Temuco, Chile

Here begins my posts to catch up from my trip with horrible internet. The biggest victory was FINALLY finding some green vegetation!! Flying from Arica to Temuco is about the biggest environment change one can undergo in a day- from pure Atacama Desert to lush fields and forest. Everyone on my program literally has been dancing around in the fields and taking advantage of the cooler weather while Arica heats up for summer.

The reason our program comes to Temuco is because Temuco is located in the region of Chile where the largest percentage of Mapuche lives and where intercultural medicine exists as a government incentivized program. The Mapuches are the largest indigenous group in Chile, and dominate traditional culture of the south. We began our excursion in Temuco by visiting several Mapuche health posts. Normal rural health outposts in Chile only incorporate occidental medicine practiced by Chilean doctors. Outside of Temuco, many include traditional medicine into their health practices while others have a separate traditional medicine building or wing.

Mapuche flag

 The traditional medicine man is called a Machi. There are many different jobs that can be done within traditional medicine, and one we were lucky to see was the collection of plants and herbs in the Mapuche forest. After he prayed to the forest to allow us in to learn and collect herbs, the medicine man explained the uses of each plant, and how one could create the remedy drink. It was interesting to hear about the process and how each remedy is individual to the patient, as there are many pharmacies in Temuco offering traditional Mapuche medicine as a sort of farce. Currently, Chilean doctors and Machis are working side by side in order to heal Mapuche patients. In a sense, the Mapuche view the Machi as working to rid the origin and remaining source of the problem while the Chilean doctor cures the symptoms and treats the resulting problems.

Mapuche ruka hut

The most amazing part of our stay around Temuco was when we traveled to Lago Budi to sleep in rukas for a night, which are the Mapuche thatched huts made out of a wood frame and covered with hay and grass. The floors are made of mud and each ruka has a fire pit where cooking and house heating originates. It was amazing to sleep in a comfy bed somewhat exposed to the elements and wake up to homemade bread and delicious jams and cheeses for breakfast. Before leaving, our program coordinator for this leg of the trip lectured about Mapuche cosmovision and told us his personal story, about how he grew up Mapuche in a family that did not respect their Mapuche past. He is currently writing a book to help popularize the study of the Mapudungun language, which has recently gained more popularity in the Mapuche community. Overall, it was amazing to compare the Mapuche community with the Aymara community we have learned about in the north.

- Marisa