A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume V Part 11

The Araucanians derive their name from the province of Arauco, the smallest in their territory, but which has given name to the whole nation, as having been the first to propose the union which has so long subsisted among the tribes, or from having at some remote period reduced them under its dominion. Enthusiastically attached to their independence, they pride themselves on the name of _auca_, signifying _freemen_[52]; and by the Spaniards who were sent from the army in Flanders to serve in Chili, this country has been called Araucanian Flanders, or the invincible state. Though the Araucanians do not exceed the ordinary height of mankind, they are in general muscular, robust, well proportioned, and of a martial appearance. Their complexion is of a reddish brown, but clearer than the other natives of America, except the tribe named Boroanes, who are fair and ruddy. They have round faces, small eyes full of animated expression, a rather flat nose, a handsome mouth, even white teeth, muscular and well shaped legs, and small flat feet. Like the Tartars, they have hardly any beard, and they carefully pluck out any little that appears, calling the Europeans _longbeards,_ by way of reproach. The hair on their heads is thick, black, and coa.r.s.e, is allowed to grow very long, and is worn in tresses wound around their heads. The women are delicately formed, and many of them are very handsome, especially the Boroanes. They are generally long lived, and are not subject to the infirmities of age till a late period of life, seldom even beginning to grow grey till sixty or severity, or to be wrinkled till fourscore. They are intrepid, animated, ardent, patient of fatigue, enthusiastically attached to liberty, and ever ready to sacrifice their lives for their country, jealous of their honour, courteous, hospitable, faithful to their engagements, grateful for services, and generous and humane to their vanquished enemies. Yet these n.o.ble qualities are obscured by the vices which are inseparable from their half savage state, unrefined by literature or cultivation: Being presumptuous, entertaining a haughty contempt for other nations, and much addicted to drunkenness and debauchery.

[Footnote 52: According to Falkner the missionary, _auca_ is a name of reproach given them by the Spaniards, signifying rebels or wild men; _aucani_ is to rebel or make a riot, and _auca-cahual_ signifies a wild horse.--This may be the case in the language of the subjected Peruvians and northern Chilese, while in that of the independent Araucanians it may signify _free_; just as republican is an honourable term in the United States, while it is a name of reproach under a monarchical government.--E.]

Their dress is manufactured from the wool of the vicunna, and consists of a s.h.i.+rt, vest, short close breeches, and a cloak or poncho, having an opening in the middle to admit the head, which descends all round as low as the knees. This cloak, which leaves the arms at liberty, and can be thrown back at pleasure, is so convenient for riding, and so excellent a protection from wind and rain, that it is now commonly adopted by the Spanish inhabitants of Chili, Peru, and Paraguay. The s.h.i.+rt, vest, and breeches, are always of a greenish blue, or turquois colour, which is the uniform of the nation. Among persons of ordinary rank, the _poncho_, or native cloak, is also of the same national colour; but those of the higher cla.s.ses have it of different colours, as white, red, or blue, with stripes a span broad, on which figures of flowers and animals are wrought in different colours with much ingenuity, and the borders are ornamented with handsome fringes. Some of these _ponchos_ are of so fine a texture and richly ornamented as to sell for 100 or even 150 dollars.

Their only head-dress is a fillet or bandage of embroidered wool, which they ornament in time of war with a number of beautiful feathers. Round the waist they wear a long sash or girdle of woollen, handsomely wrought; and persons of rank have leather sandals, and woollen boots, but the common people are always bare-footed.

The dress of the women is entirely of wool, and the national greenish blue colour, consisting of a tunic or gown without sleeves reaching to the feet, fastened at the shoulder by silver buckles, and girt round the waist by a girdle; over which gown they wear a short cloak, which is fastened before by a silver buckle. They wear their hair in several long braided tresses, flowing negligently over their shoulders, and decorate their heads with false emeralds and a variety of trinkets. They wear square ear-rings of silver, and have necklaces and bracelets of gla.s.s-beads, and silver rings on all their fingers.

Like all the other tribes in Chili, before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Araucanians still continue to construct their houses or huts rather of a square form, of wood plaistered with clay, and covered with rushes, though some use a species of bricks; and as they are all polygamists, the size of their houses is proportioned to the number of women they are able to maintain. The interior of their houses is very simple, and the furniture calculated only to serve the most necessary purposes, without any view to luxury or splendour. They never form towns, but live in scattered villages along the banks of rivers, or in plains that can be easily irrigated.

