Wiñoy Tripantu is the

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 ...

celebration that marks the return of the sun, often referred to as the Mapuche New Year.
"Celebración del "Wiñol xipantu": Inicio de un nuevo ciclo de la naturaleza".
(Beca de investigación).'' Informe final 2003. Centro de Comunicaciones Mapuce. Jvfken Mapu. Ramón Curivil. It occurs on the

June solstice The June solstice is the solstice on Earth that occurs annually between 20 and 22 June according to the Gregorian calendar. In the Northern Hemisphere, the June solstice is the summer solstice (the day with the longest period of daylight), while ...

, which is the shortest day of the year in the Mapuche homeland in the Southern Hemisphere. Sometimes, the term We Tripantu is used interchangeably with Wiñoy Tripantu, Loncon Antileo, Elisa (2012)
«Wüñoy Tripantü. El regreso del sol para iniciar un nuevo ciclo con la Naturaleza»
''Departamento de Educación. Facultad de Humanidades''. Universidad de Santiago de Chile. Archived from the original on 28 August 2012. Visited 23 June 2018. but some

Mapuche language 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 sm ...

speakers use We Tripantu for the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

New Year (January 1) and reserve Wiñoy Tripantu for the June solstice celebration. There are various variations of the term Wiñoy Tripantu, including Wiñol xipantu, Wvñol xipantu, Wiñol Txipantu, and Wüñoy Tripantü. This celebration is comparable to the

Inti Raymi The Inti Raymi (Quechua language, Quechua for "Inti festival") is a traditional religious ceremony of the Inca Empire in honor of the god Inti (Quechua for "sun"), the most venerated deity in Religion in the Inca Empire, Inca religion. It was t ...

in Mapuche culture. As the sun begins to return to Earth after the longest night of the year (the

winter solstice The winter solstice, or hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's geographical pole, poles reaches its maximum axial tilt, tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern Hemisphere, Northern and So ...

), Pachamama (Mother Earth in Quechua) or Nuke Mapu (in

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 ...

) starts to bloom, from the

Andean The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

heights to the southern tip. The sun, known as Antü in Mapuche, Inti in Aymara, or Rapa in

Rapa Nui Easter Island (, ; , ) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...

, brings life back to the land, and everything begins to flourish again. Wiñoy Tripantu is observed with a ceremony on the shortest day of the year, where families and communities gather to celebrate together. Everyone in the community plays a role in the ceremony, which includes songs, dances, a communal meal, and offerings to the land. A traditional wood fire is lit and kept burning until sunrise the next day. Elders share stories with cultural, philosophical, and political significance, passing down Mapuche culture and history to the younger generations. The ceremony concludes with a communal breakfast. While Wiñoy Tripantu has been a longstanding tradition in the

culture (nowadays in southern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

), it has experienced a revival in recent decades, coinciding with a broader resurgence of Mapuche cultural practices and land rights advocacy.

References

June observances Mapuche culture Winter in Argentina Winter in Chile Winter holidays (Southern Hemisphere) Winter solstice {{Argentina-culture-stub