Introduction
Understanding Mapuche Spirituality
Mapuche spirituality is inseparable from the earth, community and language. *ngen* are guardian presences linked to places or elements; relations with them require respect and authorization rather than domination.
The world has several dimensions in interaction.
To be retained
Four essential principles
- Mapuche spirituality is inseparable from the earth, community and language.
- The world has several dimensions in interaction.
- to live spiritually means to maintain a just relationship with the Wallmapu, visible and invisible beings and the community.
- This tradition is rooted in the history and cultures of Chile and Argentina.
Small timeline
A tradition shaped by history
Origins and training
The world has several dimensions in interaction.
Historical developments
Individual health, community harmony and territorial balance are linked.
Ritual life and teachings
The world has several dimensions in interaction.
A living and plural tradition
Ancestors and powers can manifest themselves in dreams, diseases or natural events.
History and development
The world has several dimensions in interaction. Individual health, community harmony and territorial balance are linked.
Ancestors and powers can manifest themselves in dreams, diseases or natural events. The notion of "küme mongen*, "well live", expresses a dignified and balanced life, without being reduced to a technique of wellbeing.
Worldview, beliefs and practices
The world has several dimensions in interaction. Individual health, community harmony and territorial balance are linked.
Ancestors and powers can manifest themselves in dreams, diseases or natural events. The notion of "küme mongen*, "well live", expresses a dignified and balanced life, without being reduced to a technique of wellbeing.
Texts, symbols and transmission
Transmission is mainly oral. The *kultrun* represents a world ordered by directions and cycles.
The *rewe*, ritual structure, is associated with the authority of the *machi*. Their decorative use out of context can be perceived as appropriation.
What research can and cannot say
Colonization, missions, dispossession and assimilation policies have profoundly affected communities. Health studies recognize the cultural and relational role of practices, without assimilating their spiritual explanations to proven biomedical mechanisms.
References