Flag of the Mapuches

The first records on the use of flags of Araucanian people date back to the Spanish chronicles during the War of Arauco, the more known was described in Canto XXI of the epic poem La Araucana (1569).

There, Alonso de Ercilla described in one of their songs, to a warrior named Talcahuano, which inhabited the land near the present city that bears his name, who was followed by troops that wore blue, white and red emblems.

The most characteristic feature of the old Araucanian flag is the Guñelve (wünelfe in Mapudungun) that is a symbol from the Mapuche iconography which can be described as an octagram or a star with eight points.

[1] The guñelve, also called the "Star of Arauco", inspired Bernardo O'Higgins in creating the current flag of Chile.

The flag of Argentinian Mapuche people was created in 1987 by Julio Antieco, and ratified in 1991 by the 1st Assembly of Aboriginal Leaders and Communities in Trevelin.