jesuit Carlos Bresciani is the leader of the mission. According ...
* Indigenous religion
Indigenous religions is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate the religious belief systems of communities described as being "indigenous". This category is often juxtaposed against others such as the "world religions" and "new re ...
* Pascuse mythology
* South American mythology
* Wallmapu
References
* Juan Luis Nass. Mitología mapuche. Volumen 40 de Colección 500 años. Colección 500 años (Ediciones Abya-Yala) ; 40. Volumen 40 de 500 años. Ediciones ABYA-YALA, 1991 (Spanish).
{{Mapuche
Mapuche mythology