The whole country of the Araucanian confederacy is divided into four princ.i.p.alities, called _Uthal-mapu_ in their language, which run parallel to each other from north to south. These are respectively named _Lauquen-mapu_, or the maritime country; _Lelbun-mapu_, or the plain country; _Inapire-mapu_, or country at the foot of the Andes; and _Pire-mapu_, or the country on the Andes. Each princ.i.p.ality or Uthal-mapu is divided into five provinces, called _Ailla-regue_; and each province into nine districts, termed _regue._ Hence the whole country contains 4 _Uthal-mapus_, 20 _Ailla-regues_, and 180 _Regues_.

Besides these, the country of the _Cunches_, who are in alliance with the Araucanians, extends along the coast between Valdivia and the archipelago of Chiloe; and the _Huilliches_, likewise allies of the Araucanians, occupy all the plains to the eastward, between the Cunches and the main ridge of the Andes.

The civil government is a kind of aristocratic republic, under three orders of hereditary n.o.bility, each subordinate to the other. Each of the four _Uthal-mapus_ is governed by a _Toqui_. The _Ailla-regues_, are each under the command of an _Apo-ulmen_; and every one of the _Regues_ is ruled by an _Ulmen_. The four _toquis_ are independent of each other, but are confederated for the public welfare. The _Apo-ulmens_ govern the provinces under the controul or superintendence of the respective _toquis_; and the _ulmens_ of the _regues_ are dependent on the Apo-ulmens, or arch-ulmens. This dependence is however almost entirely confined to military affairs. The distinguis.h.i.+ng badge of the toqui is a kind of battle-axe, made of marble or porpyhry. The Apo-ulmens and Ulmens carry staves with silver heads; the former being distinguished by the addition of a silver ring round the middle of their staves. The toqui has only the shadow of sovereign authority, as every question of importance is decided by an a.s.sembly of the great body of n.o.bles, which is called _Buta-coyog_ or _Auca-coyog_ the great council, or the Araucanian council. This a.s.sembly is usually held in some large plain, on the summons of the toquis; and on such occasions, like the ancient Germans as described by Tacitus, they unite the pleasures of revelling and even drunkenness with their deliberations. By their traditionary laws, called _Ad-mapu_ or customs of the country, two or more princ.i.p.alities, provinces, or districts cannot be held by the same chief. Whenever the male line of the ruling family becomes extinct, the va.s.sals have the right to elect their own chief; and all the districts are directed entirely in civil matters by their respective Ulmens. The people are subject to no contributions or personal services whatever, except in time of war; so that all the chiefs of every rank or degree have to subsist on the produce of their own possessions.

The military government is established upon a system of wonderful regularity. When the great council determines on going to war, they proceed immediately to elect a commander-in-chief, who is in some measure the dictator of the country during his continuance in office.

The toquis have in course the first claim to this high dignity, as being the hereditary generals and stadtholders of the republic; yet, disregarding all respect for superior rank, the council often entrusts this supreme power to the most deserving of the Ulmens, or even to an officer of an inferior cla.s.s, considering only on this occasion the talents that are deemed necessary for command. Thus in the war of 1722, the supreme command was confided to Vilumilla, a man of low origin, and in that which terminated in 1773, to Curignanca, the younger son of an Ulmen in the province of Encol. On his elevation to office, the generalissimo of the republic a.s.sumes the t.i.tle of _toqui_, and the stone hatchet in token of supreme command; on which the four hereditary toquis lay aside theirs, as it is not permitted them to carry this ensign of authority during the continuance of the dictator in office, to whom all the toquis apo-ulmens and ulmens take the oath of obedience.

Even the people, who during peace are exceedingly repugnant to subordination, are now entirely submissive to the commands of the military dictator. Yet he has not the power of putting any one to death, without the consent of his princ.i.p.al officers; but as all these are of his appointment, his orders are next to absolute.

It has always happened since the arrival of the Spaniards in Chili, that the supreme toquis have been elected from among the natives of the provinces of Arauco, Tucapel, Encol, or Puren; but I know not whether this may be owing to some ancient law or agreement, or to some superst.i.tious notion. The supreme toqui appoints his vice-toqui or lieutenant-general, and the other officers of his staff; who in their turn nominate the inferior officers. The vice-toqui is almost always elected from among the Puelches, to gratify the ambition of that valiant tribe, which forms about a fourth part of the population of the confederacy. At present the army of the Araucanians is composed both of cavalry and infantry. Originally it consisted entirely of foot; but in their first battles with the Spaniards, perceiving the vast advantage derived by their enemies from the employment of cavalry, they soon applied themselves to procure a good breed of horses; insomuch that in 1568, only seventeen years after their first encountering the Spaniards, they had several squadrons of cavalry; and by the year 1585, the Araucanian cavalry was regularly organized by the toqui Cadeguala. The infantry is divided into regiments of a thousand men, and these into ten companies of an hundred men each. The cavalry is divided in a similar manner; but the numbers in the regiments and troops are not always the same. Each body of horse and foot has its particular standard; but all bear a star, which is the national device. The soldiers are not clothed in uniforms, but all have cuira.s.ses of hardened leather below their ordinary dresses, with s.h.i.+elds and helmets of the same material. The cavalry are armed with swords and lances; and the infantry with pikes or clubs pointed with iron. In battle, the cavalry is distributed on the two wings of the army, while the infantry forms the centre or main body, divided into its several battalions or regiments, the ranks being composed alternately of pikemen and soldiers armed with clubs or maces.

