Promaucaes
Encyclopedia
Promaucaes, Promaucas or Purumaucas (quechua
>purum awqa: wild people); pre-Columbian Mapuche
tribal group that lived in the present territory of Chile
, south of the Maipo River
basin of Santiago, Chile
and the Itata River
, (those to the north were called Quillotanes and Mapochoes
by the Spanish). They were speakers of mapudungun
like the Moluche
to the south and part of the Picunche
tribal grouping that lived north of the Itata River.
in the Battle of the Maule
they acquired this distinctive name. The Spanish later corrupted the name into purumaucas or promaucaes. Thus their region became known by the early Spanish in Chile as the province of Promaucae and its inhabitants were called promaucaes.
The promaucaes are the first inhabitants of the Rancagua
Valley of whom a historical account exists. The Mapuche
included them inside the group that they knew as picunche, "people of the north"
. Nevertheless the promaucaes, as has already been mentioned, constituted a cultural unit or identity differentiated from the rest of the picunches, such as those who lived to the north of the Maipo
, named mapochoes, and to the south of the Maule
, designated maules and cauquenes
. Their particularity, from the point of view of the invaders, was their great military capacity and will to fight.
They were farmers and in spite of the fecundity of the area, they constructed some works of irrigation. They left ceramic vestiges. Research has indicated that they initiated the construction of Pucara de La Compañia and a bridge of rope and wicker across the Cachapoal River
.
at the end of the 15th century and later by Huayna Cápac
.
The history of this period is recreated only by what was written in later chronicles. These chronicles indicate that the promaucaes informed about the coming of the Incas allied themselves with the Antalli, Pincu and Cauqui subgroups, forming an army of 20,000 men. The Incas sent members of parliament in order that they recognize Túpac Inca Yupanqui as sovereign, but the purumaucas decided to face them in the so-called Battle of the Maule
. During the confrontation, there were many dead on both sides and neither army won a clear advantage.
On the fourth day, neither side left their own camp, both of which had been fortified, as they hoped to defend them if their opponents attacked. The fifth and sixth days were passed in the same manner but by the seventh the Purumaucas and their allies retired and returned home claiming victory. Due to these results, the Incas later considered chasing them, on which some chiefs agreed; but they decided to secure only what they had already conquered, with which Túpac Inca Yupanqui agreed.
Due to their proximity to the Inca Empire
, the promaucaes also learned the new technology that the Incas displayed in their new domains.
Among the peoples the Spanish called the Promaucaes the people of the Rapel River
valley were particularly called by this name by the Spanish . Those of the Mataquito River
valley were called the Cures, for which the province of Curico
is named . The people in the Maule River
valley and to the south were distinguished as Maules and those to the south of the Maules and north of the Itata were known as Cauqui by the Inca or Cauquenes
that gave their name to Cauquenes River
.
Quechua languages
Quechua is a Native South American language family and dialect cluster spoken primarily in the Andes of South America, derived from an original common ancestor language, Proto-Quechua. It is the most widely spoken language family of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a total of probably...
>purum awqa: wild people); pre-Columbian Mapuche
Mapuche
The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
tribal group that lived in the present territory of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, south of the Maipo River
Maipo River
Maipo River is the main river flowing through Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile. Its headwaters are on the west slope of Maipo volcano, in the Andes. Its most famous tributary is Mapocho River. The Maipo River is by far the major source of irrigation and potable water for the region.-Course:In...
basin of Santiago, Chile
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
and the Itata River
Itata River
The Itata River flows in the Bío-Bío Region, southern Chile.Until the Conquest of Chile the Itata was the natural limit between the Mapuche, located to the south, and Picunche, to the north.-References:* . - External links :*...
, (those to the north were called Quillotanes and Mapochoes
Mapochoes
Mapochoes were the name given by the Spanish to the Picunche tribes living north of the Promaucaes in Chile, in the area of the Maipo River basin of Santiago, Chile and south of the Choapa River that had been part of the Inca Empire at the time the Spanish first came into Chile....
by the Spanish). They were speakers of mapudungun
Mapudungun
The Mapuche language, Mapudungun is a language isolate spoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina by the Mapuche people. It is also spelled Mapuzugun and sometimes called Mapudungu or Araucanian...
like the Moluche
Moluche
Moluche or Nguluche is a dialect of the Mapuche language Mapudungun that is also the ethnic description of the Mapuche peoples speaking that language. At the beginning of the Conquest of Chile by the Spanish Empire the Moluche lived in what came to be known as Araucanía...
to the south and part of the Picunche
Picunche
The Picunche , also referred to as picones by the Spanish, were a mapudungun speaking Chilean people living to the north of the Mapuches or Araucanians and south of the Choapa River and the Diaguitas...
tribal grouping that lived north of the Itata River.
