WHOLE VOL. ARAUCANIAN CHILD LIFE — HILGER 219 



invited also. Several of the men set out immediately to collect thatch ; 

 ratonera (pi. 54, /) is preferred for this, but is now nearly extinct; 

 informants thought that intensive grazing in recent years had de- 

 stroyed most of it. Substitutes for ratonera are chupon, bulrushes, 

 reeds, and sedge, wherever found. While some men are collecting 

 the thatch, others strip twigs off the colihiie poles; some begin to 

 erect the framework, others tie the colihiie poles to the framework, 

 and still others tie together the rafters and tie beams. All tying is 

 done with stout voqui (pi. 54, 2). Nearly all the men lend a hand 

 when rafters are raised and the ridgepole is attached. Walls and 

 roof are then built up with layers of thatch. Thatch is fastened with 

 roots earthward; each layer slightly overlaps the one below it, and 

 is secured in position by means of voqui applied with a twining 

 technique. Once the thatch is in place, colihiie poles are fastened 

 horizontally across the upper ends of each row of thatch, and are tied 

 to the framework at intervals beneath the thatch. Building a ruka 

 usually takes a day. 



Women, as a rule, do not assist in the erecting of a ruka, but by 

 the time it has been built, they are ready to serve an abundant meal. 

 "After everyone has eaten, the men, and everyone else also, sings this 

 song [informant sang it in Araucanian] : *If I had a beautiful sun, 

 if I had a nice moon, I would enter into this house to greet the wife 

 of the rich man.' " Much wine, if available, and chicha are drunk at 

 the end of the meal ; if there is a sufficient amount, many drink to 

 intoxication. 



A 33-year old Cofiaripe man explained the building of the split-log 

 roof found on some plank houses in his area. "The Mapuche copied 

 these from the Chileans," he noted. "Peeled logs are split lengthwise 

 and a good portion of the core removed. A row of these split, hol- 

 lowed-out logs is laid across the roof leaving space between them to 

 allow ventilation and smoke exits. Then a second row of the split 

 hollowed-out logs is placed over the first, but in inverted position so 

 that the sides of each log rest in the hollow of two other logs beneath 

 it. In this position the logs are a watershed, give ventilation, and 

 allow the smoke to find a way out." 



A ruka is the property of the family ; but it is spoken of as belong- 

 ing to the father. Upon the father's death, the mother inherits it, 

 and upon her death, it belongs to those who happen to live there at 

 the time of her death. 



The interior walls and ceiling of the ruka are unfinished. Ceilings 

 are generally coated with hardened, glistening soot from smoke. The 

 open fireplace not only serves for cooking purposes, but gives light and 



