l86 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL, I33 



bees nor alpacas were kept. At the beginning of the sixteenth century- 

 horned cattle, sheep, pigs, and chickens were taken over; and after 

 the middle of that century the horse was adopted, taken both by theft 

 and as spoils of war from the Spanish. Some of my old informants 

 recalled the days of the llama; those who had lived in Argentina 

 spoke of the guanaco. 



At present domesticated animals are horses, oxen, cattle, sheep, 

 chickens, turkeys, dogs, and cats. Every member of the family owns 

 at least one horse; some have several; and all Araucanians are ac- 

 complished horsemen. Horses are bred primarily for transporting 

 humans, although sometimes one is used as a pack animal. Occa- 

 sionally, horses are sold to Chilean cattle dealers from San Jose de 

 Mariquina, Valdivia, and Villarrica. Horse meat was never a staple 

 food, but it was eaten by some on the occasion of a marriage, and, 

 until recent times, meat of a deceased man's favorite horse was eaten 

 following the man's burial. 



Next to his land, oxen are an Araucanian's most prized possessions. 

 They are usually owned by men ; only occasionally by a woman or a 

 child. A man not infrequently has two pairs ; rarely, three. Oxen are 

 used for transportation — hitched to a cart or to an object that needs 

 to be hauled — and for plowing. When ready money is needed, they 

 are mortgaged or are sold at a good price. 



Cattle are raised for family consumption and are also sold to 

 Chilean cattle buyers. Milk as such is not a food, but in very recent 

 times women have used it to make cheese, having learned the process 

 from non-Araucanians in the area. Although all members of a family 

 may own cattle, most of the herd usually belongs to the father. "Most 

 certainly women own horses and cows and sheep, before and after 

 they are married," said a 45-year-old woman. "All through life women 

 own their own property !" 



Each family owns a flock of sheep, and, in addition, individual sheep 

 are often owned by each member of the family, unless the family has 

 no grazing land, and has not sufficient money to lease any. "That 

 family is so poor that it does not even have sheep," is an expression 

 that tells of real poverty. 



Mutton and lamb are staple foods. Sheep and raw wool, and also 

 products woven from wool — blankets and ponchos, choapinos and 

 lamas — are sold to Chileans. Chileans use blankets as bed coverings ; 

 lamas and choapinos as rugs or furniture throws ; ponchos are worn 

 by men as a protection against rain and winds, especially when riding 

 horseback. To prevent sana, a disease that causes them to lose their 



