156 CultureShock! Chile
piled mounds of earth into mountains. The animals that
were not strong enough to climb up fell into the sea to
become fish. The animals that climbed the highest and
the fastest became humans. After the flood, the humans
settled in the fertile valley between Treng Treng’s mountains
and Kai Kai’s ocean, and they called themselves Mapuche.
They believe that the frequent tremors in Chile are due to
the thrashing snakes.
Of course, the Mapuches of modern Chile have evolved
into a culture somewhat distinct from that of centuries ago.
Even on the reservations the Chilean national culture has a
firm foothold, mostly brought in by the extension of primary
education. A survey of Mapuche on four southern reservations
found that less than 10 per cent were monolingual Mapuche,
around 50 per cent spoke both Spanish and Mapuche in
their homes, and 40 per cent spoke only Spanish. Almost
all Mapuche under 30 are literate in Spanish.This sculpture in Santiago’s main square honors Chile’s indigenous ancestry.