A ruka or ruca is a traditional

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 ...

house type. Rukas were originally round with a conical roof. Rucas are typically built communally. Rukas traditionally lack windows and are made up of a single open space in the interior. The interior of the rukas are organized around a central fireplace. Travellers in the first half of the 20th century compared the housing conditions of rukas favourably to the

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...

s of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

and the countryside

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

s of non-Mapuche Chilean farmers.

Overview

The ruca is the most important building in Mapuche architecture, where they live traditionally. Ruca, in Mapudugun, means "house". Its area varies between 120 and 240 square meters. This construction materials are dependent on the surrounding land. For example: They are formed of planks or poles of coligüe, reinforced on the inside with wooden posts, and covered with tule. The roof is of ''junquillo'' or of some grass similar to Peruvian feathergrass (paja brava). The traditional ruca is round or oval, but it can also be rectangular or square. It has one principal entrance which faces East, expressing the Mapuche cosmological preference for '' Pwelmapu'' or ''Puel mapu'', their eastern homelands. It may also have a small secondary entrance to the west. Within, there are spaces for keeping provisions. They are traditionally decorated with domestic artifacts hung from the walls and ceiling. There are beds to the sides, and in the center is the hearth or ''kütralwe'', which serves to cook food, light, and heat the ruca. The smoke, carrying grease from cooked foods, coat the interior of the ruca over time, creating a protective layer. The soot darkens the interior walls and often gives the ruca and surrounding area a distinctive smell. The ''kütralwe'' or hearth burns constantly in the center of the house, and is the home of ''Ngen-kütral'', or the Mapuche fire spirit.

Construction

Historically, when they wanted to construct a ruca, a Mapuche would request permission from the spirit Ngen-mapu so as to establish themself in this place, and they would notify a superior to inform the rest of the community. Thus, the future owner of the ruca would gather the necessary materials, while the people of the community would join in working to raise the ruca, a common labor known as ''rukatun'' or ''rukan''. To finish the work, there is a celebration with food prepared by the collaborators, and dancing with masks made from wood or ''collón''.

In media

Mapuche journalist and activist Pedro Cayuqueo published a book titled ''Esa ruca llamada Chile'' ("This Ruca Called Chile") in 2014. It is a collection of articles written from 2012 to 2014.

References

Arquitectura MAPUCHE: la Ruca
House types Mapuche culture Mapuche words and phrases {{Chile-struct-stub