82 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I33 



a father makes certain that his son knows them by having him recite 

 them. "Before we had schools the children were also taught, at home, 

 expressions which they needed to know, such as we used in greeting 

 relatives and in comforting the sorrowful in case of death. If a boy 

 was bashful or unable to talk well to people, he was taken into the 

 woods and made to stand on the stump of a roble chileno and told 

 to talk from there to trees and plants and animals as though they were 

 human beings. He had to use the expressions he had been taught at 

 home. He would say : 'How are you?' for example, and the rest of the 

 koyaqtun. Only boys had to do this. A girl's duty was to be at home 

 in the ruka. I had to talk from a stump often." "Why from a roble 

 chileno?" "Simply because it has the biggest stump." 



Every boy was given the above training, but the sons of a cacique 

 were given special training, not only in oratory but in memorizing, 

 also. A cacique would send his son to another cacique to deliver 

 verbatim a long important parliamentary message. Upon his return 

 home, the son had again to repeat to the father verbatim, without the 

 slightest deviation, the message the father had commissioned him to 

 deliver, and then the answer returned by the recipient cacique. These 

 occasions were not created ; messages of necessity were being de- 

 livered. "This was a custom only among caciques, not among ordinary 

 men." Caciques were noted orators, and since a son of a cacique re- 

 placed his father at the father's death, he must be trained in oratory. 

 The cacique who excelled all other caciques in eloquence and memory 

 and speech-making abilities was respected throughout the Araucanian 

 country as its most renowned and intelligent leader — no higher com- 

 pliment could be paid him. 



Today, on any occasion when many persons meet, any man present 

 may announce that he wishes to speak. Men, both young and old, did 

 so in my presence. They invariably spoke of the value of honorable 

 living. Everyone is attentive when anyone speaks ; children are hushed 

 and told to listen. Able orators are often invited to other areas to 

 speak on special occasions. 



Both addresses and discussions at present-day meetings are carried 

 on in oratorical fashion. These, for example, may deal with the 

 sending of delegates to a meeting about to be held at a distant point, 

 possibly petitioning the Chilean Government for something, or they 

 may deal with welcoming visitors to the area. Such a meeting was 

 held in Alepue area previous to the arrival of myself and my field 

 assistant. At the reception given us oratorical addresses were delivered 

 by older men, young men, a woman, and a schoolboy, (Cf. pi, 22, 2 

 and 5,) Force, pauses, gestures, and direct address were used. At- 



