ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a partial structural functional interpretation of shamanism and sorcery in the context of the reservation and the ritual congregation. A consideration of why almost all contemporary shamans are women seems to demand an historical answer, since the present condition is usually described in relative terms in which it is said that some significant shift from male-associated to female-associated shamanism has taken place. The chapter considers aspects of this historical "problem" solely with regard to the interpretation of the facts as reported in the literature. Mapuche achieve some measure of integration by picturing themselves prey to out-group sorceres, whether the point of reference be the lineage, the residential kingroup, the reservation, the ritual congregation, or total Mapuche society. A determination of the function of sorcery in Mapuche society must consider the groups and individuals involved and also whether sorcery is directed toward murder or serious illness or merely toward gaining advantages of a lesser nature over a person.
