THE 10 MOST POPULAR MAPUCHE LEGENDS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The Mapuche legends are those belonging to the culture of the Mapuche people, the indigenous people who inhabit the region of Araucania. They are also known as Araucanians, since they lived in the Arauco, in Chile and in part of Argentina.

As is common in ethnic groups, their religion intertwines the physical world and the spiritual world. In the case of the Mapuches, it is based on respecting the spiritual plane and worshiping the spirits, ancestors and Mother Earth.

Mapuche legends explain several of the most deeply rooted traditions of this town.

Source: Here As part of their culture and religion, since before the arrival of the Spanish to America the Mapuches have created and transmitted legends about their people. Currently, these legends and beliefs are considered as part of Chilean folklore.

The 10 most outstanding Mapuche legends

Legend of the flood

God, who was called by various names (Chao, Antü or Nguenechen), lived in the heights with his wife, Cuyen, and their children.

His two oldest sons began to grow up and wanted to be like their father. However, they made fun of him, so Antü threw them into a mountain range and their fall sank the rocks. Upset, Cuyen wept so much that her huge tears fell over the holes and two lakes formed.

Antü decided to revive them in the form of a serpent (Caicai) in charge of the waters; but Caicai was full of hatred and only wanted to destroy everything Antü made. Upon realizing this, Antü gave life to a good snake, Trentren, in charge of watching over Caicai and protecting the Mapuches.

Over time, the Mapuches were no longer good people and Antü asked Caicai to teach them a lesson, but when Trentren noticed, he warned the Mapuches and made them climb the mountains while Caicai made the waters rise. Caicai decided to go up to look for the Mapuche refugees, but Trentren did not leave her and threw her on stones.

No one knows how long their fight lasted, it is only known that all of them died except for two children, a male and a female, who grew up totally alone and later gave rise to all the Mapuches.

The mermaid of the lake

Several families used to go to Lake Panguipulli to fetch clean water. Once a girl and her father went to fetch water. While they were picking her up, the girl saw a beautiful woman with a yellow knight on what appeared to be an island in the middle of the water. The woman was combing her hair.

Surprised, she told her father to see her but he claimed not to see anything. Days later the girl and her father went to the lake again accompanied by their brothers, who were playing running. At that moment the girl noticed the presence of a calf on the same rock where she had seen the woman and she told her father about it.

After months they took out a large package from the lake, a huge basin with a lot of silver on it, and the girl's father told him that when this happened and they got money, it came out in the form of animals, women and whatever else.

Legend about the strength and cunning of the Mapuches

According to this legend, the strength of the Mapuche comes from the puma and cunning comes from the fox.

One day, a Mapuche went out with his two sons to look for pine nuts for the winter. When they had already left, the weather changed and strong winds and storms arrived that raised the sea level and the waters. The family took shelter on a rock, but the father slipped and fell trying to find a way out.

The current carried him away and the little ones were left alone. Suddenly, a tree fell and from one of its branches a cougar and a fox jumped onto the rock where the children were.

Despite their hunger, the animals sympathized and carried them on their backs to their cave, where they provided food and shelter until the four of them made a home.

Legend of fire

A long time ago the Mapuches did not know fire, until two young Mapuches who were in the forest decided to rub two wooden sticks. From so much rubbing a hole opened in one of the toothpicks and something shiny and unknown to them came out.

Scared, they threw the chopsticks into the forest and the air began to produce more fire, causing a forest fire that completely burned both trees and animals. This is how the Mapuches learned about fire and how to do it, and they also learned how the meat of animals could be cooked and then consumed.

The flower of the fig tree

On June 24, on the longest night of the year, at 12 midnight, a magic flower appears on the branch that is at the top of the fig trees. They say that this flower has the power to grant a wish of whoever can grab it.

For this to happen, the person must climb the fig tree, grab the flower at 12 midnight and hold it for one minute, which is their lifetime. However, you must pass obstacles to reach the top; some are a mad dog, a talking snake, and a bird that will want to blind anyone who tries to pass.

