Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/670

 634 ARAUCANIANS moning to his aid Antigonus Doson, king of Macedon, and by taking the unfortunate step of delivering to him Corinth and its citadel as the price of his assistance. Antigonus took advan- tage of this offer, which at once proved fatal to the power of the Achaean cities. He became gen- eral of the league, and gradually gained complete control of it, transmitting this authority to his son Philip. Aratus remained a prominent lead- er in spite of the Macedonian rule ; but in a new war which soon broke out with the JEtolians (221 to 219), he was unsuccessful. He was tried for neglect of duty, but acquitted in considera- tion of his past services. From this time he was little more than an adviser of the Macedonian king, who had now made the league completely dependent upon himself; and although ap- pointed general for the 17th time in 217, he never attained his old influence. According to Plutarch and Polybius, whose story has been doubted by many historians, he was put to death by slow poison, given by Philip's order. The Greeks paid divine honors to his memory, and celebrated twice a year games called Ara- teia one on the anniversary of his birth, and one on that of his deliverance of Sicyon. AR.U'C IAS, an Indian nation inhabiting the provinces of Arauco and Valdivia, Chili. The name is derived from the Indian word auca, meaning frank, or free. As offering the most successful example of Indian self-government in the presence of the European races, the Araucanians are of interest to the philosopher and the ethnologist. The chief authority with regard to them is "Molina's History of Chili," of which an English translation was published at Middletown, Conn., in 1808. Five different poems have been written by Europeans upon their patriotic struggles against the European invaders. The best are the Araucana of Alonso de Ercilla, a Spanish knight of the 16th century, who took part in the wars he describes, and the Puren Indomito of Alva- rez de Toledo (Paris, 1862). The Araucanians were first invaded by the Spaniards in 1587. Valdivia founded many settlements in their country, which with the settlers were de- stroyed in 1602. In 1641 the marquis de Baydes made a treaty with their chief, but in 1665 war commenced again, and lasted at in- tervals until 1773, when Spain at length ac- knowledged the independence of the Arauca- nians, and allowed them to maintain an embassy at Santiago de Chili. In the contest between the mother country and the Chilian colonists, they preserved a strict neutrality. Schmidt- meyer visited them in 1820, and published his "Travels into Chili, over the Andes," ip 1820- '21. Mr. Edward Reuel Smith, of the U. 8. astronomical expedition in Chili, published " The Araucanians, or Notes of a Tour ainong the Indian Tribes of Southern Chili" (Mew York, 1855). The territory of Arauco has been from time immemorial divided into four vu- thanmapu* or uthalmapus, or provinces, each presided over by a magistrate called a toqui; these four provinces correspond to the natural divisions of the country, viz., the maritime province, the plain province, the province at the foot of the Andes, and the province in the Andes. Each of these is divided into five illarehues, ruled by an apo-ulmene, and each illarehue is further subdivided into nine rehues or townships, over each of which presides an ulmene, or head of a clan. The symbol of a toqui is an axe of porphyry or marble ; of an apo-ulmene, a staff with a silver head and a silver ring round the middle; of an ulmene, the same without the silver ring round the middle. All of these dignities are hereditary according to primogeniture. No regular trib- ute or any predial service is payable by the clan to the ulmene, by the ulmenes to the apo-ul- mene, or by the apo-ulmenes to the toqui. In time of war, however, military service is acknowledged as the most sacred of duties. The four toquis, or governors of provinces, form the grand council of the Araucanian fed- eration, presided over by one of its own mem- bers, the grand toqui. This council decides on war and peace, and on emergencies calls to- gether the general assembly. At this diet, every toqui, apo-ulmene, and ulmene may at- tend ; it chooses the commander-in-chief from among the four toquis ; but if none of them are qualified, then from the diet at large. The levy is made by the ulmenes upon their several clans. The army consists of both cavalry and infan- try. The toqui Cadeguala was the first who established a regular body of cavalry, in 1585. The diet is held in a large plain which lies be- tween the rivers Biobio and Dunqueco. The religion of the Araucanians is akin to their political institutions. Their Supreme Being is the great toqui of the universe ; he has his subordinate ulmenes to look after details. These are, the god of war, the beneficent god, the god of mankind, and others. Guecubu is the god of evil. The celestials exact no trib- ute from their subjects here below ; therefore the Araucanian builds no temples nor idols, supports no priests, and rarely offers sacrifice. After the death of the body, the soul goes into paradise, a region which lies on the other side of the Andes. Their religion, in other respects, resembles other primitive creeds. They hate the Spanish language, and their toquis, though well acquainted with it, will never use it on any public occasion. They make a foreigner take an Araucanian name before he is allowed to settle among them. A missionary, when preaching to them, is often interrupted in the midst of his discourse, if he commits a blunder. The Araucanians are stoutly built, and of mod- erate height. Their complexion is olive, and lighter than the other South American Indians; they have a round face, low forehead, short, broad nose, small, fiery eyes, small lips, and long head. The women do all the home and field work ; the men hunt, fight, and tend the flocks. They live in wooden or reed plastered houses, well built, and often 60 feet by 25 in