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Gift Ideas

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  Cacique Lloncon-Mapuche Indian 1890 Mouse Mat / $11.60
  
  
  
  Mapuche Indigenous inhabitants of Central and Southern Chile and Southern Argentina. They were known as araucanos "Araucanians" by the Spaniards but this is now considered pejorative by the people and the term Mapuche is the one most often used by people in conversation and in the media in Chile and Argentina and is the one preferred by them. Contrary to popular belief, the Quechua word awqa "rebel, enemy", is probably not the root of araucano: the latter is more likely derived from the placename rag ko (Spanish Arauco) "clayey water". ------------------------------------------- The Mapuche had an economy based on agriculture; their social organization consisted of extended families, under the direction of a "lonko" or chief, although in times of war they would unite in larger groupings and elect a toqui (from Mapudungun toki "axe, axe-bearer") to lead them.----------------------The Mapuche are a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups which shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended between the Aconcagua River and Chiloé Island and later eastward to the Argentine pampa. The Mapuche (note that Mapuche can refer to the whole group of Picunches (people of the north), Huilliches and Mapuches from Araucanía or exclusively to Mapuches from Araucanía) inhabited the valleys between the Itata and Toltén Rivers, as well as the Huilliche (people of the South), the Cuncos. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the Mapuches expanded eastward into the Andes and pampas forming with the existing people the Poyas and Pehuenche. At about the same time ethnic groups of the pampa regions, the Puelche, Ranqueles and northern Aonikenk, called Patagons by Ferdinand Magellan, known now as Tehuelche, made contact with Mapuche groups, adopting their language and some culture (in what came to be called the Araucanization).--------------------The origin of the Mapuche is not clear. The Mapuche language Mapudungun, has been classified by some authorities as being related to the Penutian languages of North America. Others group it among the Andean languages (Greenberg 1987, Key 1978), and yet others postulate an Araucanian-Mayan relationship (Stark 1970, Hamp 1971); Croese (1989, 1991) has advanced the hypothesis that it is related to Arawak. A recent study found that Mapuche pre-Columbian Araucana came from Polynesia by analysing their DNA; this suggests contact between the Mapuche and Polynesia. One of the earliest sites of human occupation in the Americas, Monte Verde, lies within what was later to become Huilliche territory, although there is currently no demonstrated link between the Monte Verde people and the Mapuche.--------------The Mapuche successfully resisted many attempts by the Inca Empire to subjugate them, despite their lack of state organisation. They fought against the Sapa Inca Tupac Yupanqui and his army. The result of the bloody three day confrontation known as the Battle of the Maule was that the Inca conquest of the territories of Chile ended at the Maule river. Here they were forced to establish a fortified border. They fought against the Spaniards for over 300 years. Initial conquests of land by Spain in the late 16th century were repelled by the Mapuche, so effectively that there were areas to which Europeans did not return until late in the 19th century. One of the main geographical boundaries was the Bío-Bío River, which the Mapuche used as a natural barrier to Spanish and Chilean incursion. The 300 years were not uniformly a period of hostility, but often allowed substantial trade and interchange between Mapuche and Spaniards or Chileans. Nevertheless, the long Mapuche resistance has become primarily known as the War of Arauco, and is immortalized in Alonso de Ercilla's epic poem La Araucana. When Chile revolted from the Spanish crown, some Mapuche chiefs sided with the colonists; most, however, regarded the matter with indifference. This lack of concern shows how the Mapuche perceived that they were their own people on their own land, and did not realize the potential threat the colonists would pose to their culture. After Chile's independence from Spain, the Mapuche coexisted and traded with their neighbors, who prudently remained north of the Bío-Bío River, although clashes occurred frequently.-----------------Chilean population pressures increased on the Mapuche borders, and by the 1880s Chile extended both to the north and to the south of the Mapuche heartlands. Further, Chile in the 1880s, as a result of its preparation for and its victory in the War of the Pacific against Bolivia and Peru, found itself with a large standing army and a relatively modern arsenal for the period. Finally, in the mid- to late-1880s, partially on the pretext of crushing a French adventurer, Orelie-Antoine de Tounens, who had declared himself King of Araucania, Chile overwhelmed the Mapuche in the course of the so-called "pacification of the Araucanía". ---------------------------- Using a combination of force and diplomacy, Chile's government obliged some Mapuche leaders to sign a treaty absorbing the Araucanian territories into Chile. The immediate impact of the war was widespread starvation and disease. It has been claimed that the Mapuche population dropped from a total of half a million to 25,000 within a generation, though the latter figure has been called an exaggeration by several authorities. In the post-conquest period, however, there was internment of a significant percentage of the Mapuche, the wholesale destruction of the Mapuche herding, agricultural and trading economies, the wholesale looting of Mapuche property (real and personal - including a large amount of silver jewelry to replenish the Chilean national coffers), and the creation and institutionalization of a system of reserves called reducciones along lines similar to North American reservation systems. Subsequent generations of Mapuche live in extreme poverty as a direct result of being conquered and expropriated.--------------Mapuche descendants now live across southern Chile and Argentina; some maintain their traditions and continue living from agriculture, but a growing majority have migrated to cities in search of better economic opportunities. Chile's region IX continues to have a rural population made up of approximately 80%; there are also substantial Mapuche populations in regions X, VIII, and VII. ----------- In recent years, there has been an attempt by the Chilean government to redress some of the inequities of the past, by, for example, validating the Mapudungun language and culture by including them in the curriculum of elementary schools around Temuco. Nevertheless, land disputes and violent interactions do continue in some Mapuche areas, particularly in the northern sections of the IX region between and around Traiguén and Lumaco - where a history of conflict continues into the present.-------- Representatives from Mapuche organisations joined the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO) seeking recognition and protection for their cultural and land rights. ---------------- Though Japanese and Swiss interests are active in the region that Chileans call "Araucanía" and the Mapuche call "Ngulu Mapu", both of the main forestry companies are Chilean-owned. On land the Mapuche claim is theirs, the firms have planted hundreds of thousands of acres with Monterey pine and eucalyptus trees, species that are not native to the region and that consume large amounts of water and fertilizer. ----------------- Chilean exports of wood to the United States, almost all of which come from this southern region, are about $600 million a year and rising. Though an international campaign led by the conservation group Forest Ethics resulted in the Home Depot chain and other leading wood importers agreeing to revise their purchasing policies, to "provide for the protection of native forests in Chile," some Mapuche leaders were not satisfied. ----------------- In an effort to defuse tensions, a special government body, the Commission for Historical Truth and New Treatment, issued a report in 2003 calling for drastic changes in Chile's treatment of its indigenous people, more than 80 percent of whom are Mapuche. The recommendations included the formal recognition of political and "territorial" rights for aboriginal peoples, as well as efforts to promote their cultural identity. -------------------------------- In recent years, Mapuche activists have been prosecuted under counter-terrorism legislation originally introduced by the military dictatorship, under Pinochet. The law allows prosecutors to withhold evidence from the defense for up to six months, and to conceal the identity of witnesses, who may give evidence in court behind screens. There are several violent activist groups, which utilize various tactics, including the destruction of private property. Protestors from Mapuche communities have engaged in these tactics against multinational forestry corporations that are occupying territory, originally a part of the same Mapuche communities.
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  Guatemala coat of arms t shirts / $20.10
  
