Mapuche flag is each of the flags used as an emblem and symbol 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 s ...

Nation and the Mapuche communities and organizations in

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 eas ...

and

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 ...

. There are several different flags representing the Mapuche communities and territories.

Ancestral flag

The first records on the use of flags of Araucanian people date back to the Spanish chronicles during the

War of Arauco The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force Mapuche ...

, the more known was described in Canto XXI of the epic poem La Araucana (1569). There,

Alonso de Ercilla Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga (7 August 153329 November 1594) was a Spanish soldier and poet, born in Madrid. While in Chile (1556–63) he fought against the Araucanians (Mapuche), and there he began the epic poem ''La Araucana'', considered one o ...

described in one of their songs, to a warrior named Talcahuano, which inhabited the land near the present city that bears his name, who was followed by troops that wore blue, white and red emblems. The most characteristic feature of the old Araucanian flag is the

Guñelve The Guñelve ( arn, Wünelfe / Wüṉyelfe, lit=bringer of dawn), sometimes known as the Star of Arauco, is a symbol from Mapuche iconography which can be described as an octagram (or a star with eight points) in saltire. It represents the planet ...

(wünelfe in Mapudungun) that is a symbol from the Mapuche iconography which can be described as an octagram or a star with eight points. It represents the planet

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

, but has also erroneously been thought to represent the canelo tree, which is considered sacred among the Mapuches. The guñelve, also called the "Star of Arauco", inspired

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Althou ...

in creating the current

flag of Chile A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employ ...

In Chile

In March 1991, the Chilean Mapuche organization ''Aukiñ Wallmapu Ngulam'', also known as Council of All Lands, made a call to make the flag of the Mapuche nation. About 500 designs were submitted, of which one was selected for the Mapuche nation. The flag is called ''Wenufoye'' (in

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 ...

''The Heaven's Winter's Bark''). The

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

s and forms of this Mapuche flag represents: *Yellow ( or ): renewal, symbol of the sun. *Blue (): life, order, wealth and the universe. In Mapudungun, is also an adjective that could be translated as "sacred" or "spiritual". *White (): the cleansing, healing and longevity symbol of wisdom and prosperity *Red (): strength and power, symbol of history. *Green (): the earth or nature, wisdom, fertility and healing power, symbol of the machi (Mapuche shaman). *

Cultrun The cultrun (from es, cultrún, and arn, kultrung) is a percussion instrument used by the Mapuche in Chile. Role in Mapuche culture The cultrun is a ceremonial drum Ceremonial drums are membranophones and idiophonic slit drums, which are pla ...

( or ), a "Mapuche drum": This is a percussion instrument for ceremonial and social use. It has a flat surface in which is represented the Earth's surface. There is drawn the circular design of the mapuche cosmovision: the Meli Witran Mapu (the four

cardinal points The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the four main compass directions: north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are at ...

), and also the sun, the moon, and the stars. This is a symbol of the knowledge of the world. *Gemil (''ngümin'') Stepped cross or star, similar to the

Chakana The chakana (or Inca Cross) is a stepped cross made up of an equal-armed cross indicating the cardinal points of the compass and a superimposed square. The square is suggested to represent the other two levels of existence. The three levels of ex ...

or Inca Cross, or rhombus with twisting border: represents the art of the handcrafting, the science and knowledge; symbol of the writing system. Apart from the Wenufoye, there are five other flags representing the different territories: Huenteche, Huilliche, Lafquenche, Nagche and Pehuenche. Image:Huenteche_flag.svg, Huenteche territory Image:Huilliche_flag.svg, Huilliche territory Image:Lafquenche_flag.svg, Lafquenche territory Image:Nagche_flag.svg, Nagche territory Image:Pehuenche_flag.svg, Pehuenche territory

In Argentina

The flag of Argentinian Mapuche people was created in 1987 by Julio Antieco, and ratified in 1991 by the 1st Assembly of Aboriginal Leaders and Communities in

Trevelin Trevelin (; cy, Trefelin) is a town in the western part of the Patagonian provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Chubut Province, Chubut. The town lies on the eastern banks of the ( es, Río Percey). It is located in the department of Fut ...

. The Chubut Province declares this symbol as "official emblem of the aboriginal communities of the province" (Act 4,072). Their colors and symbolism are: * Blue: the sky * White: color of the "holy horse" (mythological spirit) * Yellow: the sun * Arrow (Kewpü): symbolizes the war. —When the Mapuche-Tehuelche people recover their dignity as native nation and the war is over, this arrow will be removed—.

References

External links

Mapuche people
at Flags of the World.
History and images of the Mapuche flag

The Mapuche-Tehuelche flag
{{Mapuche

Mapuches 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 sh ...

Mapuche culture