Elicura Chihuailaf
Encyclopedia
Elicura Chihuailaf Nahuelpán (1952 in Quechurehue
, Cautín Province
) is a Mapuche
Chile
an poet
and author whose works are written both in Mapudungun
and in Spanish
, and have been translated into many other languages as well. He has also translated the works of other poets, such as Pablo Neruda
, into Mapudungun.
He has been referred to as the lonco
, or chieftain, of Mapudungun poetry, and works at recording and preserving the oral tradition of his people. "Elicura" is from the Mapudungun phrase for "transparent stone", "Chihuailaf" means "fog spread on the lake", and "Nahuelpán" is "tiger/cougar".
In his book Recado Confidencial a los Chilenos, he talks about a childhood around the bonfire, in which he learnt the art of conversation ("nvtram") and the advice of the elderly ("gulam"). Similarly, nature with its diversity taught him the cosmic vitality hid from those unwary. This need to express his cultural richness, diverse in itself, made him become an Oralitor, that is, carrier of the oral expression of the Mapuche elderly, this destiny being told by means of "Blue Dreams" (Kallfv Pewma): This will be a singer, you said / giving me the Blue Horse of the Word. In Recado Confidencial a los Chilenos, the poet presents a deeply felt defense of Mother Nature, whom the Mapuche consider threatened by the dominant culture: post-modern capitalism. Considering the current environmental crisis, his message should be listened not only by Chileans but by everybody. The English translation of Recado Confidencial a los Chilenos (Message to Chileans; translated by Celso Cambiazo) is now in print published by Trafford Publishing in 2009.
Cunco, Chile
Cunco is a Chilean commune and city in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The town is located 60 km southeast of the city of Temuco and 77 km west of Icalma International Pass....
, Cautín Province
Cautín Province
Cautín Province is one of two provinces in the southern Chilean region of Araucanía , bounded on the north by Arauco and Malleco provinces, on the east by Argentina, on the south by Valdivia Province, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Its population at the 2002 census was of 667,920. The most...
) is a Mapuche
Mapuche
The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and author whose works are written both in Mapudungun
Mapudungun
The Mapuche language, Mapudungun is a language isolate spoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina by the Mapuche people. It is also spelled Mapuzugun and sometimes called Mapudungu or Araucanian...
and in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, and have been translated into many other languages as well. He has also translated the works of other poets, such as Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
, into Mapudungun.
He has been referred to as the lonco
Lonco
A lonco or lonko is a tribal chief of the Mapuches. These were often Ulmen, the wealthier men in the lof. In wartime loncos of the various local rehue or the larger aillarehue would gather in a koyag or parliament and would elect a toqui to lead the warriors in battle...
, or chieftain, of Mapudungun poetry, and works at recording and preserving the oral tradition of his people. "Elicura" is from the Mapudungun phrase for "transparent stone", "Chihuailaf" means "fog spread on the lake", and "Nahuelpán" is "tiger/cougar".
In his book Recado Confidencial a los Chilenos, he talks about a childhood around the bonfire, in which he learnt the art of conversation ("nvtram") and the advice of the elderly ("gulam"). Similarly, nature with its diversity taught him the cosmic vitality hid from those unwary. This need to express his cultural richness, diverse in itself, made him become an Oralitor, that is, carrier of the oral expression of the Mapuche elderly, this destiny being told by means of "Blue Dreams" (Kallfv Pewma): This will be a singer, you said / giving me the Blue Horse of the Word. In Recado Confidencial a los Chilenos, the poet presents a deeply felt defense of Mother Nature, whom the Mapuche consider threatened by the dominant culture: post-modern capitalism. Considering the current environmental crisis, his message should be listened not only by Chileans but by everybody. The English translation of Recado Confidencial a los Chilenos (Message to Chileans; translated by Celso Cambiazo) is now in print published by Trafford Publishing in 2009.
In Spanish and Mapudungun
- Néstor BarronNéstor BarronNéstor Barron was born in Buenos Aires, Argentine. He is a writer, poet and musician. He began his artistic activity very early, with his first classical guitar concerts when he was 12 years old...
, Kallfv Mapu, Tierra Azul (Antología de la Poesía MapucheMapucheThe Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
Contemporánea) (2008). ISBN 978-950-754-255-8