The religious system of the Araucanians, formerly that of all the native tribes of Chili, resembles in a great measure the freedom of their modes of life and government. They acknowledge a Supreme Being, the creator of all things, whom they name Pillan, a word derived from pulli or pilli, the soul. He is likewise named Guenu-pillan, the soul or spirit of heaven; Buta-gen, the great being; Thalcove59, the thunderer; Vilvemvoe, the creator of all things; Vilpepilvoe, the omnipotent; Mollgelu, the eternal; Avnolu, the omnipotent; and is designed by many other similar epithets. Their ideas of the government of heaven form in a great measure a prototype of the Araucanian system of civil polity; Pillan is considered as the great Toqui of the invisible world of Spirits60, and is supposed to have his Apo-ulmens and Ulmens, or subordinate deities of two different ranks, to whom he entrusts the administration of lesser affairs. In the first class of these inferior deities, are Epunamun, or the god of war; Meulen, a benevolent being, the friend of the human race; and Guecubu, a malignant being, the author of all evil, who is likewise called Algue. Hence they appear to entertain the doctrine of two adverse principles, improperly called Manicheism. Guecubu, or Huecuvu, is named Mavari by the natives on the Orinoco, and is the same with the Aherman of the ancient Persians. To him every evil is attributed. If a horse tire, he has been ridden by Guecubu. In an earthquake, Guecubu has given the world a shock; and the like in all things. The Ulmens, or subaltern deities of their celestial hierarchy, resemble the genii, and are supposed to have the charge of earthly things, and to form, in concert with the benevolent Meulen, a counterpoise to the prodigious power of the malignant Guecuba. These ulmens of the spiritual world are conceived to be of both sexes, who always continue pure and chaste without propagation. The males are called Gen, or lords; the females Amei-malghen, or spiritual nymphs, and are supposed to perform the same friendly offices to men which were anciently attributed to the lares, and every Araucanian imagines he has one of these attendant spirits in his service. Nien cai gni Amchi-malghen, I keep my nymph still, is a common expression when any one succeeds in an undertaking. Pursuant to the analogy of their own earthly government, as their Ulmens have no right to impose any service or contribution on the people whom they govern, so they conceive the celestial race require no services from man, having occasion for none. Hence they have neither idols nor temples, and offer no sacrifices, except in case of some severe calamity, or on the conclusion of a peace, when they sacrifice animals, and burn tobacco as a grateful incense to their deities. Yet they invoke them and implore their aid on urgent occasions, chiefly addressing Pillan and Meulen.
(Illustration: Map of CHILI)
Notwithstanding the small regard which they pay to their deities, they are extremely superstitious in matters of less importance, and are firm believers in divination, paying the utmost attention to favourable and unfavourable omens, to dreams, the singing and flight of birds, and the like, which they believe to denote the pleasure of the gods. They have accordingly jugglers or diviners, who pretend to a knowledge of futurity, who are called Gligua and Dugol, some of them call themselves Guenguenu or masters of heaven, Guenpugnu or masters of disease, Guen-piru, or masters of worms, and the like. These diviners pretend to the power of producing rain, of curing diseases, of preventing the ravages of the worms which destroy the grain, and so on. They are in perpetual dread of imaginary beings, called Calcus or sorcerers, who in their opinion remain concealed in caverns by day, along with their disciples or servants, called lvunches or man-animals, who transform themselves at night into owls and shoot invisible arrows at their enemies.
They all believe in the immortality of the soul, which they call am or pulli, and which they say is aneanolu or incorporeal, and mugealu, or existing for ever; but they are not agreed as to the state of the soul after this life. All say that it goes after death to the west beyond the sea, to a place called Gulcheman, or the dwelling of the men beyond the mountains. Some believe this country is divided into two provinces; one that is pleasant and filled with every thing delightful, the abode of the good; the other desolate and devoid of every comfort, the dwelling of the wicked. Others again conceive that all enjoy eternal pleasure after this life, and that the deeds done in the body have no influence on the future lot. They believe the soul retains its original attachments and dislikes, and that the spirits of their departed countrymen frequently return and fight furiously with those of their former enemies, when they meet in the air; and to these combats they attribute the origin of tempests and of thunder and lightning. When a storm happens on the Andes or the ocean, they ascribe it to a battle between the spirits of their departed countrymen and those of the Spaniards. If the storm take its course towards the Spanish territory, they exclaim triumphantly, Inavimen, inavimen, puen, laguvimen! Pursue them friends, pursue them, kill them! If the storm tends towards their own country, they cry out in consternation, Yavulumen, puen, namuntumen! Courage friends, be firm!
They have a tradition of a great deluge, in which only a few persons were saved by taking refuge on a high mountain, named Thegtheg, the thundering or sparkling, which had three points, and had the property of floating on the waters. On the occurrence of violent earthquakes, they fly for refuge to the mountains, fearful that the sea may again deluge the world; and on these occasions, every one takes a good supply of provisions, and a large wooden platter to protect the head, in case the Thegtheg when raised by the waters should approach the sun.
The year of the Araucanians is solar, and begins on the 22d of December, or immediately after the southern solstice, which they call Thaumathipantu, or the head and tail of the year, and are able to ascertain this period with tolerable precision by means of watching the shadows. The 22d of June is called Udanthipantu, the divider of the year, as dividing it into two equal parts. The whole year is called Tipantu, or the course of the sun, and is divided into twelve months of thirty days each, to which they add five intercallary days to complete the tropical year, but in what way I have not been able to determine. The months are called cujen, or moons, and have the following names:
Avun-cujen, the month of fruit – January
Coji-cujen, the month of harvest – February
Glor-cujen, the month of maize – March
Rimu-cujen, the 1st month of rimu – April
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Among the Moluches, the general name of the Supreme Being, according to Falkner, is