State of Chili before the arrival of the Spaniards: Political Establishments, Government, and Arts
The Chilians, having adopted that settled mode of life indispensable to an agricultural people, collected themselves into families, more or less numerous, in those districts that were best suited to…
From: Unknown To: 1540 C.E.
Location: Chile
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From The Geographical, Natural and Civil History of Chili by Giovanni Ignazio Molina, 1809.
Agriculture is the vital principle of society and of the arts. Scarcely does a wandering family, either from inclination or necessity, begin to cultivate a piece of ground, when it establishes itself upon it from a natural attachment, and, no longer relishing a wandering and solitary life, seeks the society of its fellows, whose succours it then begins to find necessary for its welfare.
The Chilians, having adopted that settled mode of life indispensable to an agricultural people, collected themselves into families, more or less numerous, in those districts that were best suited to their occupation, where they established themselves in large villages, called cara, a name which they at present give to the Spanish cities, or in small ones, which they denominated lov. But these accidental collections had not the form of the present European settlements; they consisted only of a number of huts, irregularly dispersed within sight of each other, precisely in the manner of the German settlements in the time of Charlemagne. Some of these villages exist even at present in several parts of Spanish Chili, of which the most considerable are Lampa, in the province of Saint Jago, and Lora, in that of Maule.
But as no civil establishment can exist without some form of government, they had in each village or hamlet a chief called Ulmen, who in certain points was subject to the supreme ruler of the tribe, who was known by the same name. The succession of all these chiefs was established by hereditary right, a custom that proves the antiquity of these political assemblages. Among other savage nations, strength, skill in hunting, or martial prowess, were the first steps to authority, and afterwards procured the regal sway for those who were invested with command. But with the Chilians, on the contrary, it would seem as if wealth had been the means of exalting the ruling families to the rank which they occupy, since the word ulmen, unless taken in a metaphorical sense, signifies a rich man.
The authority of these chiefs was probably very limited, that is, merely directive, and not coercive, as that of the rulers of all barbarous nations has been, when despotism, favoured by propitious circumstances, has not effaced the ideas of absolute independence, which are in a manner innate among savages, as has been the case with the greater part of the nations of Asia and of Africa. From hence it will not be necessary to investigate the laws of these small societies, which were probably governed only by usages and customs that had been introduced through motives of necessity or convenience.
The right of private property was fully established among the Chilians. Each was absolute master of the field that he cultivated, and off the product of his industry, which he could transmit to his children by hereditary succession. This fundamental principle gave rise to the first arts, which the wants of nature and their political constitution required.
They built their houses of a quadrangular form, and covered the roof with rushes, the walls were made of wood plastered with clay, and sometimes of brick, called by them tica; the use of which they doubtless learned from the Peruvians, among whom it was known by the same name.
From the wool of the Chilihueque, they manufactured cloths for their garments: for this they made use of the spindle and distaff, and two kinds of looms; the first, called guregue, is not very unlike that used in Europe; the other is vertical, from whence it derives its name uthalgue, from the verb uthalen, which signifies to stand upright. Their language contains words appropriate to every part of these looms, and whatever relates to the manufacture of wool.
They had likewise a kind of needle to sew their garments, as is obvious from the verb nuduven, to sew; but of what substance it was made I am unable to determine, Embroidery, to which they gave the name of dumican, was also known to them.
From these arts of the first necessity, they proceeded to those of a secondary kind, or such as were required by convenience. With the excellent clay of their country, they made pots, plates, cups, and even large jars to hold their fermented liquors. These vessels they baked in certain ovens or holes, made in the declivity of hill. They also made use of a mineral earth called colo, for varnishing their vessels. It is very certain that the art of pottery is of great antiquity in Chili, as on opening a large heap of stones in the mountains of Arauco, an urn of extraordinary size was discovered at the bottom. For their vessels they not only made use of earth, but of hard wood, and even of marble, and vases of the latter have been sometimes discovered that were polished with the greatest perfection.
From the earth they extracted gold, silver, copper, tin, and lead; and, after purifying, employed these metals in a variety of useful and curious works, particularly the bell-metal copper, which is very hard; of this they made axes, hatchets, and other edged tools, but in small quantities, as they are rarely to be met with in their sepulchres; where, on the contrary, hatchets made of a species of basalt are very frequently found. It is remarkable, that iron, universally supposed to have been unknown to the American nations, has a particular name in the Chilian language. It is called panilgue, and the weapons made of it chiuquel, in distinction from those made of other materials, which are comprehended under the general name of nulin. The smith was called ruthave, from the verb ruthan, which signifies to work in iron. These circumstances give rise to a suspicion that they not only were acquainted with this valuable metal, but that they also made use of it. But, considering the silence of the first writers upon America on this subject, notwithstanding the inferences that may be drawn from hence, this point must always remain undecided, unless pieces of iron should be found of incontestible antiquity.
