WHOLE VOL. ARAUCANIAN CHILD LIFE — HILGER 28/ 



COURTESY, HELPFULNESS 



Conduct of children during interviews left little to be desired. Chil- 

 dren have always been taught by elders, in a positive way, the ordinary 

 courtesies of life. One such courtesy required that no one enter a 

 dwelling unless invited to do so by someone living there. Today, hands 

 are clapped to let persons within know of one's presence — a custom 

 probably adopted from the Argentines; children who acted as our 

 guides repeatedly made our presence known in this manner. Respect 

 for elders was another courtesy taught with emphasis. "Times have 

 changed, but I still teach my children to be very respectful to old 

 people. Some children in this area throw stones at older persons, 

 especially at intoxicated ones. I will not allow my children to do that." 



Children have always been taught to be helpful. Many instances of 

 this teaching came to my attention. During an interview a grand- 

 mother spoke in quiet tones to a 13-year-old girl, telling her to be 

 courteous and helpful to me and my field assistant, since we were 

 strangers. The girl understood. She brought a table from the house, 

 placed it in the shade of a tree, washed its top, spread a flour sack as 

 a tablecloth over it, and then placed my lunch box on it. She next 

 stirred up the fire and boiled water for tea. Later in the afternoon 

 a wind blew up and sand was being blown off a grassless plot nearby 

 to the place where we were interviewing the grandmother. A word 

 from the grandmother and the girl was dashing water onto the grass- 

 less plot from a brook at our feet. Before long the girl lighted a 

 cigarette, made certain it was lit by puffing on it, and handed it to 

 her grandmother, who took a puff and then passed it to a man who 

 had come to listen in. Toward evening the grandmother ordered the 

 girl to stir the embers and place on them an olla of fresh water, which 

 she had brought from a nearby spring. As soon as the water boiled, 

 the girl prepared yerba mate (a beverage) and handed a cup of it to 

 her grandmother who passed it to the interpreter. The girl prepared 

 a second serving which the grandmother handed to the man who had 

 come to listen in. The grandmother herself drank the third serving, 

 also prepared by the girl. The interpreter had explained that neither 

 I nor my assistant was accustomed to drinking yerba mate, so we gave 

 no offense by not taking it. 



During an interview some days later a 6-year-old girl was told by 

 her great-grandmother (older than 100 years) to stop her playing 

 and give attention to me and my assistant, for we had come from far 

 away to visit the Araucanians, The girl sat down close to the field 

 assistant. In a moment she was up removing the assistant's coat from 