Description
The Incas named all the populations that were not under their empire puruma auca. As a result of the victory of these Picunche tribes over the Inca EmpireInca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
in the Battle of the Maule
Battle of the Maule
The Battle of the Maule was fought between the Mapuche people and the Inca Empire in what is now Chile. The three-day battle, which is generally believed to have occurred in the reign of Tupac Inca Yupanqui , marked the end of the Incas' southward expansion.In a six-year campaign with an army that...
they acquired this distinctive name. The Spanish later corrupted the name into purumaucas or promaucaes. Thus their region became known by the early Spanish in Chile as the province of Promaucae and its inhabitants were called promaucaes.
The promaucaes are the first inhabitants of the Rancagua
Rancagua
Rancagua is a city and commune in central Chile, part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the O'Higgins Region, located south of the national capital of Santiago. It had a 2002 population of 214,344...
Valley of whom a historical account exists. The Mapuche
Mapuche
The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
included them inside the group that they knew as picunche, "people of the north"
Picunche
The Picunche , also referred to as picones by the Spanish, were a mapudungun speaking Chilean people living to the north of the Mapuches or Araucanians and south of the Choapa River and the Diaguitas...
. Nevertheless the promaucaes, as has already been mentioned, constituted a cultural unit or identity differentiated from the rest of the picunches, such as those who lived to the north of the Maipo
Maipo River
Maipo River is the main river flowing through Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile. Its headwaters are on the west slope of Maipo volcano, in the Andes. Its most famous tributary is Mapocho River. The Maipo River is by far the major source of irrigation and potable water for the region.-Course:In...
, named mapochoes, and to the south of the Maule
Maule river
The Maule river is one of the most important rivers of Chile and is inextricably linked to this country's pre-Hispanic times, the country's conquest, colonial period, wars of Independence, modern history, agriculture , culture , religion, economy and politics...
, designated maules and cauquenes
Cauquenes
Cauquenes, a city and commune in Chile, is the capital of the Cauquenes Province and is located in the Maule Region.-History:According to the historical records of Alonso de Ercilla, Cauquenes was originally inhabited by an indigenous community of the Promaucaes, known as the Cauqui by the Inca or...
. Their particularity, from the point of view of the invaders, was their great military capacity and will to fight.
They were farmers and in spite of the fecundity of the area, they constructed some works of irrigation. They left ceramic vestiges. Research has indicated that they initiated the construction of Pucara de La Compañia and a bridge of rope and wicker across the Cachapoal River
Cachapoal River
Cachapoal River is tibutary river of the Rapel River in Chile located in the O'Higgins Region. The river gives its name to the Cachapoal Province.- Source :*...
.
Inca campaigns
The Incas in their expansion used the Pucará de La Compañia, which they strengthened. The pucará was the southernmost Inca settlement then known. Inca expeditions in this territory were organized by Túpac Inca YupanquiTupac Inca Yupanqui
Topa Inca Yupanqui , translated as "noble Inca accountant," was the tenth Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire, and fifth of the Hanan dynasty. His father was Pachacuti, and his son was Huayna Capac. Topa Inca belonged to the Qhapaq panaca....
at the end of the 15th century and later by Huayna Cápac
Huayna Capac
Huayna Capac was the eleventh Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire and sixth of the Hanan dynasty. He was the successor to Tupac Inca Yupanqui.-Name:In Quechua, his name is spelled Wayna Qhapaq, and in Southern Quechua, it is Vaina Ghapakh...
.
The history of this period is recreated only by what was written in later chronicles. These chronicles indicate that the promaucaes informed about the coming of the Incas allied themselves with the Antalli, Pincu and Cauqui subgroups, forming an army of 20,000 men. The Incas sent members of parliament in order that they recognize Túpac Inca Yupanqui as sovereign, but the purumaucas decided to face them in the so-called Battle of the Maule
Battle of the Maule
The Battle of the Maule was fought between the Mapuche people and the Inca Empire in what is now Chile. The three-day battle, which is generally believed to have occurred in the reign of Tupac Inca Yupanqui , marked the end of the Incas' southward expansion.In a six-year campaign with an army that...
