Abstract
The Mapuche practice of weaving has occupied a transcendental role for this community in its system of symbolic representation. These textiles involve different elements of cultural identity for the community, for the wearers of the garments and, most of all, for their creators. This article analyzes the creation context in which the Mapuche textile tradition brings into tension different aspects of cultural identity and innovation within the construction of cultural memory. It examines two principal scenarios that arose from ethnographic work: 1) selection of materials; 2) preparation and fabrication. The findings show that, in both scenarios, the new rules emerging from religious and commercial concerns in the present-day context of these weavers are linked with the diverse positions taken by each woman. We discuss how these new rules are associated with different processes of cultural identity in this group of Mapuche women.
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Funding
This study was funded by the Interdisciplinary Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Studies (CIIR) at Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile., CONICYT/FONDAP (No. 15110006) and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología http://www.conicyt.cl (CONICYT). Project # 27614087. Beca para estudio de doctorado en Chile (2008).
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Author Ramiro Gonzalez declares that he has no conflict of interest. Author Pedro Mege declares that he has no conflict of interest.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study and all data was made anonymous.
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Gonzalez, R., Mege, P. Analysis of Creative and Identity Processes among Mapuche Women Weavers in the Araucanía Region. Integr. psych. behav. 52, 614–629 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-018-9456-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-018-9456-4