409

CHILE.

409

["points of the circle. The soldiers strip the flesh
from the bones, and make of them flutes ; then,
cutting off the head, carry it round upon a pike,
amidst the acclamations of the niuUitude, while,
stamping in measured pace, they thunder out their
dreadful war-song, accompanied by the mournful
sound of these horrid instruments. This barba-
rous festival is terminated by applying to the
mangled body the head of a sheep, w hich is suc-
ceeded by a scene of riot and intoxication, lithe
skull should not bo broken by the blows of the
club, they make of it a cup, called raHlonco, '.viilcli
they use in their banquets in the manner of the an-
cient Scythians and Goths.

12. Congress of peace. — On the termination of a
war, a congress is assem.blcd, called by tiie Spa-
niards parlamento. and the Araiicanians huinca-
eoyag. This is usually held in a delightful plain,
between the rivers Biobio and Dnqueco, on the
confines of both territories, whither the Spanish
president and the Araucanian toqui repair with the
attendants agreed upon in the preliminary articles.
The four uthal-mapus send at the same time four
deputiesfwho are usually the tetiarchs themselves,
and whose mranimons consent is requisite for the
establishment and ratification of peace. In the
congress which was held after the war of 1723,
were present 130 ulraenes, with their attendants,
who amounted to the number of 2000 men. The
camps of the negociating parties were separated by
an interval of two miles. The conference is com-
menced with many compliments on either side,
and in token of future friendship, tlicy bind the
staves of the ulmencs with that of the Spanish pre-
sident together, and place them in the midst of the
assembly : an Araucanian orator then presents a
branch of cinnamon, which is with them the token
of peace, and placing his left hand upon the bundle
of staves, makes, in the Chilian language, a perti-
nent harangue on the causes which produced the
war, and the most eligible means of preserving har-
mony between the two nations. He then proceeds
with much eloquence to point out the losses and
miseries occasioned by war, and the advantages
which arc derived from peace, to which he exhorts
the chiefs of either party in a pathetic peroration.
An interpreter then explains the precise meaning
of all that the Araucanian has said. The Spanish
president replies in another speech adapted to the
subject, which is interpreted in the same manner.
The articles of the treaty are then agreed iipon,
and are ratified by a sacrifice of several chili-
neques, or Chilian camels, which the Araucanians
immolate for the happy continuance of the peace.
After this the president dines at the same table w ith

VOL. I.

the toqui and the principal ulmenes, to whom he
makes the customary presents in the name of his
sovereign. This parliament is renewed as often as
a new president is sent from Spain to Chile, and
cannot possibly be dispensed with, as in that case
the Araucanians, imagining themselves despised,
would without any other cause commence war.
For this reason, there is always a considerable sum
ready in the royal treasury for the cxpcnces neces-
sary on these occasions. On the arrival of a new
president, an envoy, called the national commis-
sary, is dispatched in his name to the four uthal-
niapus, to invite the toquis and the other ulmenes
to meet him at the place appointed, for the purpose
of becoming acquainted Avith each other, and to
confirm the frienrlship contracted Avith his prede-
cessors. In this convention nearly the same cere-
monies are practised as are made use of on ratify-
ing a treaty of peace. The ulmenes collect upon
tills occasion in great numbers, not only for the
purpose of becoming personally acquainted Avith
the new governor, but to form an opinion, from his
manners and countenance, of his pacific or Avarlike
disposition. A great number of merchants are at-
tracted to the place where this meeting is held,
and they form a kind of fair, which is mutually
advantageous to both nations.

13. System, of religion. — The religious system
of the Araucanians is simple, and Avell adapted to
their free manner of thinking and of living. They
acknoAvledge a Supreme Being, the Author of all
things, whom they call Pillan, a Avord derived
from puUi or pilli, the soul, and signifies the Su-
preme Essence ; they also call him Guenu-pillHn^
the Spirit of HeaA'en ; Bnla-gen, the Great Being ;
Thrticore, the Thunderer ; Vil'Ce?nvoe, the Creator
of all ; P'ilpepi/voe, the Omnipotent ; Alol/gelif,
the Eternal ; Jonolu, the Infinite, Sec. The uni-
versal government of the Pillan is a prototype of
the A raucanian polity. He is 1 he trreat toqui of the
invisible Avorld, and as such, has his a]>o-ulmenes,
and his ulmenes, to Avhoin he entrusts the adminis-
tration of atfairs of less importance, in the first
class of these subaltern divinitie.s i.sthe Epunanuin,
or god of war ; the Meulen, a benevolent deity,
the triend of the human race; and the Guecubu,
a malignant being, the author of all evil, Avho ap-
pears to be the same as the Algue. From hence
it appears, that the doctrine of two adverse prin-
ciples, called Manicheisin, is very extensive. The
Guecubu is the Mavari of the Oronoques, and the
Ahernian of the Persians. He is, according to the
general opinion of the Araucanians, the efficient
cause of all the misfortimes that occur. If a horse
tires, it is because tlie Guecubu has rode him. If]
3 G