. During the confrontation, there were many dead on both sides and neither army won a clear advantage.
On the fourth day, neither side left their own camp, both of which had been fortified, as they hoped to defend them if their opponents attacked. The fifth and sixth days were passed in the same manner but by the seventh the Purumaucas and their allies retired and returned home claiming victory. Due to these results, the Incas later considered chasing them, on which some chiefs agreed; but they decided to secure only what they had already conquered, with which Túpac Inca Yupanqui agreed.
Due to their proximity to the Inca Empire
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
, the promaucaes also learned the new technology that the Incas displayed in their new domains.
Among the peoples the Spanish called the Promaucaes the people of the Rapel River
Rapel River
Rapel River is a river of Chile located in the O'Higgins Region. It begins at the confluence of the rivers Cachapoal and Tinguiririca in the area known as La Junta...
valley were particularly called by this name by the Spanish . Those of the Mataquito River
Mataquito River
Mataquito is a river located in the Province of Curicó, Maule Region of Chile and formed by the union of rivers Teno and Lontué about 10 kilometers west of Curicó near the locality of Sagrada Familia and empties into the Pacific Ocean south of the town of Iloca, Licantén.- Source :*...
valley were called the Cures, for which the province of Curico
Curicó
Curicó , meaning "Black Waters" in Mapudungun , is the capital city of the Curicó Province, part of the Maule Region in Chile's central valley....
is named . The people in the Maule River
Maule river
The Maule river is one of the most important rivers of Chile and is inextricably linked to this country's pre-Hispanic times, the country's conquest, colonial period, wars of Independence, modern history, agriculture , culture , religion, economy and politics...
valley and to the south were distinguished as Maules and those to the south of the Maules and north of the Itata were known as Cauqui by the Inca or Cauquenes
Cauquenes
Cauquenes, a city and commune in Chile, is the capital of the Cauquenes Province and is located in the Maule Region.-History:According to the historical records of Alonso de Ercilla, Cauquenes was originally inhabited by an indigenous community of the Promaucaes, known as the Cauqui by the Inca or...
that gave their name to Cauquenes River
Cauquenes river
The Cauquenes River is a tributary of the Perquilauquén River, and traverses Cauquenes Province, in the Maule Region of Chile. It is born in the Cordillera de la Costa, near Cauquenes. After passing to the south of the latter city it is joined by the Tutuvén River...
.
Source
- Inca Garcilaso de la VegaInca Garcilaso de la VegaGarcilaso de la Vega , born Gómez Suárez de Figueroa, was a historian and writer from the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru. The son of a Spanish conquistador and an Inca noblewoman, he is recognized primarily for his contributions to Inca history, culture, and society...
, Comentarios reales, Segunda Parte : Libro VII, Cap. 19, 20. - Juan Ignacio MolinaJuan Ignacio MolinaFr. Juan Ignacio Molina was a Chilean Jesuit priest, naturalist, historian, botanist, ornithologist and geographer...
Compendio de la historia civil del reyno de Chile - Etnogeografía, Geography of Chile, Geographic Military Institute, Stgo. 1987; the XVIth: 147. The teacher Larrain carries out in this work an extensive and attractive investigation brings over of the population picunche, adopting the criterion for dividing her among picunches north and southern. The last ones are identified by the promaucaes. He dedicates also a stimulant analysis to the question relating to the identity of the picones.
External links
- Los Promaucaes, por Eduardo Téllez Lúgaro.
- The promaucaes in " O'Higgins's Region, brief relation of the cultural and natural patrimony ", Carmen Del Río and Blanca Tagle.
- Marta Blanco, The Inca Garcilaso of the Vega, an Antarctic Indian (1539-1616)
- _ 2da_VII_18 Inca Garcilaso of the Vega, Royal(Real) Commentaries. The second Part, I Free the VIIth, Chapter 18
- _ 2da_VII_19 Inca Garcilaso of the Vega, Royal(Real) Commentaries. The second Part, I Free the VIIth, Chapter 19
- Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Comentarios Reales. Segunda Parte, Libro VII, Capítulo 20
- Alonso de Ercilla, La Araucana