Fr Isauro Covilli, OFM
The Poor are my Teachers

The Franciscan missionaries have ministered to the Mapuche Indigenous community in the south of Chile for many decades.Fr Isauro Covilli, OFM, who lived for a number of years among the Mapuche and got to know their culture,writes about this experience in his article.

The 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Spaniards, and with them evangelization, to the Latin American continent has provoked varying positions. It is worth remembering these positions, which ranged from those people who claimed that there was nothing to celebrate in what they consider 500 years of oppression, hunger and usurpation of land, to those who celebrated triumphantly the five-century anniversary. A third position, which was more measured and conciliatory, saw the anniversary as a time to remember the meeting of two worlds, two cultures. On the one side the culture expressed by all the different indigenous peoples of the American continent, and on the other, the foreign European culture of the British, Portuguese and Spanish.

The reality experienced in 1992 showed that there is a greater awareness among Latin Americans toward the indigenous people. Indigenous peoples have also begun to place a greater value on their own culture, identity and their vision of the cosmos. They have strengthened their ties to creation, their brothers and sisters, and with the earth. They have shown the ability to struggle and to demand that their rights as a people be respected, all of which has allowed them to renew their contact with their ancestral traditions that have allowed them to survive over time.

Remembering and having a historic memory is the manner in which each people, and indigenous people in particular, have maintained their identity that makes them different from other people. It allows them to project into the future a permanent struggle-tension in order not to forget their traditions.

When one has the opportunity to live, share in their culture and work pastorally with them, one experiences the great wealth they possess and their special sensibility for nature, the earth, the sun, the animals, etc. Everything is part of their vision of the cosmos, of their way of living, seeing things, relating to the other and placing themselves in reality. I have also been able to experience firsthand their pain, suffering and impotence, the poverty that crushes them and reduces their condition as human beings.

The effort undertaken by both indigenous people and the government led to a new indigenous law, Law 19.253, being signed in 1993 in the city of Nueva Imperial. While not all the Mapuche organizations were in full agreement with the law, it created the National Cooperation for Indigenous Development, which is located in Temuco, in the ninth Region of Chile.

Nevertheless, we need to recognise that in the following years, solutions have not been found to the many needs of the Mapuche and indigenous peoples in general.

What I express in these pages is set in a theoretical framework that allows me to place the experience within a people and a church that have a history.

A people geographically settled

The majority of the Mapuche people in Chile live in the Ninth and Tenth regions, and about 500,000 live in the Metropolitan Region. The majority of the Mapuches live in small communities, which allow them to maintain their traditional culture — unlike Santiago, where they are scattered throughout the metropolitan area, although there are a significant number living in the western and southern areas of the city. While there is participation in prominently Mapuche organizations, there is little awareness among the community of their ancestors who have historically struggled in a society and an economic system that has no place for them.

Indigenous people, the poorest of the poor

The bishops, when they met in Puebla, spoke with force about the conditions of poverty in which many of the people of our continent live. Poverty expressed in the "faces of children, the elderly, the underemployed, peasants, workers, etc". The bishops refered to indigenous people and Afro-Latin Americans who live in poverty in inhuman conditions, making them "the poorest of the poor".

In the past few decades in the world, and very clearly in our country, governments have been happily imposing "a free market economic system, technically fine-tuned and open to foreign markets". This model clearly reveals an ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor, and the poorest and abandoned sectors, such as indigenous people and the Mapuches in particular. Poverty has become particularly intolerable in the Mapuche world and among non-Mapuche peasants. There are groups in the country that are socially and culturally marginalised for economic reasons, leading to serious problems.

This reality directly affects the Mapuches. I was able to see this during the years in which I shared their lives with them. During my visits to their homes I could feel their anguish at being unable to cover their fundamental needs. They had trouble keeping their children in school, health and nutrition problems, poor and unproductive land, bad roads on which they had to get their products out to market, etc.

There is a winka phrase for the Mapuches: "They are poor because they are lazy". The reality in their communities shows that this saying is largely false. I cannot make a sweeping statement about this because there are people, families and communities who do little and are content with the minimum.

Another example of poverty I was able to experience, and with great pain, is the high level of alcoholism. The Mapuche make their own alcohol drink, known as "de muday", which they drink on religious festivals. Historically, however, as a way of dominating them, the Mapuches were given wine, which disoriented them in the beginning. Over time they grew accustomed to it and for many today it is indispensable. An old and well-liked Mapuche woman told me something about their religious celebrations: "God doesn’t hear us anymore because we have grown away from our traditions. There are many vices among us, particularly alcohol", she said with great pain.

