A lonko or lonco (from

Mapudungun Mapuche ( , ; from 'land' and 'people', meaning 'the people of the land') or Mapudungun (from 'land' and 'speak, speech', meaning 'the speech of the land'; also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu) is either a language isolate or member of the s ...

''longko'', literally "head"), is a chief of several

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

communities. These were often

ulmen Ulmen is a town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – a kind of collective municipality – to which it also belongs. Geography Location The town lies in the Eifel ...

, the wealthier men in the lof. In wartime, lonkos of the various local

rehue A rehue (Mapudungun spelling rewe) or kemukemu is a type of Column, pillar-like sacred altar used by the Mapuche of Chile and Argentina in many of their ceremonies. Altar/Axis mundi The ''rehue'' is a carved tree trunk set in the ground, s ...

or the larger

aillarehue Aillarehue or Ayllarehue (from the Mapudungun: ayllarewe/ayjarewe: "nine rehues"); a confederation of rehues or family-based units (lof) that dominated a region or province. It was the old administrative and territorial division of the Mapuche, H ...

would gather in a koyag or parliament and would elect a

toqui Toqui (or Toki) (Mapudungun for ''axe'' or ''axe-bearer'') is a title conferred by the Mapuche (an indigenous Chilean and Argentines, Argentinian people) on those chosen as leaders during times of war. The toqui is chosen in an assembly or parl ...

to lead the warriors in battle. ''Lonco'' sometimes forms part of geographical names such as the city of

Loncoche Loncoche (Mapudungun for "head of an important person") is a city and commune in Cautín Province in the Araucanía Region, southern Chile. It is located near the border to Los Ríos Region and the city of Lanco. Loncoche is a major centre for ...

(English: "head of an important person").

References

Mapuche Social history of Chile * Titles of national or ethnic leadership Mapuche words and phrases {{Chile-culture-stub