Hi! I am at the last stage for being an agronomist from the University of Chile. I consider myself very fortunate for studying at my Faculty, called Antumapu, which is a Mapuche word that means 'The Land of the Sun'. In Antumapu, students can appreciate nature in all its glory everyday. Antumapu is full of green areas, has much diversity of flora. Furthermore, there is a kind of little zoo on the Faculty. Who doesn't like to study, talk or eat, lying in the grass, feeling the warm rays of the sun? I really love it. Perhaps this is because my school was very 'green' also. From school I know some Mapuche words, and even once I witnessed a Mapuche ritual; just like in Antumapu, there is a Mapuche sacred altar, called 'Rehue' at my school. This is a stepped trunk, stuck in the ground, as the photograph shows. It symbolizes the connection to the cosmos. Well, once Rehue was finished, a Mapuche family went to my school to bless it, dancing and singing with many typical instruments of their culture, like Cultrun (the Mapuche drum), Trutruca (a kind of trumpet), Cascahuilla, etc. There were children, young men and women, and of course the old woman, called ‘Machi’. She is the most important member of the comunity. She has the power to wound healing and has a great wisdom.
I’m proud of our ancestors, and I hope that their traditions are preserved and could be valued by society. I think that it is essential to us to know about our roots. I have a great respect to the Mapuche tradition and the nature, that’s why I like very much Antumapu, its Rehue and its green areas. I’m sure I will remember my stage school and university with a strong sense of belonging.
No comments:
Post a Comment