32 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 1 33 



an area in which it occurs frequently: "One woman here had two 

 children by the same man; both died. Another girl here has two by 

 the same man. The two daughters of the cacique's second wife each 

 have such a child. One woman has four such children living with 

 her, each of whom has a different father, and then she has a fifth 

 one who is with its father in the home of his parents." Quoting an 

 informant from another area : "I know of only one unmarried mother 

 in this area. She has three children; each child has a different un- 

 married father. The woman has the youngest child with her ; the 

 second youngest was adopted by her brother and his wife, a childless 

 couple; and the oldest, by the woman's mother." 



An unmarried mother loses the esteem of others ; her own family 

 feels disgraced. Occasionally an abortion is attempted. "Formerly, a 

 pregnant unmarried girl was chased from her home," said a man. 

 "No one else would take her in. She lived alone in the woods then 

 and was usually alone when her child was born. No one would take 

 the child either. That was sufficient punishment. It is not that way 

 any more." His wife continued : "Formerly, too, the parents on both 

 sides tried to force a marriage between the girl and the man before the 

 birth of the child, but that was not always possible. The will of the 

 man cannot be forced." 



Today parents on both sides urge a marriage. "There is much 

 scolding and everybody is ashamed." If there is no marriage, the 

 girl is usually taken into her parental home, "but scolding by every- 

 body never ends. Since nothing can be done about it, the child is born 

 in the girl's home." A non-Araucanian herbalist told of a young 

 Araucanian who was ashamed to go home ; his home had been dis- 

 graced he said, and added, "I told those at home that I feared some- 

 thing was happening to my sister [20 years of age] for I had seen 

 her on the campo, walking with a Mapuche man. What I feared has 

 happened ; my sister is now pregnant." 



The child born out of wedlock is usually well treated — it is not 

 blamed or stigmatized and is usually reared by the girl in her parental 

 home. An instance was related where the father of a girl would not 

 accept her second illegitimate child. She then took the child to its 

 father's home, where it was also not wanted. She left the child in the 

 yard there and went to her maternal aunt's house. 



DEFORMED CHILDREN, SICK BABIES, INFANTICIDE 



Rarely was a child born deformed. One mother told of such a 

 child born to her after seven months' pregnancy. "His hands and feet 



