2022-10-19 Wed

The Mapuche are a group of people of indigenous Inhabitat. They were one of three groups—Picunche, Mapuche, Huilliche—identified by Spanish ethnographers. Today, they lived in present-day south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of present-day Patagonia. They are the only indigenous group in South America able to maintain their independence, bravely protecting their nation from the Incas and the Spanish. Today, 80 per cent of Chile's population is Mapuche.

Mapuche people depend on agriculture; their traditional social organization consists of extended families under the direction of a lonko or chief. The material culture of Mapuche is well known for textiles and silk work.

The cultrun is a ceremonial drum and the main musical instrument in Mapuche culture. The cultrun is used by machi (healer or sorcerer) for religious and cultural rituals during the annual fertility rite of Ngillatun.

Image Courtesy: colnect.com