The Mapuche Home and Meeting Place: Construction of a Traditional Ruka
The ruka in the grounds of the Cañete Mapuche Museum was built in the traditional way, without nails and using native wood.
Collection of grasses and creepers
The rukan began when the owner of the future ruka chose a killa (prestigious neighbor) to convene the team and direct the work. It is divided into heavy tasks, such as cutting and moving the trees, and lighter ones like cutting the creeper to bind the pieces of the structure together.
Construction of the outer structure
Construction of the outer structure of the ruka began with the installation of trunks of wood. Two or three thick pillars of oak were aligned along its symmetrical axis and reinforced with stones so as to make them perfectly vertical.
Conical structure and circular base
A horizontal trunk was hung at the upper edge to form the ridge of the roof and, at a height of one or two meters, a prop was attached to serve as support. The joints were reinforced by being tied with braided or twisted vegetable ropes that covered the wood completely.
Framework
Posts of native wood, such as hazelnut, bay, canelo and ulmo, were used for the lateral structures while thick beams of boldo supported the roof.
Completed structure
Creepers which the Mapuche obtained from the native woodland were used to bind the structure together. They include different species of creeper known generically as mau.
Start of the process of covering the wood structure with straw
The structure of the ruka was traditionally made of trunks which were covered with the straw of grasses and reeds. This served as thermal insulation and protection from the rain.
Covering the outside of the structure with straw
Reñi or coligüe (Chilean bamboo) was used in the ruka since its long stems, stripped of their leaves, formed a rigid net that served to hold the straw in place. Nails were not used.
Thatching the roof
The choice of the plants is crucial for the durability of the ruka. According to the archaeologist Carlos Aldunate, roofs of reeds, sedges and rushes last up to four years while those of linquena can last up to 20 years.
Entrance to the ruka
The entrance to the ruka traditionally faced east or pwel mapu, where the beneficial spiritual forces live, while the round roof reproduced the wenu mapu or sacred space where the ancestors live. Today, its location depends on the proximity of water and access to it.
Ruka: Outside view
Inside the ruka, the furniture is arranged around the fire which is used to cook and smoke food, as lighting and heating and to facilitate the circulation of air. Kindled in a shallow hole in the floor, it is kept alight day and night.
In the northern part of the 8-hectare park surrounding the Cañete Mapuche Museum, visitors can explore a ruka, the traditional Mapuche dwelling characterized by its circular design and a structure without internal divisions designed for social and family activities.
The Museum installed the ruka as a means of fostering understanding of the Mapuche people’s architectural heritage, with its ability to combine private and collective life. That same vision is also reflected in the design of the Museum itself, which was built in 1968.
It is, in addition, reflected in the name chosen for the Museum by the area’s Mapuche communities: Ruka Kimün Taiñ Volil-Juan Cayupi Huechicura, which means “the house of the root of our knowledge” followed by the name of the lonko (chief) who governed the territory where it is located.
The current ruka was built in 2003 with the support of communities living in the vicinity of the Museum, who worked in the traditional way in order to replicate a ruka of the Lafkenche (“people of the sea”) branch of the Mapuche.
It is the Museum’s third ruka. The first one was built in the 1980s and was destroyed by a fire while the second one, built in the 1990s, became too small for the number of visitors.
In each of these cases, the rukan (the process of community construction of the ruka) was led by Armando Marileo. The task began with the selection of the site and the marking of the outline of the ruka and its entrance.
For the lateral structures, posts of native wood, such as hazelnut, bay, canelo and ulmo, were used while thick beams of boldo supported the roof.
The photographs below show the construction of the ruka built beside the Museum in the 1990s, including the marking of the ground, the construction of its structure and the assembly of the thatching straw.
Keywords: Mapuche ruka / Lafkenche
