Lafkenmapu
/lafˈken maˈpu/noun
In Mapuche cosmology and geography, the western territory associated with the sea or ocean.
Did you know?Lafkenmapu is one of the four directional territories traditionally described within the Mapuche concept of Wallmapu, alongside Puelmapu, Pikunmapu, and Willimapu.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial Mapudungun
Mapudungun
lafken
“Sea, lake, or large body of water”
Precolonial Mapudungun
Mapudungun
mapu
“Land, territory, or country”
Precolonial Mapuche usage
Mapudungun
lafken mapu
“The sea-land or western territory”
Colonial and early modern records
Spanish descriptions
Lafquenmapu / Lafkenmapu
“The Mapuche territory toward the sea or west”
Modern English scholarship
English
Lafkenmapu
“A western region or sacred directional territory in Mapuche geography and cosmology”