  
  
  The coat of arms of Guatemala comprises: * A wreath of olive branches, the symbol for victory; * The Resplendent Quetzal, a bird that symbolizes liberty; * A scroll on which is written LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (15 September 1821 is the date of Central America's independence from Spain); * Two crossed Remington rifles with bayonets indicating Guatemala's willingness to defend itself by force if need be; * Two crossed swords, representing honour. The emblem was designed by Swiss artist and engraver Jean-Baptiste Frener, who lived in Guatemala from 1854 until his death in 1897. The coat of arms also appears on the Flag of Guatemala. The quetzal previously appeared in the flag of Los Altos, Central America in the 1830s.
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  Coat of arms of Bolivia-Repblica de Bolivia T Shirts / $20.10
  
  
  
  The Coat of Arms of Bolivia has a central crest surrounded by Bolivian flags, muskets, laurel branches, and has an Andean condor on top. The central crest has a border with ten stars in the bottom, which symbolize the nine Departamentos and the former province Litoral that was taken over by Chile in 1879, and the name of Bolivia in the top section. Within the border the silver mountain Potosí — recognized by a mine entrance — is depicted, with a sun rising above it, and with an alpaca standing next to a tree and some wheat. The alpaca stands on a plain that contrasts with the mountain. The mountain and its contrast with the plains are indicative of the geography of Bolivia. The alpaca is the national animal, and the items next to it are symbolic of the resources of the nation. Around the shield there are three Bolivian flags on each side. Behind these are two pairs of crossed muskets that symbolize the struggle for independence. Next to the muskets there are an axe and a red Phrygian hood, which is the symbol of liberty or freedom. The laurel branches are symbolic of peace, and the condor perched upon the shield is symbolic of a willingness to defend the nation and its liberty. In some depictions of these coat of arms, the two pairs of muskets are replaced by two cannons. Other depictions also have more realistic symbols in the shield.
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  Coat of arms of Chile-Repblica de Chile T-shirt / $25.35
  
  
  
  The Coat of Arms of Chile dates from 1834 and was designed by the English artist Charles Wood Taylor. It is made up by a figurative background divided in two equal parts: the top one is blue and the bottom, red. A five pointed white star is in the centre of the shield. This background is supported in one side by a condor, the most significant bird of prey from the Andes, and in the other, by a huemul, the most singular and rare mammal of the Chilean territory. Both animals have in their heads the navy's golden crown, symbol of the heroic deeds of the Chilean Navy in the Pacific Ocean. The shield is crowned by a three feathered crest; each feather bearing one colour: blue, white and red. This crest was a symbol of distinction that former Presidents of the Republic used to wear on their hats. Underneath the shield and on the ellaborated pedestal, there is a white band with the motto: "Por la Razón o la Fuerza" ("By Reason or Force"). This emblem is the last of a series of variations due to diverse circumstances and understandings.
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  Haiti coat of arms t-shirt / $20.10
  
  
  
  The coat of arms of Haiti was first introduced in 1807, and has appeared in its current form since 1986. It shows draped flags, which are located before a palm tree and cannons on a green lawn. On the lawn various items are found, such as a drum, a bugle, long guns, and ship anchors. Above the palm tree, there is a Phrygian cap placed as a symbol of freedom. The ribbon bears the national motto of Haiti: L'Union Fait La Force (French, "Union Makes Strength").