The early teachings of a Lafkenche boy in a dialogue between the literary piece "Vida de una joven araucano" (Life of a Young Araucano Boy) by Carlos Munizaga

Abstract

In 1959, the anthropologist Carlos Munizaga published a short book that portrayed the life of a young Mapuche in his coastal community in the Araucanía region: his first memories as a peasant child, his education, daily practices, adolescence, yearnings and the encounter with other young people, outside his community, in the city of Santiago. The text also described an experiential impact, showing the conflicts of his social insertion in an urban society. In dialogue with the exploratory work of Munizaga, we articulate a semi-structured interview with its protagonist, the poet Lorenzo Aillapán, who gave us an in-depth look at the teaching received within his community, exposing certain reflections and issues not present in Munizaga’s text and that deal with certain prejudices of the Western gaze that even in those years prevailed in certain anthropological studies.