Mapuche Beliefs
The Mapuche believe this living being is sacred and must be protected.
Ñuke Mapu (Mother Earth)
This European country colonized Chile.
Spain
These spiritual leaders serve as healers and intermediaries with the spirit world
the Machi
Many Machi today sell aspects of their culture to these outsiders.
tourists
Colonial Chileans viewed male Machi as
effeminate or sexually deviant
The Mapuche see the world as balanced through opposites, such as life and death or good and evil.
duality
The Mapuche used this form of warfare to resist colonization.
guerrilla warfare
Machi gain their spiritual power from this sacred tree.
Foye Tree
Economic hardship has forced some Machi to share or perform rituals for this reason
to make a living or escape poverty
The Foye Tree also symbolizes this concept central to Machi identity
gender fluidity
This upper world is home to kind spirits and ancestors.
What is Wenu Mapu
In 1883, this nation’s army finally defeated the Mapuche
Chilean army
This dual characteristic of the Foye Tree represents the Machi’s spiritual fluidity
its masculine and feminine aspects
This Machi exaggerated rituals for foreigners to appear “authentic.”
Machi Jorge
Machi respond to colonial gender pressures by adopting this cultural blending strategy
hybridity
This divine being embodies balance through four aspects: man, woman, young, and old.
Ngenechen
The Witranalwe spirit, a Spanish man on horseback, symbolizes this colonial act.
What is the violent seizure of Mapuche land and bodies
A Machi’s spiritual legitimacy is recognized through connection to these two forces
the machi püllü and filew
Selling culture has divided the Mapuche community because some see it as betraying their
spiritual integrity or ideology
Female Machi often resisted colonial gender norms through this form of service
communal care or humility
These malevolent spirits cause illness and chaos by disrupting harmony
What are Wekufe spirits
Colonialism led to the spread of new illnesses, explained in Mapuche cosmology as being caused by these
What are colonial Wekufe spirits
This anthropologist lived among the Mapuche for 15 years, studying Machi identity and gender
Ana Mariella Bacigalupo
Colonial Wekufe spirits are thought to grow stronger as this modern institution continues to exclude the Mapuche
the Chilean government or democracy
Despite colonial oppression, Machi continue to adapt and legitimize their roles in both Chilean society and their own tradition through this ongoing process
resistance and renewal