Planet Hollywood vs Mapuche Cosmic Vision
By Nina Dean * - 10th January 2010
Mapuche means quite simply, people of the land, Mapu meaning land and che meaning people. The spirituality, culture and identity of the Mapuche spring forth from this sacred and holistic relational concept. The cosmic vision of the Mapuche which emanates from this ethic, naturally evolves into a delicate sustainability which has been practiced and maintained by the Mapuche people for thousands of years prior to the invasion of European colonialists in 1541. In understanding the fundamental basis of Mapuche spirituality and its origins it becomes clear that the connection between land and people is pivotal in maintaining present and future identity and harmony within the Wallmapu (Mapuche ancestral territory) and beyond, indeed the very survival of the Mapuche culture depends upon it.
Mapuche Land, the ancestral territory of the Mapuche has been the source which first the Spanish Crown and later the Argentinean and Chilean states mercilessly coveted and pursued, these opened the floodgates to national and multinational organisations, European entrepreneurs and wealthy private individuals to plunder sacrilegiously an ancient and fragile world. In order to attain their objective these parties were willing to destroy a unique and beautiful people and to eradicate their rich culture, history and spirituality forever. This sounds like the prelude to a popular modern super-natural epic such as 'the lord of the rings' where the ring rendered man into a venomous creature without conscience nor morals, in the case of Mapuche and other indigenous nations this is no gruesome fairytale told to children around the fireside on a dark winters evening but the reality of the daily struggle to survive against all odds in the face of foreign greed.
The Mapuche struggle for ancestral land rights and self determination, however has a new foe in the form of Hollywood celebrities, with actors such as Michael Douglas, Sylvester Stallone and CNN's Ted Turner joining the scramble for Patagonian lands in a bid to 'buy a piece of heaven' in the Wallmapu. Perhaps they are blissfully unaware that the lands they have purchased belong neither to the government nor to local latifundistas (landowners of European descent) but to the Mapuche Nation.
A hundred year war of Mapuche resistance against the invading Spanish Crown finally ended in 1641 in the signing of the treaty of Killen a still valid international treaty which mutually agreed to define the border to Mapuche ancestral territory as the Bio Bio river in the north of what is today known as Chile and Argentina and to the southern tip of South America. In the ensuing years over thirty further treaties were signed between the Mapuche and the newly formed nations of Chile and Argentina however, these valid treaties were consistently and flagrantly disregarded leading to intensified tensions and conflict which remain inflamed to the present day.
The intensified Mapuche land conflict has in recent years resulted in the death of numerous young Mapuche Weichafe (Mapuche warriors), the latest being that of the death of Jaime Mendoza Collio in August 2009. Mapuche democratic protest in Chile is violently repressed using anti terrorist law initially instituted under the former Pinochet dictatorship and applied solely to Mapuche protestors and their supporters. The result has been the systematic torture, intimidation and imprisonment of Mapuche Lonkos (Chiefs), activists and their families.
The ongoing repression, resulting in the death of young Mapuche including that of Jaime Mendoza Collio was reported at the last session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Sept 2009. Danielle Mitterrand wife of former French president Francois Mitterrand and president of the Mitterrand Foundation, France Liberte, echoed the condemnation of the Chilean government's policy of brutal repression against Mapuche who engaged in democratic protest in defence of their ancestral territory.
Among the Mapuche delegation at the UN was Werken (community spokesman) Victor Ancalaf Llaupe, a former Mapuche political prisoner who was wrongly convicted to a sentence of 10 years (reduced on appeal to five years) for so called terrorist crimes which he did not commit. Mr Ancalaf bore personal testimony to Chilean police violence and to his five year illicit detention under anti terrorist law. Werken Ancalaf remains in danger despite his release after threats from a local guerrilla group employed by local latifundistas issued a direct and immediate death threat to Mr Ancalaf and other Mapuche community leaders as a means by which to put an end to their pursuit of their quest for the return of Mapuche ancestral lands. From their family home Victor and his family remain under surveillance by Chilean intelligence despite having served the full extent of his sentence.
In conclusion, Mapuche heroes unlike their fictitious Hollywood movie counterparts do not have the superhuman capability to survive relentless physical brutality, they are but flesh and blood and they have yet to see whether in their story they will 'live happily ever after'. However the Mapuche spirit is proven to be indomitable and has survived in the successful defence of their ancestral land for almost 500 years to date, it may therefore be supposed that the Mapuche Nation will go on to do so well after the glowing sparkle and glamour of Hollywood has extinguished into a distant memory.
*Vice secretary, Mapuche International Link