They had also discovered the method of making salt upon the seashore, and extracted fossil salt from several mountains that abounded in that production. These they distinguished by different names, calling the first chiadi, and the other lilcochiadi, that is, salt of the water of rocks.
They procured dyes of all colours for their clothes, not only from the juice of plants, but also from mineral earths, and had discovered the art of fixing them by means of the polcura, a luminous stone of an astringent quality. Instead of soap, the composition of which they had not discovered, although acquainted with lie, they employed the bark of the quillai, which is an excellent substitute. From the seeds of the madi, they obtained an oil which is very good to eat and to burn, though I am ignorant whether they ever applied it to the latter purpose.
Their language contains words discriminative of several kinds of baskets and mats, which they manufactured from various vegetables. The plant called gnocchia furnishes them with thread for their ropes and fishing nets, of which they have three or four kinds. They also make use of baskets and hooks for taking fish, but of what substance the latter are made I am not able to determine. The inhabitants of the sea-coast make use of pirogues of different sizes, and floats made of wood, or of seal skins sewed together and inflated with air.
Although hunting was not a principal occupation with these people, yet, for amusement, or with the view of increasing their stock of provision, they were accustomed to take such wild animals as are found in their country, particularly birds, of which there are great quantities. For this purpose they made use of the arrow, of the sling, and of the laque or noose, already described in the preceding part of this work, and of several kinds of snares constructed with much ingenuity, known by the general appellation of guaches. It is a singular fact, that they employed the same method of taking wild ducks, in their lakes and rivers, as that made use of by the Chinese, covering their heads with perforated gourds, and letting themselves glide gently down among them. These minutiae would perhaps be scarcely worth attending to, in an account of the manners and discoveries of a people well known for their advancement in the arts of civilization, but in the history of a remote and unknown nation, considered as savage, they become important and even necessary to form a correct opinion of the degree of their progress in society.
With means of subsistence, sufficient to have procured them still greater conveniences of living, it would seem that the Chilians ought to have progressed with rapid steps towards the perfection of civil society. But from a species of inertia, natural to man, nations often remain for a long time stationary, even when circumstances appear favourable to their improvement. The transition from a savage to a social life is not so easy as at first view may be imagined, and the history of all civilized nations may be adduced in proof of this proposition.
The Chilians were also isolated, and had none of those commercial connections with foreigners which are the only means of polishing a people. The neighbouring nations were in a state of still greater rudeness than themselves, except the Peruvians, a connection with whom, from their ambition of dominion they would more studiously avoid than cherish. They learned, however, some things from them during the time that they were in possession of the northern provinces, at which period they had attained that middle point between the savage and civilized state, known by the name of barbarism. Notwithstanding these unfavourable circumstances, the variety of their occupations, which multiplied the objects of their attention, gradually enlarged the sphere of their ideas.
They had progressed so far in this respect, as to invent the numbers requisite to express any quantity, mari signifying with them ten, pataca a hundred, and guaranca a thousand. Even the Romans possessed no simple numerical terms of greater value, and indeed calculation may be carried to any extent by a combination of these principal decimals.
To preserve the memory of their transactions, they made use, as other nations have done, of the pron, called by the Peruvians quippo, which was a skein of thread of several colour with a number of knots. The subject treated of was indicated by the colours, and the knots designated the number or quantity. This is all the use that I have been able to discover in such a register, in which some authors have pretended to find a substitute for the art of writing. This admirable art was unknown to the Chilians; for although the word Chilean, to write, is met with in their language, it was originally nothing more than a synonym of guirin, which signifies to sketch or paint. Of their skill in this latter art, I am ignorant; but if we may form an opinion from representations of men that are cut upon certain rocks, we must conclude that they were entirely unacquainted with it, as nothing coarser or more disproportioned can be imagined.
Far different was the progress which they made in the sciences of physic and astronomy, it was indeed wonderful; but an account of these, of their religion, their music and military skill, I shall reserve till I treat of the Araucanians, who still continue the faithful depositories of all the science and ancient customs of the Chilians.
Their language contains also words indicating a knowledge of several other arts, which I decline mentioning, as there are no guides of sufficient accuracy to conduct our researches into a subject so important, and at the same time so doubtful. The first Europeans who visited these countries, attracted by other objects of far less interest, thought little or nothing of those that merit the attention of every observing mind, on visiting an unknown people. From thence it has happened that their accounts, for the most part, furnish us only with vague and confused ideas, from whence we can draw nothing but conjectures. The Chilians, however, remained in much the same state of society as I have described, until an unexpected revolution compelled them, in a great measure, to adopt other customs and other laws.
Molina, Giovanni Ignazio. The Geographical, Natural and Civil History of Chili: Translated from the Italian. Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1809.
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