El Küpalme (la descendencia) como saber educativo intercultural desde la mirada de los Kimche (sabios) del pueblo Mapuche

Abstract

Thinking of oneself as linked with others -or as part of a being together- implies processes and daily practices of bonding that are connected with memory processes in broader political contexts (Carsten, 2007). In this context, we set out to analyze the meanings that Mapuche families gave to küpalme in the education of boys and girls. We opted for a qualitative methodology through interviews with Kimche and Xemkeche from indigenous communities of the IX region of Araucanía, Chile. The discourses show how Küpalme is associated with the social, cultural and spiritual heritage of the Mapuche being and how certain cultural, territorial, blood and experiential elements are shaping the knowledge, which is then transmitted to the descendants through different systems of ancestral communication. The results put in value the intercultural educational perspective of Küpalme, as a central element in the processes of construction of the identity of Mapuche boys and girls.