WHOLE VOL. ARAUCANIAN CHILD LIFE — HILGER I97 



Araucanians have never had any currency. Chilean currency is used 

 today ; in fact it has become a necessity. It is needed to buy from 

 Giileans necessities not produced by the family, such as men's and 

 boys' clothing — including hats and shoes, if there is sufficient money ; 

 calico for women's and girls' waists or entire dresses, if the native 

 dress (kapam) is no longer worn by them; cloth for aprons; tools; 

 dishes and cooking kettles ; commercial dyes ; sugar ; occasionally 

 wheat or flour. "Even the poor must sell some of their produce to 

 buy these." If a large amount of chicha is needed, as at fiestas, 

 baptisms, ruka building, and harvesting — where it is considered an 

 essential — it, too, is bought from Chileans. 



Money is obtained by supplying Chilean needs. Cattle and sheep, 

 and, on occasions, hogs, oxen, and horses, are sold to non-Araucanian 

 livestock dealers, mostly Chilean, who can be expected to come through 

 the area at any time. In Alepue area (1946) I was offered a good 

 riding horse at the prevailing price, approximately 450 pesos ($15.00 

 in U. S. currency). Occasionally a family sells chickens; more often, 

 if there is an opportunity, eggs. Eggs are used only as a subsidiary in 

 cooking by Araucanians ; chicken meat is the base for several dishes. 



In Alepue area a man delivered fish and other seafoods taken from 

 the Pacific along a trade route he had established for himself, or he 

 peddled them from house to house among Chileans in San Jose de 

 Mariquina or Valdivia, or at fundos in the area. A few men dealt 

 with Araucanian fish dealers on a commission basis; these dealers 

 live in town and resell the fish to merchants in Valdivia. Fish sold 

 are corbina, sierra, and robalo. Two edible algae taken from the 

 Pacific are also marketable, namely luche and cochayuyo. A 35-year- 

 old man and his 51 -year-old sister pointed to a day's work, a 6-foot- 

 high pile of standard-sized bundles of cochayuyo. Each bundle was 

 18 inches long and could be encircled by two hands. They intended 

 to sell these in Valdivia the following day. Shellfish, called loko, 

 mafiihue, and macha, and in July and August a special delicacy called 

 arisos, have commercial value if they can be marketed within a day 

 after they are collected. 



The leaves of the iiocha were sold to Chileans by Alepue men for 

 rope manufacture, and nuts of the araucaria by Cofiaripe men, to be 

 eaten. After a good harvest, many sell wheat. Some families sell 

 dried peas and beans. 



Woven articles are sold to Chilean stores or to non-Araucanians 

 who order them ; chief among the articles are ponchos, choapinos 

 (saddle covers), lamas (throws), and blankets. Early one morning a 

 2 1 -year-old man asked me to buy a lama — he was en route on horse- 



