Musical Instruments

Pilfika:

Rustic whistle with a single orifice, without a determined tone and a real high sound. In the Mapuche culture it represents a bird named "Ñandu" calling her sons. Those are the whistles that are usually used by the Kuriche, during the Mapuche rogation.

Trutuka:

A large instrument that belongs to the family of aerophones. Galvanized pipe about 3 meters long with an old animal horn in one of its ends. The sounds comes when you exhale. It is played in the Patagonia and used in all types of ceremonies.

Its validity grade is very close to the chamanic practice of the Machi, being the one that practices the aborigin empiric-magical medicine and presides the different rituals of the Mapuche community.

Kaskawilla:

Bronze instrument, in the past it was based on pumpkins. In the rogation, the Kaskawilla is played by the Ñankan, the Machi assistant.

Piloilo:

This Mapuche musical instrument is used to cheer up parties. Its structure is of bone or stone. It is similar to the Pifilka, but it has more than one orifice.

Musical Instruments: The Kultrun

Foto: Kultrun, tambor ritual

The Kultrun sums up the cosmic and earthly components, material and inmaterial, representing a synthesis of universe; a topographic limit that separates the natural earthly world from the supernatural world. It represents the symbolic structure of the Mapuche worldview, and such structure reflects the existence of contradictions and internal conflicts in the Mapuche beleifs.

When we decipher their simbols we find the codes to understand its profound and hermetic meaning.

With the resound of the drawn membrane, the meaning starts to vibrate: a chain series of simbolical relations, openinng a new temporary infinite dimension.

The Kultrun

The Kultrun is the symbolic microcosmo of the Machi and the Mapuche Culture, in which it takes the shape of its particular spiritual conception of the universe.

Its drawn membrane represents the cosmic superstructure and its diverse inmaterial components, representing like the four divisions of the square earth platform, oriented according to the four cardinal points, beginnig in the East, up to the land of the Four Places, or Meli Witran Mapu. On the other side, the wooden pot of the Kultrun, with the symbolic objects introduced in it, represent the cosmic and earthly infrastructure with its diverse material components.

According to the Mapuche belief, from this moment on the voice and the energy of the owner will remain forever inside the Kultrun, creating like an identification of the Machi with the instrument, that will symbolize her own voice and her own shamanic power.

Once completed the introduction of the Machi´s voice, the instrument is closed strongly, tying the edge.

Dances

Dance is an activity practiced by man, that was born by the human necesity of expression. It is being spoken like spiritual motives characterized by fear, petitions or gratitudes to the divinity; of erotic or afective reason; of the warrior reason to scare the enemy and self excite himself to attack in battle, or the reason leagued to the crop celebration, etc.

All this explain why dancing involves a message, it is significant and has a spìritual content besides the esthetic one.

Textiles

The textiles of the Mapuche people are of prehispanic origin and it is mainly the women who practice this activity.

The spinning is done with a Kuilo (spindle) and the weaving is done on a Witral or vertical loom for large cloth. There are different types of creations in Mapuche textiles, such as: ponchos, rugs, blankets and bags.

In the origins of the textiles, a story of the oral Mapuche tradition says like this:

«One day, a young girl washed wheat in the river, when an old man came and kidnapped her; taking her to his lands. The old man married the young girl. They say he told her: "I´m going to Argentina, when I come back, I want all this wool knitted" The man left and the young girl stayed crying ¡ She didn´t known how to knitt! Crying next to the fireplace when the Choñoiwe Kuze, the old fire spoke to her: "You dont have to get sou upset, I´ll call the Lalen Kuze to help you". In a while she appeard, crawling down the fire place the Old Spider, she told the girl: "Do it like I do, watch me and you´ll learn how to knitt".

The days passed, when the man arrived, ther wool was knitted. Lalen Kuze when every night an helped the young girl, finishing both the work».

In this story whe can appreciate like a part of the textile activity is related with the sacred field and parrt of the religious sence of the Mapuche. Wisdom is a gift given by Chao Ngechen / God, to the human, being all life expressions supported by him.

This bond is represented by two femenin tutelary deitys, the "Old Fire" and the "Old Spider", that give this knowledgment to the young lady.

Mapuche Clothing

The traditional dress for a woman is the Chamal or Kepal; a square cloth, wrapped around the body leaving the shoulder naked, the waistband or Trarihue, which is tied to the waist; and the Ikulla, a black shawl with blue edges. The man wears black pants called Chiripa and the Makuñ, a finely woven poncho, which may have a simple decoration or rows of figures.

<< My mom told us that before, they would put on the Mapuche woman a small wool that is found in a tree - I think it is Hualle -, i i´s a special wool, it is on the mountains; but only the lucky one finds it, it is a real thin wool. When babies, the Mapuche girls would wrap their wrist, then they would be like spiders to knitt or weave, they would become experts in knitting. I´d tell my mom why wouldnt she look one for me, why did she not get me one when I was a baby. I dream that I was gonna weave some day; but I thought I would be slower because she didn´t put the thin wool on my wrist. She would tell me: << When big, it is harder, being a small baby is good, you have to look for it in the hills, it is a little hard; but you find it >>.

(Margarita Painequeo, Temuco, 1988).