Mapuche military
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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 ...
were a bellic culture, and their history was plagued by wars and conflicts since they began to settle in the Araucanía; they believed that history was created through warfare, and thus engaged in many military conflicts.


Military culture and organization

Among the Mapuche, war among themselves was conducted by one
lof Lof (Spanish: ''levo'' and ''lov'') or caví (Spanish: ''cahuín''); formed the basic social organization of the Mapuche, Mapuche-Huilliche and the extinct Picunche peoples, consisting of a familial clan or lineage that recognizes the authority o ...
under its
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 aillarehu ...
against another, or by an alliance of
rehue A rehue (Mapudungun spelling rewe) or kemukemu is a type of pillar-like sacred altar used by the Mapuche of Chile in many of their ceremonies. Altar/Axis mundi The ''rehue'' is a carved tree trunk set in the ground, surrounded by a hedge o ...
or aillarehue under a
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 ('' ...
, for the purpose of avenging a real or sorcerous injury, (if restititution was not forthcoming) or for acquiring women and plunder.


Leadership

However, by the time of the arrival of the Inca and later the Spanish, the Mapuche had begun to call
Butalmapu Butalmapu or Fütalmapu is the name in Mapudungun for "great land", which were one of the great confederations wherein the Mapuche people organized themselves in case of war. These confederations corresponded to the great geographic areas inhabited ...
(assemblies) of their leaders to elect a Toqui to provide a unified command for their armies. In case of such an invasion, or later revolts or wars against the Spanish the instigating Mapuche
Ulmen Ulmen is a town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – a kind of collective municipality – to which it also belongs. Geography Location The town lies in the Eife ...
would call a Butalmapu by "sending around the Pulquitin". This special pulquitin (arrow) was an arrow stained with the blood of llama's heart with knotted red threads indicating the place and date of the Butanmapu to decide whether to go to war and if so what the plan of campaign would be. Sometimes the heads of slain enemies would be sent to these other clans as incentive or gifts to inspire them to join this alliance. The Toqui was chosen in a Butalmapu, of the
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 aillarehu ...
s (chiefs) of various
Lof Lof (Spanish: ''levo'' and ''lov'') or caví (Spanish: ''cahuín''); formed the basic social organization of the Mapuche, Mapuche-Huilliche and the extinct Picunche peoples, consisting of a familial clan or lineage that recognizes the authority o ...
s (clans), or Aillarehues (confederations of clans), allied during the war in question. The toqui had the power to enforce obedience of the troops, organize them, and appoint leaders to them. The command position would continue until the war in question ended, or if in an assembly the Lonkos decided the toqui to be incompetent. In the event of death, a new toqui would be appointed. The Mapuche were already well organized, upon the arrival of the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
colonist A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...
s. In the previous century they had fought against the expanding
Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts",  "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
and had stopped their invasion at the Battle of the Maule.The history of the Inca campaign in Chile and this battle are known from the '
Comentarios reales
'' of de
Inca Garcilaso de la Vega Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (12 April 1539 – 23 April 1616), born Gómez Suárez de Figueroa and known as El Inca, was a chronicler and writer born in the Viceroyalty of Peru. Sailing to Spain at 21, he was educated informally there, where he l ...
, Segunda Parte : Libro VII Cap. 18, 19 and 20. These were derived from Inca sources. The Spanish histories of
Jerónimo de Vivar Jerónimo de Vivar was a Spanish historian of the early conquest and settlement of the Kingdom of Chile, and author of ''Crónica y relación copiosa y verdadera de los reinos de Chile''. Little is known about his life except that according to his ...
, Crónica y relación copiosa y verdadera de los reinos de Chile and
Vicente Carvallo y Goyeneche Vicente Carvallo y Goyeneche (1742–1816) was a Chilean soldier, author and historian of Basque descent, born in Valdivia. Author of the ''Descripcion Histórico Geografía del Reino de Chile'', covering the history and geography of the Captaincy G ...
, Descripción Histórico Geografía del Reino de Chile, Tomo I, Capítulo I mention it also.
They could in case of invasion, summon large, organized bodies of warriors and from at least the time of
Lautaro Lautaro (Anglicized as 'Levtaru') ( arn, Lef-Traru " swift hawk") (; 1534? – April 29, 1557) was a young Mapuche toqui known for leading the indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in Chile and developing the tactics that would conti ...
’s revolt were able to build forts and complex defensive works to defend themselves from the invaders.


Tactics

After the initial Spanish conquest, beginning with
Lautaro Lautaro (Anglicized as 'Levtaru') ( arn, Lef-Traru " swift hawk") (; 1534? – April 29, 1557) was a young Mapuche toqui known for leading the indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in Chile and developing the tactics that would conti ...
, the new toquis included many new tactics in order to fight the invaders. Lautaro had been captured in one of Pedro Valdivia's earliest campaigns in Araucania and as a page to Valdivia learned of the strengths and weaknesses of the Spanish especially their cavalry. After escaping and becoming a leader of the revolt against the Spanish, Lautaro was instrumental in teaching Mapuche warriors, (previously accustomed to infantry battles in the open field), guerrilla tactics and the use of terrain to reduce the effectiveness of the Spanish cavalry. He also was using espionage carried out by the supposedly conquered Mapuche to be informed of the actions of his enemies. He also built and used fortresses as bases during his invasion of Spanish territory in central Chile. By 1553 the Mapuche began to have cavalry of their own thanks to Lautaro and his betrayal of the Spanish, that soon were capable of defeating the Spanish cavalry. By the 1560s the Mapuche began to use camouflaged pits and trenches, captured artillery and firearms. By 1570 they had learned the use of infantry formations, similar to the Spanish
Tercio A ''tercio'' (; Spanish for " third") was a military unit of the Spanish Army during the reign of the Spanish Habsburgs in the early modern period. The tercios were renowned for the effectiveness of their battlefield formations, forming the el ...
, that allowed them to defeat Spanish cavalry in the open field. After 1600, they mounted their infantry on horses for greater mobility and developed the tactic of the
malón ''Malón'' (from the Mapudungun ''maleu,'' to inflict damage to the enemy) is the name given to plunder raids carried out by Mapuche warriors, who rode horses into Spanish, Chilean and Argentine territories from the 17th to the 19th centuries, as ...
. By the 1620s it was usual practice in battle for two thirds of their force to fight mounted as lancers on the wings with foot in the center, similar to the Spanish custom. When retreating from a malón the Mapuche would often tempt their pursuers into a narrow defile where their main body would confront them. If the pursuers fell on this body ambush detachments would fall on their flanks. All these advances proved effective in holding off the Spaniards and Chileans for 350 years.


References


Sources


Eduardo A. Cruz Farias, An overview of the Mapuche and Aztec military response to the Spanish conquest, La Guirnalda Polar, Núm. 150 - Textos marcados y recordando a Víctor Jara, Publicación de mayo, 2009.

Giovanni Ignazio Molina, The geographical, natural, and civil history of Chili, Volume 2, Chapter III, pp.68-77, Military System of the Araucanians; their Arms and Mode of making War.
{{mapuche Mapuche history Military history of Chile Military history of Argentina