If the brave man manages to overcome the challenges but the flower dies before he can grab it, he will go mad for trying to defy the devil and his soul will go to hell for all eternity.

Legend of Domuyo

The Domuyo volcano is the highest mountain in Patagonia, and according to the Mapuche culture, it keeps a great secret at its top.

They say that the volcano gets angry, drops rocks and presents snowstorms every time it feels that someone tries to invade it; Whoever dares to try to upload it will die trying.

The hill is so jealous of its territory because on its top, next to the lake, there is a beautiful woman with yellow hair, preening herself with a golden comb.

At his side are a bull and a horse: the horse is the one who, by kicking, causes a great storm; while the bull, with his strength, throws the stones at whoever tries to discover them.

Legend of Lake Aluminé

It is said that many years ago the creator of the world decided that Antü and Cuyen - the kings of the Sun and Moon, respectively - should be together and exercise their reign over the earth.

As time passed Antü got tired of Cuyen and did not want to continue being his partner, so they argued and fought.

In the middle of this fight, the king slapped his queen and left a large scar on her face. For that reason, Cuyen can only be seen at night while Antü has absolute power during the day.

However, Cuyen wanted his love back, so he sped up his way to see him by day but found him kissing Venus, the evening star.

Cuyen was left heartbroken and in immense pain, so she couldn't help crying; with his tears he formed Lake Aluminé.

The water snake

Years ago, three sisters were playing and bathing in the Dónguil river. One of them entered the river, reached a rock in the middle and suddenly began to sink little by little.

Months later the girl who had been swallowed by the river appeared to warn her mother that difficult times for the harvests would come, so she had to collect as many snakes as possible. The girl told him that snakes with seven ears would come out of the river at midnight, and that whoever looked for them should go in the dark.

Indeed, the snakes came out and the town of El Salto went looking for them, so they managed to gather the necessary food to survive for the whole year. This is how they began to eat smoked lampreys.

Legend of Lake Musters

In a year of extreme drought, a meadow where present-day Musters Lake is located had dried up in such a way that animals that could not flee were starving. The Mapuches also perished, since they no longer had crops or animals left to hunt.

For this reason, several tribes met to plan a ritual in which they would make an offering to Nguenechen, the creator of the world, in exchange for rain.

The ritual began but could not be finished, as a great storm fell that drowned everyone and the current lake was formed so deep.

The color of the Mapuches

When Nguenechen created the world, he made the Mapuches with white skin, but he also made his great enemy, the Sun.

The Sun, seeing that the men on earth were happy, decided to heat them in such a way that they lost their color and became brown, with dark hair.

When Nguenechen realized this, he created the Moon, to illuminate them without heat and without darkening them.

References

1. Hernández, G. (2007). Legends about hidden treasures. Mapuche versions registered in Bahía Blanca (Argentina). Retrieved on May 26 from the Universidad de Alcalá Digital Library: ebuah.uah.es
2. Pavez, A., Recart, C. (2010). Fire stones: story based on a Mapuche legend. Retrieved on May 26 from Educar Chile: educarchile.cl
3. Castro, A. (2011). The fig tree, alcohol and the devil in the peasant stories of the south central zone of Chile. Retrieved on May 26 from the University of La Rioja: unirioja.es
4. Videla, M., Villagrán, C. (2018). The myth of the origin in the Mapuche worldview of nature: A reflection on the images of filu - filoko - piru. Retrieved on May 26 from Biblioteca Scielo Chile: scielo.conicyt.cl
5. (sf). A Mapuche Earthquake and Tsunami Legend. Retrieved May 26 from Hawai'i Tsunami Education Curriculum: discovertsunamis.org
6. (sf) Journey to the seed. Retrieved on May 26 from the National Digital Library of Chile: Bibliotecanacionaldigital.gob.cl