WHOLE VOL. ARAUCANIAN CHILD LIFE — HILGER 153 



The leading cacique makes a small incision close to the heart of one of the 

 Iambs, reaches in, and draws forth the pulsating heart. The heart is punctured 

 then, and at each pulsation the leading cacique dips a sprig into the blood that 

 squirts forth, and sprinkles it toward the maqui. He continues this until the 

 pulsations end. The hens are taken next, one at a time. The head of each one 

 is chopped oflf and the leading cacique, holding the body in one hand, moves the 

 neck back and forth, sprinkling the maqui with blood. 



This done, the leading cacique addresses God Father in prayer — we call him 

 chau — asking for the blessings of the particular intention for which the ijillatun 

 is being held. It includes a prayer asking that the people will be blessed with 

 seasons of favorable weather and a good harvest, and that there will be no acci- 

 dents. The same prayer is addressed to God Mother, asking her to ask God 

 Father for these favors. Then they ask the sons and daughters of God Father 

 and God Mother to intercede with God Father for the same favors. Next, they 

 ask the deceased great caciques, Tranmaleufu and Cofiweniri, to intercede also. 

 These are two important caciques of long ago. They lived some distance apart 

 and communicated with each other in dreams ; they were not from Alepue area, 

 but from somewhere else. After mentioning these two caciques, they mention in 

 prayer the more important deceased caciques who lived in Alepue area. My 

 grandfather is among these mentioned. — I still have his pifalka, and cherish it. 

 I recall how fluently he recited these prayers. — At the close of the qillatun, they 

 promise these caciques that in another year they will hold another qillatim. The 

 leading cacique then prays to other deceased persons, whom he remembers as 

 being with God in heaven, that they, too, intercede with God for the people. 



Then a lamb is thrown on a huge fire which is about 20 meters away from the 

 enclosure, but within the area known as the holy pampa ; the lamb is completely 

 consumed there. [The interpreter remarked that it must produce an unbearable 

 stench, to which the informant answered that the breezes from the Pacific carried 

 it away.] Each sacrificial lamb is killed, its blood sprinkled, and the rest con- 

 sumed by fire. The sacrifice of the lamb is the essential of each sacrificial act, 

 an act repeated four times during each of the two days. 



While the animals are being consumed by the fire, the leading cacique beats 

 a kultruq. The men mount their horses and ride, two abreast, very orderly 

 around the outside of the enclosure and the fire. The women join hands and 

 dance around the maqui to the beat of the kultruq. Any man who brought a 

 trutruka blows it — usually there are two or three that have done so. This part 

 of the ceremonial usually takes a half hour. Then the men dismount, tie their 

 horses to the fences that are nearby, and walk to the enclosure in orderly forma- 

 tion, two and two, those from each locality being led by their captain. Then 

 each man pairs up with a girl or woman, and all dance slowly. This dance is 

 followed by a second dance which is done faster. Anyone who does not follow 

 the formalities of the dance is corrected. If he does not improve, he is suspected 

 of ridiculing it and is told to leave. No one is allowed to ridicule or laugh at 

 anything. This ceremony has taken another half hour. Everyone now rests. 

 All I have told you up to now is considered one complete sacrifice. The identical 

 ceremony with sacrifices is repeated four times, a lamb being ofifered each time. 

 Between these acts of sacrifice, time is taken out for a rest. 



Each woman has brought with her, tied in a piece of cloth, something of every- 

 thing she has planted or intends to plant — probably a handful of wheat, barley, 

 corn, peas, flax, and two or three potatoes. She places these as her offering near 

 the maqui. Later when the four sacrifices have been completed, these offerings 