The Mapuches: Children of the land, children of God

In Psalm 24 we find an affirmation that is an expression of faith and is present throughout the Holy Scripture. "The Lord’s are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it" (Ps 24:1). This expression of faith revealed by God has not been assimilated in the western way of thinking in terms of relating to the earth.

In our culture we find diverse ideas on how people should relate to others and, as a consequence, their relationship to nature. These ideas tend to be ideological, economic, religious, etc. I want to highlight three of these as the most relevant:

a) "The earth, as part of the elements that form the indigenous community, is life, a sacred place, the integrating centre of community life. In it they live and live together. The earth is mother; she offers the necessary food, and that is why we must ask permission to plant and not harm her".

b) "The mercantilist vision sees the earth exclusively in terms of exploitation and profit, including even the expulsion of its legitimate owners".

c) "The Christian confession on the truth of humanity proclaims a ‘common dignity for all without distinction’. We believe that all men and women, regardless of how insignificant they may seem, have within them an inviolable nobility that they themselves and others must respect without conditions".

In relation to the earth, Christians do not see the universe only in terms of nature itself, but as the creation and the first gift of love from God. In effect, all biblical revelations teach us that when God created man and woman he placed them in the garden where they would work and care for it, and make use of it. God set limits that would also remind them that God was the Lord and Creator, and that from God came the land and all that grew on it. Humanity was able to use it, not as owners but as administrators.

A central element of indigenous cultures is the close relationship to the mother earth. Pope John Paul II told indigenous people during the Fourth Conference of Latin American Bishops: "Love the earth and maintain permanent contact with nature. I join my voice to many others that demand strategies and effective measures to protect and conserve the nature created by God".

Many times in community meetings, in talks with families and in private conversations I was able to realize how important land was to them. Their relation to the land begins at the moment of birth, at the origin of life. All of their relations are based on living together in community, on respect for the earth. Mapuche religion says that they are part of nature and that nature is part of them. They cannot exist without the land, the sun, the rain, the water, the fire, the moon, etc.

Knowing where their communities are located, one realizes that the land they own is poor, and unproductive. Each family possesses between three and six hectares, some families have a bit more. There are also families that have no land. They care for and work other people’s land. It is difficult to be a Mapuche without land because their entire vision of the cosmos, of things, of life, of God, is based on an integrated concept: Mapuche-Land-Nature-Community.

The process of evangelization within the Mapuche communities began with the arrival of the first missionaries to Araucana land. Many were baptised without the least bit of knowledge about what they were receiving. The mentality of many missionaries of the time was baptism as salvation. If a person was not baptised he was condemned to eternal damnation by a God they did not know.

There was the untiring work of many missionaries, among them Franciscans. Brothers who were inspired by the Spirit to inculturate the faith. As a result it was possible for "the Mapuche cultural reality, as well as that of many other original peoples, to assimilate in differing levels the Good News of the Kingdom announced by the Church".

As a consequence of this evangelization in many of the Mapuche communities there are Christian communities for celebration (chapels). One of the difficulties I experienced with my brother Franciscans is that a real and permanent integration of the Christian celebration within Mapuche culture has not taken place. On the one hand, this is the responsibility of evangelization, of the pastoral agents, the majority of whom are not Mapuches (priests, brothers and sisters), and of the Mapuche themselves.

You can see that the Christian faith is something that has been superimposed on many Mapuches. It has not entered into their culture or into their way of being. One of the causes, I believe, is the way in which Christianity arrived. The missionaries from Europe tried to impose what they brought with them and there was a lack of respect for the values of the native peoples.

We cannot lie about the history of evangelization in our rich, but poor, continent, forgetting about many of our brother Franciscans who, living out their faith in Jesus Christ and St Francis, made an option for the indigenous people and their culture. I will mention only a few: "Pedro de Gante, catechist and teacher of indigenous artisans and painters; Martin de Valencia, friend of God and brother to the defeated; Juan de Zumarraga, bishop and martyr for raising his voice to defend the indigenous people; Bernardino de Sahagun, ethnologist who saved the Aztec culture".

In addition to what has already been said, I should mention that many brothers and priests from other orders also participated in the missionary work: Franciscans, Capuchins, Jesuits, Mercedarians, Augustinians, etc.

From the middle of the last century, but particularly in this century that is coming to a close, the role of religious women has been very important in their witness and missionary presence among the original peoples of our land. This has given way to many Christian communities and female congregations that have influenced the life of the church in many areas of this Franciscan America.

In this brief summary of the missionary history, with its successes, I am a witness that there exist in many Mapuche and non-Mapuche communities very good pastoral agents who animate and evangelize their brothers and sisters with enthusiasm and dedication, valuing their culture and the Good News of the Kingdom, of Jesus Christ who gives meaning to their lives.

A people formed by their community

Being a member of a community is part of Christian faith. Jesus showed us clearly that God in the most intimate mystery is a Community of Persons. The bishops in Puebla confirmed our faith, proclaiming "Christ reveals to us that divine life is the Trinity. Father, Son and Holy Spirit live in perfect communion of love, the supreme mystery of unity. From here flows all love and communion for the greatness and dignity of human existence".

The Mapuche people, through their rites and traditions, live a profound communitarian life. Each one has the conviction that they belong to the others. There is a cultural identity that allows them to recognise the members of their people. Many of the native communities are built in circular form, showing that they are clearly communitarian. Unity is a fundamental value in their lives. We can discover here that the essence of community is belonging. This helps those who are not among their own to feel a part of the community and preserve their traditions that identify them.

After having known and shared with several Mapuche communities, I believe that God was present among the diverse cultures before so many missionaries and evangelizers arrived. St John tells us that the Word, the Son of God, "is the true light that illuminates all people who arrive in this world". This is a truth that has been experienced by all of us who have ties with the indigenous peoples. "There are those of us who recognise the Seeds of the Word, present with us, giving light, animation, orientation in the hearts of our Mapuche people since time immemorial".

The true communitarian experience is liberating and integrating. It is where one not only knows that he or she belongs to a family, but it is space where one discovers, recognises and accepts the wounds, and begins the process of rebirth. The Sacred Scripture tells us: "And I tell you: You are my people. And he will say: You are my God". This reality is a clear expression of belonging, which makes sacred the life of the people.

Modern cities clearly show how development leads to the disintegration of families, and of indigenous peoples. Families live next to each other, but are not neighbours. They live in a relationship based on fear — lack of confidence — and ignorance. Each of them closes in on itself. The life of Christian communities and above all religious communities are challenged to prophetically show the world the importance of community, to accompany each other on the road as Jesus accompanied the disciples from Emmaus (Lk 24: 13-35).

Women in the Mapuche culture

A lot has been said about women during this last decade, and even more has been written and there have been opportunities for reflection at the national and international level. Nevertheless, little has been said about indigenous women, and even less about Mapuche women. As such, there has not been enough concern about highlighting the role of indigenous women in society or about the real problems faced by Mapuche women.

There is a high level of illiteracy among Mapuche women. Nearly 50 per cent of women under the age of 25 migrate to the cities in search of work as domestic help. If we talk about the role of women in Mapuche society, we see that they play a fundamental role. The Machi is found within the organizational and religious structures of Mapuche culture. She is in charge of regulating the behaviour of people in the community. Women in general have resisted the wince culture, maintaining their own language, clothing and family structure.

While this analysis is mainly anthropological and cultural, there is also a pastoral-ecclesial dimension that is different. In the majority of Christian Mapuche communities, women have a real presence in the pastoral work with their brothers and sisters. I was able to witness on many occasions that women are more dynamic, lucid and creative when it comes time to celebrate and reflect on their faith. The majority of people who work as catechists are women. Maybe this is because women play a key role in Mapuche culture.

Historically, we know several women, Fresia, Tegualda, Janaqueo and many other anonymous women who directly confronted the invaders, or who were the victims of exploitation, working as gold panners for the "conquerors".

Many times I heard Mapuche women speak about their concern for the young people, who are influenced by western culture that they get from the television media. They are troubled by the neoliberal economic model that does not value their cultural traditions. I knew and shared with women who possessed a firmness that would not let them give in during difficult times. Women value the small things in daily life, the warmth of the sun, the fertility of the earth, the moon, the animals, etc. I feel and firmly believe that we must learn from the indigenous people, from our Mapuche people, the way in which they relate to creation, to nature and, above all, to men and women of our time.

Ref.: LADOC, Vol. XXIX, n. 1, September / October 1998.