Mari, Mari

That means 'hello to all' in Mapudungun, the language of the Mapuches, one of the largest native groups in Chile (I hesitate to say indigenous now because I learned that in Spanish 'indigeno' means without God, more or less, and is sort of offensive. That's why in Spanish the PC way to refer to native groups is pueblos originarios). I know that I've touched a little on the Mapuches, but mostly in reference to the hunger strike that is/was going on, but I would like to go into a little more detail about them since they have really affected my education and experience here more than I anticipated.
As most of you know I am taking a class called Juegos Mapuches, in which we learn about traditional Mapuche games and about their culture, more the games though. We would learn about the games and how they were traditionally played and then play a similar, if not exact, version of the game either on the tennis courts or on the beach (always resulting in lots of sand in my shoes). The most popular game is Palin, and it resembles today's version of field hockey. The game is played with weños and a little ball called a palín. A palín is traditionally made out of a wooden knot taken off a tree (those little knobbly bits that stick out of trees and look about the size and shape of a tennis ball) and are de-barked. The palín is then used in the game until is rounds out a little more due to wear and tear, and then is covered in leather and stitched together. Goat/pig intestines have also been used, specifically bladders... weños are long sticks that have been polished and have a little curve at the end, just like field hockey sticks, but made out of wood instead. I wasn't really sure if Palín was still played in Mapuche tribes, but my doubts were cleared up this past weekend when I went to Pucon with CIEE.
One of the main reasons for playing Palín was to get different communities together to share food and experiences and create a larger sense of belonging between the Mapuches. The men would play Palín, and teach their kids how to make palins, while the women prepared the meal for the communities to share. We watched a video about the traditions in my Juegos class, and it starts out with the two communities marching and playing music. Most of the music they play is simple and involves drums and some tiny bells or chanting. In Pucon we were lucky enough to visit a cultural center in Curarrhue, about an hour outside of Pucon, run by the Mapuche community there. After a tour of the museum we were invited to eat lunch with them on their land. They made us traditional Mapuche food, sopapillas, rice with potatoes, pebre, etc, which was all so delicious and we participated in their dances and rituals of thanking the sacred mountain for the food. We had a drink, made of wheat, cinnamon and water (I think), that you held while taking a moment of silence for the mountain and then poured a little out before drinking it yourself. You also had to do a similar moment of silence before entering a new territory, asking the land if it is okay for you to pass.
After lunch we were given the option to play Palin or learn how to weave. Since I play Palin every Thursday I decided to check out the weaving. They have different stitches that mean different things, like most cultures. They believe that abuela arana taught them how to weave so they have a specific stitch to honor her in addition to a stitch that means dueno, or owner, another honor to grandmother spider. At the end of the day we got to ask them questions about their culture and as it turns out Palin is still a way that the communities get together to share stories, news and culture.That's pretty cool.
In my multicultural education class I've been learning a lot about the Mapuches and how they fit into the education system in Chile. We watched a video that showed how Mapuches traditionally deal with conflict and how as educators and psychologists we have to be conscious of that and not impose our own way of resolving things on the students, in addition to understanding where they are coming from. The video is based on a true story written by Pascual Cona "Testimonio de un Cacique Mapuche" I think it's available online and is around 25 minutes if you have time, it's poorly filmed, but really communicates the point. Since I've been learning about incorporating different cultures into the education system I was interested to hear this Mapuche community's perspective on bilingual education. They said that they mostly speak in Spanish, though they use Mapungo for rituals and common small talk. They are fortunate enough to have a school in town, though other communities are not. Additionally, the native language is not taught in schools, so if they want to learn it it has to come from their community. In and of itself this is a form of discrimination against bilingual education that the Mapuches, at least this community, feel is degrading to them even though they are a large part of the country and the educational laws state that they should not be treated in this way. Some food for thought.
Other highlights of the Pucon trip (October 22nd to 25th): White water rafting through the mountains while watching mist reveal the countryside. The main hall where we stayed was a castle. Salmon dinner on CIEE. Mac and cheese dinner with the girls, with fruit salad and brownie ice cream. Tour of local waterfalls/lagoons (Laguna Azul y Los Saltos) and a trip to Los Pozones, hot springs!

http://s1103.photobucket.com/albums/g466/Amiller237/Chile%202010%20August/

try this link for more pictures.

fotos: Mamulche (literally means 'wood people' they are carved to represent someone who has died. The hand placement means either mountain or water people, hand on genitals means water, hand on heart and genitals means mountain. The water like jug on top indicates gender, large part up is male, large part down is female.); Some pucon bread at a panaderia; Bethan and me with delicious heart cookies; The master teaches us how to weave; me playing Palin in Juegos Mapuches; view of the river next to the land of the Mapuche community we visited; Laguna Azul, properly named.

to come in the next post: San Pedro de Atacama and adventures in the North of Chile.