Photo: Juan GONZALES/REUTERS / Deutsche Welle
Nearly half a thousand Mapuche women, dressed in their typical costumes, gathered this Saturday (.05.2022) for breaking a world record in La Araucanía, in the south of Chile: making a fabric one kilometer long and 21 centimeters wide with the colors of the relmu, rainbow in Mapudungun language.
A titanic effort that was barely a hundred meters from its primary objective, but that did not mean a detriment for the 426 women who gathered in the coastal city of Puerto Saavedra in a festive atmosphere to also celebrate the diversity and cultural power of a town that has been involved in recent weeks in the controversy of the ancestral conflict that exists in the area with the Government and large forestry companies, which reduce ancient forests.
Shortly after dawn, after l At llellipun, the traditional Mapuche opening prayer, the weavers placed their witrals (traditional looms) almost two and a half meters high and began to gather the longest fabric in the world in the coastal commune of Puerto Saavedra, at 675 kilometers south of the capital. The previous record was held by some Chinese weavers who in 2017 made a fabric of almost 280 square meter.
“Lately in the world there have been many storms, a lot of pain, a lot of bloodshed… With this, what we intend is to show that a people can unite and deliver a little joy, peace through these colors,” he explained. to the agency Efe Patricia Huinca, from the Chilka Foundation and coordinator of the project.
For the feat, a ton of sheep wool of the Dohne Merino breed was used, which comes from Tierra del Fuego, in the extreme south of the American continent. “We have always woven inside our houses, locked up, nobody knew about our activity, about our fabrics, but today we are going to make ourselves known to the world,” Huinca added.
The wool was washed and dyed with natural materials to achieve the colors of the rainbow, which represent different values of the Mapuche culture. Purple, for example, symbolizes the che troki wün (respect for the person) and green, the rekülüwüm (supporting the other), while yellow refers to norchewün (acting righteously). “Most of the colors can be obtained from nature, but there are some that are difficult to find, such as royal blue,” said Nelly Calbulao, another Mapuche weaver.
The Mapuche people, who live mainly in La Araucanía and other southern areas, are the largest in Chile, where there are also nine other indigenous ethnic groups: Aymara, Diaguita, Quechua, Atacameño, Colla, Yagán, Kawésqar, Chango and Rapa Nui .
“This is a record for Mapuche women, for our strength, we have a lot nahuen (energy)”, concluded another of the participants, who preferred not to give her name.