Mapuche and Rapa Nui converted and will embrace Islam in Chile

Mapuche and Rapa Nui converted and will embrace Islam in Chile

Mapuche

The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of present-day Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage as Mapudungun speakers. Their influence once extended from the Aconcagua River to the Chiloé Archipelago and spread later eastward to the Argentine pampa. Today the collective group makes up over 80% of the indigenous peoples in Chile, and about 9% of the total Chilean population.^[1] They are particularly concentrated in Araucanía. Many have migrated to the Santiago area for economic opportunities.

The term Mapuche is used both to refer collectively to the Picunche (people of the north), Huilliche (people of the South) and Moluche or Nguluche fromAraucanía, or at other times, exclusively to the Moluche or Nguluche from Araucanía. The Mapuche traditional economy is based on agriculture; their traditional social organisation consists of extended families, under the direction of a lonko or chief. In times of war, they would unite in larger groupings and elect a toki (meaning “axe, axe-bearer”) to lead them. They are known for thetextiles woven by women, which have been goods for trade for centuries, since before European encounter. 

The Araucanian Mapuche inhabited at the time of Spanish arrival the valleys between the Itata and Toltén rivers. South of it, the Huilliche and the Cuncolived as far south as the Chiloé Archipelago. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, Mapuche groups migrated eastward into the Andes and pampas, fusing and establishing relationships with the Poya and Pehuenche. At about the same time, ethnic groups of the pampa regions, the Puelche, Ranquel and northern Aonikenk, made contact with Mapuche groups. The Tehuelche adopted the Mapuche language and some of their culture, in what came to be called Araucanization. 

Historically the Spanish colonizers of South America referred to the Mapuche people as Araucanians (araucanos). However, this term is now considered pejorative^[3] by some people. The name was likely derived from the placenamerag ko (Spanish Arauco), meaning “clayey water”.^[4][5] The Quechua wordawqa, meaning “rebel, enemy”, is probably not the root of araucano.^[4]

Some Mapuche mingled with Spanish during colonial times, and their descendants make up the large group of mestizos in Chile. But, Mapuche society in Araucanía and Patagonia remained independent until the ChileanOccupation of Araucanía and the Argentine Conquest of the Desert in the late 19th century. Since then Mapuches have become subjects, and then nationals and citizens of the respective states. Today, many Mapuche and Mapuche communities are engaged in the so-called Mapuche conflict over land andindigenous rights in both Argentina and in Chile.

Pre–Columbian period

Archaeological finds have shown the existence of a Mapuche culture in Chile as early as 600 to 500 BC.^[6] Genetically Mapuches differ from the adjacent indigenous peoples of Patagonia.^[7] This suggests a “different origin or long lasting separation of Mapuche and Patagonian populations”.^[7]

Troops of the Inca Empire are reported to have reached the Maule River and had a battle with the Mapuches between the Maule River and the Itata Riverthere.^[8] The southern border of the Inca Empire is believed by most modern scholars to have been situated between Santiago and the Maipo River or somewhere between Santiago and the Maule River.^[9] Thus the bulk of the Mapuche escaped Inca rule. Through their contact with Incan invaders Mapuches would have for the first time met people with state organization. Their contact with the Incas gave them a collective awareness distinguishing between them and the invaders and uniting them into loose geo-political units despite their lack of state organization.^[10]

At the time of the arrival of the first Spaniards to Chile the largest indigenous population concentration was in the area spanning from Itata River to Chiloé Archipelago—that is the Mapuche heartland.^[11] The Mapuche population between Itata River and Reloncaví Sound has been estimated at 705,000–900,000 in the mid-16th century by historian José Bengoa

Arauco War

The Spanish entered Mapuche territory from Peru. Their expansion into Chile was an offshoot of the conquest of Peru.^[13] In 1541 Pedro de Valdivia reached Chile from Cuzco and founded Santiago.^[14] The northern Mapuche tribes, such as the Promaucaes and the Picunches, fought unsuccessfully against Spanish conquest. Little is known about their resistance.^[

