Puelmapu
/ˌpwel.maˈpu/noun
A Mapuche term for the eastern lands of the traditional Mapuche territory, especially the region east of the Andes in present-day Argentina.
Did you know?Puelmapu forms part of the Mapuche spatial concept of Wallmapu, with Gulumapu referring broadly to the western lands on the Chilean side of the Andes.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial period
Mapudungun
puel
“East; the direction of sunrise”
Precolonial period
Mapudungun
mapu
“Land, territory, or country”
Precolonial period
Mapudungun
puel mapu
“Eastern land or territory”
Colonial period
Spanish records
Puelmapu
“A designation for Mapuche lands east of the Andes”
19th–20th centuries
Mapudungun/Spanish
Puelmapu
“The eastern sphere of Mapuche territory, particularly in present-day Argentina”
Modern English
English
Puelmapu
“A Mapuche geographical and political-cultural term for the eastern lands”