Where are the Mapuche tribe from?
Chile
Mapuche, the most numerous group of Indians in South America. They numbered more than 1,400,000 at the turn of the 21st century. Most inhabit the Central Valley of Chile, south of the Biobío River. A smaller group lives in Neuquén provincia, west-central Argentina.
Are all Chileans Mapuche?
Mapuche are the largest indigenous groups in Chile, comprising about 84 per cent of the total indigenous population or about 1.3 million people. In some provinces in the eighth and ninth regions, a high proportion of the rural population is Mapuche.
When did the Mapuche tribe start?
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.
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 name of a native tribe of Chile?
There are nine different indigenous groups in Chile. The largest one is the Mapuche, followed by the Aymara, the Diaguita, the Lickanantay, and the Quechua peoples. Chile is the only country in Latin America, that does not recognise the indigenous peoples in its constitution.
What is the largest Indian tribe in Chile?
Do the Mapuche still exist?
Today the collective group makes up over 80% of the indigenous peoples in Chile, and about 9% of the total Chilean population. The Mapuche are particularly concentrated in the Araucanía region. Many have migrated from rural areas to the cities of Santiago and Buenos Aires for economic opportunities.
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.
How do the Mapuche live today?
The Mapuche people are the largest ethnic group in Chile and constitute approximately 10% (more than 1.000. 000 people) of the Chilean population. Half of them live in the south of Chile from the river Bío Bío until the Chiloé Island. Today the situation of the Mapuches in Chile is still vulnerable.