In 1550 Pedro de Valdivia, who aimed to control all of Chile to the Straits of Magellan, traveled southward to conquer more Mapuche territory.^[16] Between 1550 and 1553 the Spanish founded several cities^{[note 2]} in Mapuche lands including Concepción, Valdivia, Imperial, Villarrica and Angol.^[16] The Spanish also established the forts of Arauco, Purén and Tucapel.^[16] Further efforts by the Spanish to gain more territory engaged them in the Arauco War against the Mapuche, a sporadic conflict that lasted nearly 350 years. Hostility towards the conquerors was compounded by the lack of a tradition of forced labour akin to the Inca mita among the Mapuche, who largely refused to serve the Spanish.^[18]

From their establishment in 1550 to 1598, the Mapuche frequently laid siege to Spanish settlements in Araucanía.^[17] The war was mostly a low intensity conflict.^[19] Mapuche numbers decreased significantly following contact with the Spanish invaders; wars and epidemics decimated the population.^[15] Others died in Spanish owned gold mines

In 1598 a party of warriors from Purén led by Pelantaro, who were returning south from a raid in Chillán area, ambushed Martín García Óñez de Loyolaand his troops^[20] while they rested without taking any precautions against attack. Almost all the Spaniards died, save a cleric named Bartolomé Pérez, who was taken prisoner, and a soldier named Bernardo de Pereda. The Mapuche then initiated a general uprising which destroyed all the cities in their homeland south of the Biobío River.

In the years following the Battle of Curalaba a general uprising developed among the Mapuches and Huilliches. The Spanish cities of Angol, Imperial,Osorno, Santa Cruz de Oñez, Valdivia and Villarrica were either destroyed or abandoned.^[21] Only Chillán and Concepción resisted Mapuche sieges and raids.^[22] With the exception of the Chiloé Archipelago, all Chilean territory south of the BíoBío River was freed from Spanish rule.^[21] In this period the Mapuche Nation crossed the Andes Range to conquer the present Argentine provinces of Chubut, Neuquen, La Pampa and Río Negro. Spain, never again, attempted to retake those territories.

Modern conflict

Land disputes and violent confrontations continue in some Mapuche areas, particularly in the northern sections of the Araucanía region between and around Traiguén and Lumaco. In an effort to defuse tensions, the Commission for Historical Truth and New Treatments issued a report in 2003 calling for drastic changes in Chile’s treatment of its indigenous people, more than 80 percent of whom are Mapuche. The recommendations included the formal recognition of political and “territorial” rights for indigenous peoples, as well as efforts to promote their cultural identities.

Though Japanese and Swiss interests are active in the economy of Araucanía (Mapudungun: “Ngulu Mapu”), the two chief forestry companies are Chilean-owned. In the past, the firms have planted hundreds of thousands of acres with non-native species such as Monterey pine, Douglas firs and eucalyptus trees, sometimes replacing native Valdivian forests, although such substitution and replacement is now forbidden.

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.

In recent years, the delicts committed by Mapuche activists have been prosecuted under counter-terrorism legislation, originally introduced by the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet to control political dissidents. The law allows prosecutors to withhold evidence from the defense for up to six months and to conceal the identity of witnesses, who may give evidence in court behind screens. Violent activist groups, such as the Coordinadora Arauco Malleco (an extremist Chilean Communist Party branch), use tactics such as burning of structures and pastures, and death threats against people and their families. Protesters from Mapuche communities have used these tactics against properties of both multinational forestry corporations and private individuals.^[36][37] In 2010 the Mapuche launched a number of hunger strikes in attempts to effect change in the anti-terrorism legislation

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The Rapa Nui are the native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the Rapa Nui people currently make up 60% of Easter Island's population and have a significant portion of their population residing in mainland Chile. They speak both the traditional Rapa Nui language and the primary language of the island, Spanish.^[1] At the 2002 census there were 3,304 island inhabitants—almost all living in the village of Hanga Roa on the sheltered west coast.

As of 2011, Rapa Nui's main source of income derived from tourism, which focuses on the giant sculptures called Moai.

Rapa Nui activists have been fighting for their right of self-determination and possession of the island. Recent protests by the indigenous Rapa Nui on Easter Island against Chilean rule have led to violence against the Rapa Nui by the Chilean police.^[2][3]

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