Pehuenche people

The Pehuenchen ( in the notation Pewenchen ) are an indigenous people, whose original settlement areas are in the south of Chile.

The name derives from the Indian name of the Chilean Araucaria, which is called in Mapudungun, the Mapuche language, Pewen in hispanisierter spelling Pehuén. The Pehuenchen subsisted almost exclusively by the piñones in Chile ( Spanish " pine nuts " ) called seed of this tree.

The Pehuenchen and other Mapuchevölker dominated for a long time the south of present-day Chile and prevented the Spanish conquistadors and later the Chilean troops for several centuries in some hard fighting on the settlement of the area south of the river Biobío. Was not until 1871 it was finally annexed by Chile and it massively colonized subsequently by European immigrants who arrived in large part from Germany and the aborigines pushed back pretty quickly.

Today, living in the southern part of central Chile along with other Mapuche also smaller populations of Pehuenches.