The Mapuche

One day in Pucon, Lauren and I took a day-long bike-ride along the Rio Plata to another beach on the Lago Villarica. It was one of my best days yet in Chile. The scenery was stunning – steep mountains covered in evergreen trees, horses grazing in golden fields, the brightness of the day, the burning black volcanic sand on the beach and the cold clear water of the lake, the volcano always visible in the distance.

We stopped along the way at a Mapuche feria (marketplace) and played with these four little kids who showed us some of the Mapuche musical instruments.


Spanish-speaking Mapuche girls demonstrating Mapuche instruments for us at a feria


The little brother joins in . . .


Altogether now!

The word Mapuche comes from the Mapundungun language and means “people of the land.” The Mapuche are the only remaining group of indigenous people in Chile. They resisted Incan attempts at colonization, and then resisted the Spanish and Chileans for three hundred years, impeding southward expansion of the Chilean state past the Bio Bio River. In the late 19th and early 20th century, they were finally defeated and forced into reducciones (reservations). Today, there are about 600,000 Mapuche people in Chile, with the largest concentration in the Araucania Region (between Temuco and Pucon.)

There is an active Mapuche struggle in Chile for land and dignity, including struggles against logging companies in Mapuche territory and a movement for self-determination and self-governance. There is also a movement to protect the language and culture by teaching Mapundungun in the schools and generally celebrating Chile’s Mapuche heritage. In Santiago, there are pro-Mapuche protests and marches nearly every week.