Araucarian. The southernmost tribe, known as Huilliche 
and extending to Chiloé, are the people who know and 
use Latwa. As in many other South American tribes, 
the Mapuche nearly always have one or more medicine 
men or shamans, known as machis, who are responsible 
for curing the sick through their magical powers and with 
medicinal herbs. In the Mapuche psyche, it is believed 
that all diseases and death are caused by certain evil 
spirits called weeuvu. Weeuvu may exist anywhere and 
in many different forms or beings. Man has very little 
control over these ever present demons, except through 
the machi who is able to interpret and assuage their evil 
influences. The primary function of the machi then is to 
heal sickness by discovering and exorcising the appropri- 
ate wecuvu which has bewitched the patient (Cooper, 
1946). 
The machi is usually a woman, although in former 
times this occupation was served by men or male trans- 
vestites (Latham, 1922; Faron, 1964). In early youth, 
the future machi receives a divine revelation, after which 
she dedicates her life to this role in the community. She 
receives instruction and training from older machis who 
impart their knowledge of magic and healing to the 
young novitiate. Persons who enter this profession are 
usually extremely nervous and psychic. Not uncom- 
monly they are epileptic and readily disposed to trances, 
auto-hypnosis and clairvoyant states. During these al- 
tered states of consciousness, they are able to communi- 
‘ate with the spirit world and to serve as intermediaries 
between the people and the supernatural powers. 
The machi’s training period is devoted to developing 
her psychic abilities through various methods: intense 
mental concentration and meditation, chanting, fasting, 
violent exercise in the form of whirling dances, auto- 
hypnosis and the constant use of narcotics. She also re- 
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