The right wing is confided to the vice-toqui, and the left to an experienced officer next in rank; while the toqui is present wherever occasion requires, and exhorts his soldiers to fight valiantly for the liberties of the nation. They formerly employed bows and slings in war; but taught by experience to avoid the destructive effects of musquetry in distant fight, they are now eager to close with their enemies.

Impressed with the opinion that to die in battle for their country is the greatest honour that can be acquired, whenever the signal for battle is given, they advance with the utmost rapidity, despising the slaughter produced by the cannon and musquetry, yet preserving the strictest order and discipline, and often succeed in bearing down the firmest array of the Spaniards.

One of the first measures of the national council, when war is resolved upon, is to dispatch messengers to the confederate tribes, and even to the Indians who live under the Spanish government, to summon them to make common cause with their countrymen. The credentials of these messengers are some small arrows tied together by a red string, the symbol of blood. But if hostilities have been already commenced, the finger of a slain enemy accompanies the arrows. This emba.s.sy is called _pulchitum_, which signifies to run the arrow, and the messengers are called _guerquenis_. The toqui or military dictator directs what number of soldiers is to be furnished by each Uthal-mapu or princ.i.p.ality. The particular toquis regulate the contingencies of the Apo-ulmens; and these last apportion these among the several Ulmens of their provinces.

The army of the state usually consists of five or six thousand men; besides which, a body of reserve is always in readiness for particular occasions, or to replace those who may be killed in battle. Before taking the field, the general a.s.signs three days for consultation with his princ.i.p.al officers, during which the plan of the campaign is maturely deliberated upon, and every one has liberty to offer his opinion: But the general finally settles the plan of warfare in secret consultation, with his princ.i.p.al officers. After all is agreed upon, the army commences its march to the sound of drums, and is always preceded by several advanced parties, to guard against surprise. During the march, the infantry as well as the cavalry are on horseback; but on coming to action, the infantry dismounts and is regularly marshalled in companies and battalions. All the soldiers have to provide their own horses arms and provisions; and as all are liable to military service, no one has to contribute towards the supply of the army. Their provisions consist chiefly in a small sack of parched meal, which each soldier carries on his horse; and which, diluted with water, serves them as food till they can live at free quarters in the enemys country. Being thus unenc.u.mbered with baggage, they are able to move with astonis.h.i.+ng celerity, either to attack or to retreat as may be necessary. They are extremely vigilant when in presence of the enemy, encamping always in secure and advantageous situations, strengthening their posts with entrenchments, and placing sentinels on all sides, every soldier being obliged during the night to keep a fire burning in front of his tent.

When necessary they protect their posts and encampments with deep trenches, guarded by abatis or hedges of spinous or th.o.r.n.y trees, and strew calthrops at all the avenues to repress attacks from the cavalry of the enemy. In short there are few military stratagems with which they are unacquainted, and are wonderfully expert in tactics [53].

[Footnote 53: From the singular excellence of the military inst.i.tutions of the Araucanians, by which they have been enabled to preserve their liberties against the superior arms of the Spaniards, down even to the present day, we have been induced to extend these observations much beyond our usual limits on such occasions. Such as are inclined to inquire more minutely into the civil inst.i.tutions of this wonderful people, will find them detailed in the work of the Abbe Molina, together with a minute account of the natural productions of Chili.--E.]

SECTION II.

_Of the Origin, Manners, and Language of the Chilese_.

