What is the history of the Mapuche people?

The Mapuche people of southern Chile and Argentina have a long history dating back as an archaeological culture to 600–500 BC. The Mapuche society had great transformations after Spanish contact in the mid–16th century. Argentina conducted similar campaigns on the eastern side of the Andes in the 1870s. …

What are the Mapuche known for?

The Mapuche are famous for their 350-year struggle against Spanish and, later, Chilean domination. To resist the Spanish in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the Mapuche reorganized their traditional way of life.

Where does the name Mapuche come from?

In the native language Mapudungun, ‘Mapuche’ translates to ‘people of the earth’. As their name would suggest, many Mapuche practices and beliefs are deeply connected to the natural world and the Mapuche’s ancestral land.

What does the name Mapuche mean?

The name “Mapuche” is composed of two parts: “Mapu”, which means land; and “che”, which means people. Before the Spanish arrived in 1541, the Mapuche occupied a vast territory in the “southern cone” of the continent and the population numbered about two million.

What are the Mapuche people fighting for?

The Mapuche make up about 12% of Chile’s population and are by far its largest indigenous group. They have long been fighting for recognition as Chile’s constitution – drawn up during Gen Augusto Pinochet’s military rule – is the only one in Latin America not to acknowledge its indigenous people.

What is the Mapuche religion?

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.

What do the Mapuche speak?

Mapuche (/mæˈpʊtʃi/) or Mapudungun (from mapu ‘land’ and dungun ‘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 ‘people’). It is also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu.

What language do Mapuche speak?

Araucanian language
Mapuche (/mæˈpʊtʃi/) or Mapudungun (from mapu ‘land’ and dungun ‘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 ‘people’). It is also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu.

What does the Mapuche flag symbolize?

The Mapuche flag’s colors, stripes and symbols represent aspects of an indigenous cosmovision and indigenous liberation. The yellow drumlike center includes symbols like the sun, moon and stars, all of which represent knowledge. Blue symbolizes the purity of the universe and the sacred.

What language did the Mapuche speak?

Araucanian
Speakers of Chilean Spanish who also speak Mapudungun tend to use more impersonal pronouns when speaking Spanish….Mapuche language.

How do you say hello in Mapuche?

Chacayal:thorn wood. Chacha:greeting.

How do you say hello in araucanian?

Chilean Customs Chileans tend to appreciate formalities, so always greet a Chilean with a “Buenas días” or “Buenas tardes.” When two women, or a man and a woman, greet each other in a social setting, they do so with one kiss on the right cheek.

How many Mapuche people are there in Argentina?

There are just over 100,000 Mapuche in Argentina (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, 2004-5). Since the late-nineteenth century, the unity of the Mapuche nation has been confronted by the international boundary with Chile: Argentina is the puel mapu (the eastern land); Chile is the ngulu mapu (the western land).

When did the Mapuche people come to Chile?

Archaeological finds have shown that Mapuche culture existed in Chile and Argentina as early as 600 to 500 BC. Genetically the Mapuche differ from the adjacent indigenous peoples of Patagonia. This suggests a “different origin or long lasting separation of Mapuche and Patagonian populations”.

Which is the western land of the Mapuche?

Since the late-nineteenth century, the unity of the Mapuche nation has been confronted by the international boundary with Chile: Argentina is the puel mapu (the eastern land); Chile is the ngulu mapu (the western land). Free access across this frontier is still an important issue of debate today (see Chile).

What are the main goals of the Mapuche?

One of the main goals is to achieve Mapuche self-government and to recreate what they call Wallmapu (Mapuche land) in southern Chile and Argentina where most Mapuche are still concentrated.