TheHuilliche (Spanish pronunciation:[wi.ˈʝi.tʃe], Huilliche pronunciation:[wi.ˈʎi.tʃe]),Huiliche orHuilliche-Mapuche are the southern partiality of theMapuche macroethnic group inChile andArgentina.[2] Located in theZona Sur, they inhabit bothFutahuillimapu ("great land of the south")[2] and, as theCunco orVeliche[3][4] subgroup, the northern half ofChiloé Island.[5] The Huilliche are the principal Indigenous people of those regions.[6] According toRicardo E. Latcham the term Huilliche started to be used in Spanish after the second founding ofValdivia in 1645, adopting the usage of the Mapuches ofAraucanía for the southern Mapuche tribes.[2] Huilliche means 'southerners' (Mapudungunwilli 'south' andche 'people'.) A genetic study showed significant affinities between Huilliches and Indigenous peoples east of the Andes, which suggests but does not prove a partial origin in present-day Argentina.[7]
During the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the mainland Huilliche were generally successful at resistingSpanish encroachment. However, after theFigueroa incursion of 1792 Huilliches were decisively defeated and their territory was gradually opened to European settlement beginning with theParliament of Las Canoas. Today, most Huilliche speak Spanish, but some, especially older adults, speak theHuilliche language.[1]Laurelia sempervirens, known in Huillichetriwe and in Spanish aslaurel, is the ritual tree of the Huilliche of Futahuillimapu.[8]
In the 1540s Spanish conquereros led byPedro de Valdivia arrived inCentral Chile fromnewly conquered Peru. Between 1549 and 1553 the Spanish founded several cities in Mapuche territory and one in Huilliche territory:Valdivia.[14] Albeit the death of Pedro de Valdivia in 1553 halted the Spanish conquests for a whileOsorno andCastro were established in Huilliche territory in 1558 and 1567 respectively.[14][15] The Spanish defeat by Mapuches in thebattle of Curalaba in 1598 triggered a general uprising that led to thedestruction of all Spanish cities in Huilliche territory except Castro.[2][16]
The portion ofFutahuillimapu south ofMaipué River became largely depopulated following a period of pillaging by the Spanish andloyalist Huilliches that had relocated from Osorno to the forts ofCarelmapu andCalbuco.[2][17] After Valdivia was refounded in 1645, the Spanish struggled to establish a land route to the vicinities ofChiloé Archipelago across independent Huilliche territory.[2][18][A]
There are reports in the 17th and 18th centuries ofinternal conflicts among the Huilliche. This may have stunted population growth.[2]
In late 18th century Basque navigatorJosé de Moraleda wrote that Huilliches of Osorno were more stocky, agile and of general better appearance than the people of Chiloé.[2] Theirponchos were described by Moraleds as less pleasing ("vistosos") than those of Chiloé.[2]
Anew battle took place between Spanish and Huilliche forces in 1759 near the shores of río Bueno. The outcome of the battle has been subject ot different interpretations.[20][21] The battle of 1759 was an exception to the overall policy of befriending Indigenous communities on behalf of the Spanish authorities inValdivia.[22]
In 1792 the Huillicheswere ravaged by a Spanish army led byTomás de Figueroa.[23] A peace parliament and treaty was signed in 1793.[23] In the treaty Huilliche property was recognized by the Spanish.[23]
Sociedad Stuttgart, a society established in the 19th century to bringGerman settlers to Chile, purchased about 15 000 km2 under fraudulent conditions from Huilliches in thePrecordillera east ofOsorno.[24] This purchase was later ratified by Chilean courts and serves to illustrate how Chilean authorities ignored their own legal order that guaranteed Huilliche property.[24]
As result of the establishment of Chilean and European settlers, including Germans, aroundBueno River, Osorno Huilliches living in theCentral Valley migrated to the coastal region of Osorno.[24] In the 1920s, The economy of Osorno shifted towards cattle farming, with land ownership concentrated among the German immigrants, and many Huilliches became peasants ofhaciendas.[25]
^Rothhammer, Francisco; Puddu, Giannina; Fuentes-Guajardo, Macarena (2017). "¿Puede el ADN mitocondrial proporcionar información sobre la etnogénesis de los pueblo originarios chilenos?" [Can mitochondrial DNA provide information on the ethnogenesis of Chilean native populations?].Chungará (in Spanish).49 (4).doi:10.4067/S0717-73562017005000028 (inactive 1 July 2025).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
^Rumian Cisterna, Salvador (2020-09-17).Gallito Catrilef: Colonialismo y defensa de la tierra en San Juan de la Costa a mediados del siglo XX (M.Sc. thesis) (in Spanish).University of Los Lagos.
^Ramírez Sanchez, Carlos (1988).Toponimia indígena de las provincias de Osorno, Llanquihue y Chiloé (in Spanish). Valdivia: Marisa Cuneo Ediciones. pp. 17–18.
^Ajens, Andrés (2017). "Conexiones huilliche-altoperuanas en el ciclo de Atahualpa".MERIDIONAL Revista Chilena de Estudios Latinoamericanos (in Spanish) (8):153–188.
^abcConcha Mathiesen, Martín (1998).Una mirada a la identidad de los grupos huilliche de San Juan de la Costa (Thesis) (in Spanish). Universidad Arcis.
Alberto Trivero (1999); Trentrenfilú, Proyecto de Documentación Ñuke Mapu.(in Spanish)
Montt Pinto, Isabel (1971).Breve Historia de Valdivia (in Spanish). Editorial Francisco de Aguirre.
Rumian Cisterna, Salvador (2020-09-17).Gallito Catrilef: Colonialismo y defensa de la tierra en San Juan de la Costa a mediados del siglo XX (M.Sc. thesis) (in Spanish).University of Los Lagos.
Otero, Luis (2006).La huella del fuego: Historia de los bosques nativos. Poblamiento y cambios en el paisaje del sur de Chile. Pehuén Editores.ISBN956-16-0409-4.
