Mapudungun

Where? — mainly in Chile but also in Argentina

Language Family — Mapudungun belongs to the Araucanian languages, to which additionally only Hulliche belongs.

How many? — There are roughly 440,000 people who have a knowledge of the Mapudungun language, 400,000 of those are in Chile while the remaining 40.000 live in Argentina. Around a half of these use the language regularly.

Did you know?

• „Pana“ is Mapudungun and means „liver“. As with many of the indigenous or tribal people the Mapuche believe that the liver is the most important human organ and has a similar significance as the heart has for us.
• Roughly 95% of the chiefs (called Machi), - and for this reason highly respected people - are women. They are equally spiritual leaders and doctors.