MapucheBy: Ashley Morgan

Background • The Mapuche are the "people of the land“

– Mapu means land– Che means people.

• The Mapuche people were the first inhabitants of half of the area toda known as Chile and Argentina.

• Before the Spanish arrived in 1541, the Mapuche occupied a vast territory in the A Southern Cone of the continent and the population numbered about two million.

• The Mapuche nation now constitute the third largest indigenous society in South America.

Location• The Mapuche tribe

inhabits south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina.

• Chile 604,349 – Make up 3% of

population

• Argentina 113,680

Background• They consists of a wide range of

ethnicity composed of various groups who share a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common heritage.

LanguageMapudungun

(from mapu 'earth, land' and dungun 'speak, speech')

It is also spelled Mapuzugun and sometimes called Mapudungu or Araucanian.

Spanish

Flag

• red: blood fought in the wars• green: nature & earth • sky blue: sky & hope • yellow: sun & light • white: the mountains of the Mapuche land• Cultrun: a Mapuche drum used in ceremonies the four central

direction points and including the sun, moon and stars.

Conflict• Chile exports wood to the United States, almost all of

which comes from this southern region, with an annual value of $600 million and rising.

• Forest Ethics, a conservation group, has led an international campaign for preservation, resulting in the Home Depot chain and other leading wood importers agreeing to revise their purchasing policies to "provide for the protection of native forests in Chile."

• Some Mapuche leaders want stronger protections for the forests.

Beliefs• The Pillan is a powerful

and respected male spirit in Mapuche mythology.

• According to the legend the Pillan are good spirits, but they can also cause disasters, since they also punish (with drought or flood, earthquakes, or diseases.

Works Cited• http://

www.mapuche-nation.org/english/main/feature/m_nation.htm

• http://www.mapuche-nation.org/english/html/m_nation/main/history.htm

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapuche