"La Machi – Curandera"

“La Machi – Curandera”

“La Machi”  is the title given to the traditional curanderas (Shaman, healer) of the Mapuche (Indigenous people of Southern Chile). 

Prior to the Spanish conquest, La Machi was revered and honored as the only leader in their society, with whom they would consult issues of health or discord amongst their tribe. This is a matriarchal culture and only women were allowed to perform this role. 

“Lonkos”, male figures, took over under circumstances during the conquest; however, to this day Machis continue to hold their powerful role of elders and consultants of wellbeing as advisors and oracles, and they are deeply respected for their power and great wisdom. 

La Machi would enter into a trance induced by the sound of her drum in which she would summon the ancestral spirits and bring back an answer. This ritual could take place during the course of several days, and the shaman would collapse on the ground in a state that would require the assistant or an interpreter, (the “machife thuñuñe”, her life-time-companion) to convey the message.

These elders possess a vast knowledge of healing herbs and concoctions for curing ailments of the physical and spiritual body.

This painting depicts La Machi drumming her “Kultrun”  as she sits in front of her “Rehue” (a ritual ladder containing steps into the higher levels of awareness) 

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