Butalmapu

Butalmapuor Fütalmapu is the name inMapudungunfor "great land", which were one of the great confederations wherein theMapuchepeople organized themselves in case of war. These confederations corresponded to the great geographic areas inhabited by the Mapuches inChile.

At the beginning of theconquest of Chileit is thought that there was a Butalmapu among thePicunchefrom theLimari Riversouth to the vicinity of theMataquito Riverthat was headed by aMichimalonco.Also at the beginning of the conquest of Chile, aMolucheButalmapu, (name unknown), existed south of theItata Riverand north of theBio Bio River.It may have included the aillurehue of the Cauquenes north of the Itata, who occasionally fought with them against the Spanish in the sixteenth century and earlier against theIncain theBattle of the Maule.

Among theMoluchesouth of theBio Bio Riverthere were by the seventeenth century, three Butalmapu, that conformed with the main territorial identities of the Moluche:Lafkenmapu,the coastal region,Lelfünmaputhe plains of theIntermediate DepressionandInapiremaputhe foothills of theAndes.One otherPiremapuin theAndesmountain range, was inhabited by thePehuenches.

Each butalmapu was made up of several smaller confederations;aillarehues,that were made up of a number of familial clans of the same region, known aslofs.In case of an external danger or the beginning of a military campaign, theloncos(caciques) of all the lofs chose a supreme military leader of the Butalmapu, called theToquiand Gran Toqui by the Spaniards. This leader had the right to make military decisions and usually only left his position when the campaign finished or he died. Butalmapus were not described as such in Spanish chronicles until theCautiverio feliz y razón individual de las guerras dilatadas del reino de Chile,ofFrancisco Núñez de Pineda y Bascuñán,where an account of these confederations first occurred. They were called by Núñez “utanmapu”.

Among theHuillicheandCuncosto the south of the Moluche there were two Butalmapu:Willimapulocated in between theToltén Riverand theBueno Riverand theChawra kawinlocated between the Bueno River and theReloncaví Sound.By 1805 these were consolidated into just one,Huillimapu.

Sources

• Ricardo E. Latcham,La organización social y las creencias religiosas de los antiguos araucanos,Impr. Cervantes, Santiago de Chile, 1924.
• INFORME DE LA COMISIÓN VERDAD HISTÓRICA Y NUEVO TRATO 2003; Volumen III, TOMO II, Primera parte del informe final de la Comision de Trabajo Autónomo Mapuche, Capitulo II Territorio y Tierras Mapuche, II. Procesos territoriales en el mapunche majontu mapu (1550-1818)