The origin of the primitive inhabitants of Chili, like that of all the nations and tribes of the aboriginal Americans, is involved in impenetrable obscurity. Many of the natives consider themselves as indigenous, while others derive their origin from a foreign stock, supposing their ancestors to have come from the north or from the west; but as they were utterly unacquainted with the art of writing, they have no records or monuments from which to elucidate this inquiry, and their traditionary accounts are too crude and imperfect to afford any degree of rational information on the subject. The Chilese call their first progenitors _Pegni Epatum_, signifying the brothers named Epatum. They call them likewise _glyce_, or primitive men; and in their a.s.semblies invoke their ancestors and deities in a loud voice, crying _Pom, pam, pum, mari, mari, Epunamen, Amimalguen, Pegni Epatum_. The meaning of these words is uncertain, unless we may suppose it to have some connexion with the word _pum_, used by the Chinese to signify the first created man, or the one who was saved from the deluge. The lamas or priests of Thibet are likewise said to repeat to their rosaries, the syllables _om, am, um_, or _hom, ham, hum_; which corresponds in some measure with the customary exclamation of the Chilese.

It appears probable that the whole of Chili had been originally peopled by one nation, as all the native tribes, however independent of each other, speak the same language, and have a similar appearance. The inhabitants of the plains are of good stature, but those who dwell in the valleys of the Andes, usually surpa.s.s the ordinary height of man.

The features of both are regular, and none of them have ever attempted to improve nature by disfiguring their faces, to render themselves more beautiful or more formidable. Their complexion, like the other American natives, is reddish brown or copper-coloured, but of a clearer hue than the other Americans; and readily changes to white. A tribe which dwells in the district of Baroa, is of a clear white and red like Europeans, without any tinge of copper colour. As this tribe differs in no other respect from the rest of the Chilese, this difference in complexion may be owing to some peculiar influence of the climate which they inhabit, or to their greater civilization. Some persons have been disposed to attribute this difference in colour to an intermixture with a number of Spanish prisoners taken during the unfortunate war of the sixteenth century: But the Spanish prisoners were equally distributed among the other tribes, none of whom are white; and besides, the first Spaniards who came to Chili were all from the southern provinces of Spain, where ruddy complexions are extremely rare.

From the harmony, richness, and regularity of the Chilese language, we are led to conclude that the natives must in former times have possessed a much greater degree of civilization than now, or that they are the remains of a great and ill.u.s.trious nation, which has been ruined by some of these physical or moral revolutions which have occasioned such astonis.h.i.+ng changes in the world. The Chilese language is so exceedingly copious, both in radical words, and in the use of compounds, that a complete dictionary of it would fill a large volume. Every verb, either derivatively or conjunctively, becomes the root of numerous other verbs and nouns, both adjectives and substantives, which in their turn produce others of a secondary, nature which may be modified in a hundred different manners. From every word in the language, a verb may be formed by adding a final _n_. Even from the most simple particles, verbs may be thus formed, by which at the same time great precision and great strength are given to conversation. Yet the language contains no irregular verb or noun, every thing being regulated by the most wonderful precision and simplicity, so that the theory of the language is remarkably easy, and may be learnt in a very short time. It abounds also in harmonious and sonorous syllables, which give it much sweetness and variety; yet is injured by the frequent recurrence of the sound of _u_. The Chilese language differs essentially from every other American language, both in words and construction, with the exception of eighteen or twenty words of Peruvian origin, which is not to be wondered at, considering the contiguity of the two countries. The most singular circ.u.mstance in this language is, that it contains a considerable number of words apparently of Greek and Latin derivation, and having similar significations in both languages; yet I am inclined to believe that this circ.u.mstance is merely accidental[54].

[Footnote 54: Perhaps these words may have been adopted into the Chilese language from the Spaniards, who speak a kind of dialect of Latin. The remainder of this section is an abridgement of an Essay on the Chilese language, appended to the second volume of Molina.--E.]

The original language of Chili, generally called the Araucanian, is denominated by the natives _Chili-dugu_, or the Chili speech or language. The alphabet is the same as the Latin, except the want of _x_, which indeed is only a compound letter. The _s_ likewise only occurs in about twenty of their words, and never at the termination; and the _z_ is still more rare. Besides the ordinary letters, the Chilese has the mute _e_, and a peculiar _u_ like the Greek and French; the former being designated by the _acute_, and the latter by the _grave_ accent, to distinguish them from the ordinary _e_ and _u_. This latter _u_ is often changed to _i_. It has likewise a nasal _g_ and a _th_; which latter is often changed to _ch_, as _chegua_ for _thegua_, a dog. There are no gutturals or aspirates. All the words end either in one of the six vowels, or in _b,d,f,g,l,m,n,r, or v_; so that there are fifteen distinct terminations. The accent is usually on the penult vowel, sometimes on the last, but never on the antipenult. The radical words, mostly monosyllables or dissyllables, are estimated at 1973. As far as we have been able to discover, these radicals have no a.n.a.logy with any other known idiom, though the language contains a number of Greek and Latin words very little varied, as in the following table. It is proper to mention, that the orthography of the Chilese words is given according to the Italian p.r.o.nunciation.

