Mapuche

Also known as Reche, Araucanos

AI overview

The Mapuche are an Indigenous people living in south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina who share a common language (Mapudungun), culture, and social structures across various distinct groups. They represent a significant portion of Chile's Indigenous population today, though their ancestral homelands once stretched across a much larger territory from the Choapa Valley to Patagonia.

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Key facts

Ethnic group.group: Mapuche
Ethnic group.flag: Ancient mapuche flag.svg
Ethnic group.flag_caption: Traditional flag of the Mapuche
Ethnic group.image: Mujeres mapuches en la entrega terreno a Comunidad Mapuche Lorenzo Quintrileo de Tirúa.jpg
Ethnic group.caption: Mapuche women from Tirúa in 2015
Ethnic group.pop: c. 1,768,856
Ethnic group.region1: Chile
Ethnic group.pop1: 1,623,073 (2024)
Ethnic group.region2: Argentina
Ethnic group.pop2: 145,783 (2022)
Ethnic group.ref2: (Pehuenche)
Ethnic group.religions: Traditional, Catholicism, Evangelicalism, Jehovah's Witnesses
Ethnonym.root: mapu
Ethnonym.people: Mapuche
Ethnonym.language: Mapudungun

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Population: 1745147
Image: Mujeres mapuches en la entrega terreno a Comunidad Mapuche Lorenzo Quintrileo de Tirúa.jpg

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Commons category: Mapuche people
Commons gallery: Mapuche

Sources (3)

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~45 min read

Article

29 sections

Contents

Etymology
History
Pre-Columbian period
Arauco War
Boroano people
Incorporation into Chile and Argentina
Modern political conflict (1990–present)
Culture
Mapuche languages
Cosmology and beliefs
Ethnobotany
Ceremonies and traditions
Textiles
Clava hand-club
Silverwork
Literature
Cogender views
Mapuche, Chileans, and the Chilean state
Civilizing mission discourses and scientific racism
Contemporary attitudes
Mapuches and the Argentine state
Modern politics
In popular culture
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
Further reading
External links

The Mapuche ( , ), also known as Araucanians, are a group of Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who share a common social, religious, and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage as Mapudungun speakers. Their homelands once extended from Choapa Valley to the Chiloé Archipelago and later spread eastward to Puelmapu, a land comprising part of the Argentine pampa and Patagonia. Today, the Mapuche represent 77.16% of Chile’s indigenous peoples and about 8.8% of the total national population. The Mapuche are concentrated in the Araucanía region. Many have migrated from rural areas to the cities of Santiago and Buenos Aires to pursue economic opportunities. Around 92% of the Mapuches are from Chile.

The Mapuche traditional economy is based on agriculture; their traditional social organization consists of extended families, under the direction of a lonko or chief. In times of war, the Mapuche would unite in larger groupings and elect a toki (meaning "axe" or "axe-bearer") to lead them. Mapuche material culture is known for its textiles and silverwork.