Mapuches or Araucana?

Mapuches are also called Araucanos, a people from northern Patagonia up to a part of Santa Cruz, about 250 years ago migrating from Chile and Argentina depending upon the weather.  As they are a nomadic people, and slept on sheep skins their name depends whether it is being said by what land they were on:  where ever they roamed they were mainly found between the Biobio River in the north to the Tolten River in the South. Like many nomads they were polygamous and of course how many wives depended upon their wealth.  A poor man had only one or if really poor, none, while a rich man many

 The Picunche who live primarily in the north between the Choapa and BioBio rivers and lived under Inca Rule.  The Huillche dwelt in the south between the Tolten River and the Chiloe Island  and the Mapuche who were farmers and lived mainly in Chile.

The Spanish called them because of their cultural and facial similarity the "Araucana" after the general homeland that they defended called "Arauca"  That name has stuck particularly after the great poem on the Araucanian fight against the Spanish became akin to the Iliad, though called the "Aeneid of the Araucanas"  called La Araucana (1569-1589) written by a Spanish soldier, Alonso de Ercilla y Zuniga.

As the blue laying birds were only found with their people, they have since been called Mapuche, when wild, and Araucana when domesticated.   Natively it would always have "tufts" but could have a tail or be a rumpkin.  The beards and the muffs seem to be bastardizations of Spanish imports, something like a Faverolle, and would not be indigenous.

All of this is based on the work from Professor David Caudill's (University of California at Berkeley) book the "Araucana Poulterer's Handbook"  by the International Collonca Society, Roble del Campo, California  documenting it's history which he wrote so that the APA would accept the bird into their fold.

Cathy Brunson, with Prof Caudill's approval, updated his book with a lot of her findings for her book, "Araucanas, Rings on their Ears".  Caudill's book is long out of print.  Brunson's book can only be had from the ACA for $19.00 postpaid.

The Ameraucana the European mutt also lays blue/green eggs and was the original  Easter-Egger but they have standardized their bird and got admitted to the APA later.  Now Easter-Eggs are real mutts with muffs and beards and white or yellow skins.  Both the Ameraucana and the Easter-Egger, I have these as well, are not as hardy as the true Araucana and are more susceptible to inclement weather as well as "colds".

While both the American Bantam Association & the American Poultry Association acknowledge the Araucana they each have specific requirements t, which do not always equate. So as a rule when someone has "wild type" Araucana, that is a Mapuche and cannot be "shown" under APA rules.  It also is a cheaper bird.

Of the clubs I mentioned previously, only Edd Shepperd's group, the Araucana Registry, acknowledges all variations including the latest bastard, the UK recognized Cream Legbar (ugly thing).


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