Discourse construction of the status of sage in the narratives of two mapuche-pehuenche kimches

Abstract

This article aims to account for the construction of the status of sage in the narratives of two Mapuche-Pehuenche kimches, who play a fundamental social role in the maintenance of mapuche traditions and culture in the Alto Bío-Bío communities. Through a qualitative-descriptive study that examines the oral testimonies of two kimches, sequences of recurrent activities that conform the formative discourse of the sage in ancestral cultures are described and explained regarding their role in the construction of the status of the sage. The results of the discursive-linguistic analysis of the stories show that the kimche status in primary societies is marked by experiences based on the collective. This means that the status of kimche is closely linked to activities that favour the community. These experiences impose on the kimches the responsibility to assume leadership roles, through their active participation in rituals, in assemblies and in rescue actions and preservation of their traditions.

Keywords

• estatus de sabio. kimche. analisis del discurso.