Xli SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 1 33 



own environment, (For details of the method see Hilger, 1954, 

 pp. 25-42.) The same plan was followed in studying both the Argen- 

 tine and Chilean Araucanians to facilitate a contemplated comparative 

 Study of the two groups. 



Instances of incomplete data are due to the difficulty of getting the 

 information. It took time and a cautious approach to establish rapport, 

 especially in Chile, as the Araucanians are a proud, sensitive, and in- 

 telligent people. Questioning an informant after he had given an 

 account was a reflection on his ability to give it accurately the first 

 time; it irritated and annoyed. Also, I was warned by interpreters 

 against interruptions during interviews, as these were clearly con- 

 sidered bad manners. 



Checking, too, was difficult at times. "Do you not believe so-and-so ? 

 I have been told that he described that to you last week." Fortunately, 

 interpreters (non-Araucanians) could often confirm information; 

 they knew the Araucanians and their ways, having been closely asso- 

 ciated with them for years — in Chile as herbalists, missionaries, or 

 teachers, and in Argentina as benefactors and/or collectors of folklore. 

 Information given by children was immediately and spontaneously 

 checked by all other children present. 



When a trait was not found in more than one area, the particular 

 area in which it was found is recorded, in order to facilitate future 

 checking. Variations within a trait are recorded as such. 



The reader may find details too numerous or too minute, but they 

 are intentionally so because there is a dearth of printed material deal- 

 ing with the ethnography of the Araucanians, and also because the 

 opportunity for collecting such details is rapidly coming to an end, 

 especially in Argentina, at the present forced rate of acculturation. 



With few exceptions informants are not identified with information 

 recorded. To quote a Chilean informant, "The Mapuche (Arau- 

 canians) around here know that I am telling you our customs, and 

 that is all right ; but I do not want them to know what it is that I have 

 told you. That is not important anyway. What is important is that 

 it is the truth, and I am telling you the truth." A list of informants 

 is given on pp. xix-xx. 



The interpreters gave assistance in selecting informants, places, 

 and occasions for observations, and in checking. It was upon their 

 word and assurance that the Araucanians accepted me. 



All Araucanian words were checked for spelling against the Dic- 

 cionario of Felix Jose de Augusta (1916) if they could be found there. 

 Should the reader wish to use the Diccionario, it is suggested that he 

 first consult the "Phonetic Key to the Araucanian Language" (Ap- 



