Aillarehue

Aillarehue or Ayllarehue (from the (mapudungun: ayllarewe/ayjarewe: " nine rehues"); a confederation of rehues or familiar clans (lof) that dominated a region or province. It was the old administrative and territorial division of the Mapuche, Huilliche and the extinct Picunche people. Aillarehue acted as a unit only on special festive, religious, political and especial military occasions. Several aillarehues formed the Butalmapu, the largest military and political organization of the Mapuche.

Each Mapuche lof, levo or caví (lineage) celebrated its religious rituals at a unique rehue or rewe ("altar"), near the home of a local lonko, Ulmen or cacique, often the word rehue was used with the sense of party or clan ("I am from this rehue"), in a way similar to the old form of Christian administrative allegiance to parishes. Although aillarehue ment "nine altars" these confederations did not necessarily conform to this number of rehues. The name of many of these aillarehue confederations have remained in the present toponymy of the southern regions of Chile.

Although it is known the Picunche had many aillarehues in the central zone of Chile, like those of Codegua, Vichuquén and Rapel most of their names are unknown. The following list is reconstructed from the listing of the aillarehues of the Moluche and Huilliche between the Itata River and Reloncaví Sound, due to the work of Ricardo E. Latcham in the 1920s. Five Butalmapu were known to the Spanish at the beginning of the 18th century. Add to them the one in the region between the Itata and Bio Bio Rivers, that existed at the early part of the Conquest of Chile. With this one six are known to have existed. One is thought to have existed among the Picunche to the north of the Itata River, at the beginning of the conquest. It is thought to have extended from the Limari to the Mataquito Rivers. The Picunche of the region of the Maule River valley may have been a separate Butalmapu or an aillarehue allied with the Cauquenes aillarehue and aillarehue of the northern Moluche Butalmapu at the time of the Inca invasion of Chile and at the Battle of the Maule.

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