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Mapuche flag is each of the flags used as an emblem and symbol of the Mapuche Nation and the Mapuche communities and organizations in Chile and Argentina. There are several different flags representing the Mapuche communities and territories.

Ancestral flag

Ancestral Flag (Lautaro flag) according to the work of Pedro Subercaseaux

The first records on the use of flags of Araucanian people date back to the Spanish chronicles during the War of Arauco, the more known was described in Canto XXI of the epic poem La Araucana (1569). There, Alonso de Ercilla described in one of their songs, to a warrior named Talcahuano, which inhabited the land near the present city that bears his name, who was followed by troops that wore blue, white and red emblems. The most characteristic feature of the old Araucanian flag is the Guñelve (wünelfe in Mapudungun) that is a symbol from the Mapuche iconography which can be described as an octagram or a star with eight points. It represents the planet Venus, but has also erroneously been thought to represent the canelo tree, which is considered sacred among the Mapuches.[1] The guñelve, also called the "Star of Arauco", inspired Bernardo O'Higgins in creating the current flag of Chile.[2]

In Chile

Wenufoye, the flag of Chilean Mapuches.
The Guñelve, Flag possibly used by Mapuche troops during the early 18th century Arauco War.

In March 1991, the Chilean Mapuche organization Aukiñ Wallmapu Ngulam, also known as Council of All Lands, made a call to make the flag of the Mapuche nation. About 500 designs were submitted, of which one was selected for the Mapuche nation. The flag is called Wenufoye (in mapudungun The Heaven's Winter's Bark).[3]

The colors and forms of this Mapuche flag represents:

Apart from the Wenufoye, there are five other flags representing the different territories: Huenteche, Huilliche, Lafquenche, Nagche and Pehuenche.

In Argentina

Flag of the Mapuche-Tehuelche communities.

The flag of Argentinian Mapuche people was created in 1987 by Julio Antieco, and ratified in 1991 by the 1st Assembly of Aboriginal Leaders and Communities in Trevelin. The Chubut Province declares this symbol as "official emblem of the aboriginal communities of the province" (Act 4,072).

Their colors and symbolism are:

References

  1. ^ "Toki kurá: El Otro saqueo al Pueblo Mapuche: El Canelo y la estrella de Arauco. (Aukanaw)". 16 June 2013.
  2. ^ "La CPU Coja ©2011 » Símbolos: La Bandera".
  3. ^ "Wallmapuwen". Archived from the original on 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2011-06-19.