WHOLE VOL. ARAUCANIAN CHILD LIFE — HILGER 69 



brother over the ownership of a ruka : "When my father died my 

 brother took his place in our family ; I was still small then. Before my 

 mother died, a year ago, she gave me this ruka — she and I were living 

 in it ; my brother had married and lived in his own ruka. I have lived 

 here since my mother died. And now my brother lays claim to the 

 ruka. He has repeatedly asked me recently to live with him and his 

 family, I have told him that I will not come to live with him — his wife 

 uses bad expressions. Since then he does not come to see me ; nor 

 does he talk to me ; he passes me by on the road without a greeting." 



Simultaneous wives were known to quarrel occasionally, but in 

 general there was little dissention among them. Instances of pro- 

 longed quarreling between husband and wife existed in all areas, but 

 were reported as of rare occurrence ; usually the woman gives in ; an 

 occasional one does not. "The Mapuche woman is humble. She is 

 obedient, even if her husband is quarrelsome," said a non-Araucanian. 



Quarrels between two intoxicated men are frequent; often they 

 end in lively fist fights. Such men will give each other black eyes, will 

 bruise or cut each other's faces, and then on the following day will 

 transact a joint business with a third man. "Neither one seems to 

 mind the beating he got from the other," said the informant. 



Prolonged family feuds seldom occur ; one was known to exist dur- 

 ing the present study. Short-lived quarrels between families, how- 

 ever, arise sporadically. One cause is neglecting to keep fences re- 

 paired to prevent cattle from breaking through and damaging crops. 

 Quarrels between schoolchildren are sometimes taken up by their 

 respective families. Sides are taken and members exchange hasty 

 words. If feelings become strained, public opinion is sought. Because 

 of a quarrel, a man closed up a fence, thereby shutting off a path used 

 by schoolchildren. The father of the children asked the teacher: 

 "Do you think that this is just? We have had a path through that 

 man's land and another family's land and our land for years. No one 

 has ever objected. And now this man does what no man ever should 

 do : treat other people's children badly. Tell me, do you think he 

 is fair?" 



Anger is expressed by the father of a family more often than by 

 any other person. He may vent his anger on both his wife and chil- 

 dren, but more particularly his wife, in words or beatings. 



An exasperated person — adult or child — will say of or to another : 

 "You stupid person" (pofo), or "You senseless person" (wedwed), 

 or more rarely "You devil" (wekufii). Angry adults may call each 

 other dog in Spanish, something quite evidently not of Mapuche 

 origin since the Mapuche word for dog (trewa) is not used in anger. 