CHILESE. GREEK. SIGNIFICATION Aldun Aldein to increase. Ale Ele splendour. Amun Mouen to go. Cai Kai and. Ga Ga in truth. Lampaicon Lampein to s.h.i.+ne. Mulan Mullen to pulverise. Pele Pelos mud. Reuma Reuma a stream. Tupan Tupein to whip.

CHILESE. LATIN. Aren Ardere to burn. Cupa. Cupere to desire. Dapein Dapinare to feast. Ejun Ejulare to weep. Lev Levis active, swift.

Lumalmen Lumen light. Lui Lux brightness. Man Ma.n.u.s the right. Putun Potare to drink. Valin Valere to be worth. Valen Valere to be able. Une Unus one.

The nouns have only one declension, or rather are indeclinable, the numbers and cases being marked by various particles; but each, in this way, has the singular, dual, and plural, like the Greek. Thus _Cara_ the city, has _Cara-egu_ the two cities, and _Pu-cara_ the cities, as in the following example.

_Singular. Dual. Plural._ Nom. Cara Cara-egu pu-Cara Gen. Cara-ni Cara-egu-ni pu-Cara-ni Dat. Cara-meu Cara-egu-meu pu-Cara-meu Accus. Cara Cara-egu pu-Cara Voc. a Cara a Cara-egu a pu-Cara Abl. Caramo Cara-egu-mo pu-Cara-mo

Instead of _pu_, the mark of the plural, _ica_ or _egen_ may be affixed to the noun, or _que_ placed between the adjective and substantive. Thus the plural of _cara_ may be _pu-cara, caraica_, or _caraegen_, signifying the cities; or _c.u.m-que cara_, the good cities.

The Chilese language abounds with adjectives, both primative and derivative. The latter are formed from every part of speech by invariable rules: As, from _tue_ the earth, comes _tuetu_ terrestrial; from _quimen_ to know, _quimchi_ wise; and these, by the interposition of _no_, become negative, as _tuenotu_ not terrestrial, _quimnochi_ ignorant. The adjectives, participles, and derivative p.r.o.nouns are unsusceptible of number or gender, in which they resemble the English; yet when it is necessary to distinguish the s.e.xes, _alca_ is used for the masculine, and _domo_ for the feminine. The comparative is formed by prefixing _jod_ or _doi_ to the positive, and the superlative by _cad_ or _mu_. Thus from _chu_ limpid, are formed _doichu_ more limpid, and _muliu_ most limpid. There are no diminutives or augmentatives, which are supplied by means of the adjectives _picki_ little, and _buta_ great. Diminutives are also formed by changing a harsh sound into one more liquid; as _votun_ son, to _vochiun_ little son. The primitive p.r.o.nouns are _inche_ I, _eimi_ you, _teye_ which, &c. The relatives are _iney_ who, _chem_ what, _ta_ or _ga_ that, &c. The verbs all terminate in the syllables _an, en, in, an, un, un_; and are all regulated by a single conjugation, having all the voices, moods, and tenses of the Latin, with three or four others, and the singular dual and plural like the Greek. The terminations of the present tense of each mood form the roots of all the other tenses of the same mood, which are distinguished by certain particles, as _che_ in the second present, _bu_ in the imperfect, _uje_ in the perfect, &c. as in the following example, which are placed between the radical and the final _n_. Pa.s.sive verbs are formed by the auxiliary _gen_, between the radical and final _n_.

Impersonal verbs by the particle _am_ added to the radical. The following example of the verb _elun_ to give, will serve as a model for all the other verbs in the language without exception, as there is but one conjugation and no irregular verbs. It is to be noticed, that the first present of all the verbs is used, as our compound preterite: Thus _elun_ signifies I give or I have given; while the second present is strictly confined to the present time.

ACTIVE VOICE.

INDICATIVE MOOD.

_Present Tense_.

Singular.

Dual.

Plural.

1.

_Elun_, I give.

_Eluvu_, We two give.

_Eluign_, We give

2.

_Eluimi_, Thou givest.

_Eluimu_, You two give.

_Eluimen_, Ye give

3.

_Elui_ He gives.

_Eluigu, They two give.

_Eluigen_, They give_

Second Present, 1. _Eluchen_, I give.

2. _Eluchemi_, Thou givest, &c.

Imperfect, 1. _Elubun_, I did give.

2. _Elubuimi_, Thou, &c.

Perfect, 1. _Eluuyen_, I gave.

2. _Eluuyeimi_, Thou, &c.

Pluperfect, 1. _Elunyebun_, I had given, &c.

1st Future, 1. _Eluan_, I will give, &c.