On “Historia general del Peru;” Garcilasso de la Vega.
On “Relacion de los descabrimientos de F. Pizarro y D. de Almagro;” Navarrete, vol. V.
And on “History of the New World;” by Girolamo Benzoni.
CHAPTER XII.
THE ARAUCANIAN WAR.
1550-1556.
The Araucanians inhabit the delightful region between the Andes and the sea, and between the rivers Bío-bío and Valdivia. They derive the appellation of Araucanians from the province of Arauco. They pride themselves on being called by a native word which signifies “the free.” As a race they are rather tall, muscular, and well proportioned. Their complexions are of a reddish brown, but clearer than that of other native Americans. Their round faces are animated by small eyes full of expression. They have scarcely any beard, and the little hair which grows on their faces is carefully removed. Their women are delicately formed, and many of them are very handsome. Such are their good constitutions, and so healthy is their mode of life, that they live to advanced age, and seldom begin to feel its infirmities before sixty or seventy. They are intrepid, animated, and patient in the endurance of fatigue. Enthusiastic lovers of liberty, they are jealous of their honour, courteous, hospitable, and faithful to their engagements; they are likewise grateful for services, and generous and humane towards their vanquished. These fine qualities are, however, shared by them with others of an opposite nature, namely, ignorance, and a proneness towards debauchery.
The Araucanians clothe themselves in short garments, as being best suited for war. Their dress is made of wool, and consists of a shirt, a vest, short trousers, and a cloak or poncho similar to that worn throughout South America. The prevailing colour of their garments is turquoise blue. Their ponchos are of fine texture, and ornamented with coloured figures of flowers and animals wrought with much skill. They wear on their heads bands of embroidered wool, and round their bodies a girdle of the same material. The women are clad with much modesty and simplicity, their dress being entirely of wool, and consisting of a tunic, a girdle, and a short cloak. They live in scattered villages by the banks of rivers or in easily-irrigated plains. They have strong local attachments, each family preferring to live on the land inherited from its ancestors, and of which they cultivate a portion sufficient for their subsistence.
The political division of the Araucanian state is regulated with much intelligence. It is divided from north to south into four governments, called respectively the maritime country, the plain country, the foot of the Andes, and the Andes. Each government is divided into five provinces, and each province into nine counties. The state consists of three orders of nobility, each being subordinate to the other, and all having their respective vassals. They are the Toquis, the Apo-Ulmenes, and the Ulmenes. The Toquis, or governors, are four in number. They are independent of each other, but confederated for the public welfare. The Arch-Ulmenes govern the provinces under their respective Toquis. The Ulmenes govern the counties. The upper ranks, generally, are likewise comprehended under the term Ulmenes. The badge of the Toqui is a battle-axe. The Apo-Ulmenes and the Ulmenes carry staves with silver heads, the former having a ring of the same metal round the middle of the staff. These various dignities are hereditary in the male line, and proceed by primogeniture.
The code of laws obtaining amongst the Araucanians is primitive, being no more than unwritten usage. They have for their object the preservation of liberty and of the established form of government. The subjects are not liable to a levy or to any kind of personal service, except in time of war; neither are they liable to be called upon to pay contributions to their chiefs. The love of liberty is so ingrained in the people that they cannot endure despotism, and they therefore oppose any attempt to extend the power of their rulers. Whenever the grand council determines to go to war they proceed to the election of a commander, to which dignity the Toquis have the first claim. The general is for the time being dictator, the other authorities taking the oath of obedience to him. On making war, messengers are despatched to the confederate tribes to inform them of the steps taken. The Toqui, or commander, directs the number of soldiers to be furnished by each government, and as each Araucanian is a soldier by birth, an army of five or six thousand men is raised without difficulty. The cavalry are armed with swords and lances; the infantry with pikes or clubs. Strange to say, this race of warriors had not acquired from their Spanish neighbours the art of making gunpowder, at least up to the beginning of the present century.
The Araucanians acknowledge a Supreme Being, the Universal Ruler; and they are all agreed in the belief of the immortality of the soul. Their year, which is solar, begins on the 22nd of December, corresponding to the same day of June in northern latitudes. The year is divided into twelve months, of thirty days each; and in order to complete the tropical year, they intercalate five days. They have, as in Europe, four seasons. The Araucanians cultivate successfully rhetoric, poetry, and medicine. They are polygamists, celibacy being considered as ignominious. Their principal food consists of grain and pulse. Indian corn and potatoes are much esteemed by them. The latter vegetable has been cultivated by their ancestors from time immemorial. They use but little animal food or fish, although their rivers abound with the latter. Their usual drink is beer or cider, and they are extremely fond of wine. Their games are numerous and ingenious, and it is a fact worthy of notice, that amongst them is the game of chess, which was known to these warriors before the advent of the Spaniards. It is called comican, whilst their game of quechu has a great similarity to backgammon.