The Mapuche Hawk: Ñamku, the Ancestors and Mapuche Symbolism

The Mapuche are the Indigenous people of south-central Chile and south-western Argentina, and birds hold an important place in their world view. Among them is the ñamku, a bird of prey usually translated as hawk, which Mapuche tradition connects with the ancestors and with communication between the human and spirit worlds.

Birds as messengers

In Mapuche thought, the sky is inhabited by ancestral and spiritual beings, and birds that fly between earth and sky can carry messages between them. Birds of prey, strong and far-seeing, are especially significant. The anthropologist Louis Faron's classic study of Mapuche ritual and morality, published in 1964, is titled Hawks of the Sun.

The ñamku

The ñamku is associated with the ancestors and with protection, and it appears in the language of ritual and of dreams. As with many Indigenous symbols, its meaning is best understood within Mapuche culture itself, which continues today in language, ceremony, weaving and silverwork.

A living culture

The Mapuche remain one of the largest Indigenous peoples of South America. Museum collections, including the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, hold Mapuche silver and textiles, and archaeological research, including work published by Tom Dillehay, continues to deepen understanding of their history.

The Mapuche hawk in jewellery

A hawk design inspired by Mapuche tradition honours a people with a long and living relationship to the birds of their land. See the AURYN Mapuche hawk charm, or read about Nge-Nge, a Mapuche textile motif.