Picunche in the context of Mapudungun

Indigenous peoples in Chile or Native Chileans (Spanish: Chilenos nativos), are Chileans who have predominant or total Amerindian or Rapa Nui ancestry. According to the 2017 census, almost 2,185,792 people declare having Indigenous origins. Most Chileans are of partially Indigenous descent; however, Indigenous identification and its legal ramifications are typically reserved to those who self-identify with and are accepted within one or more Indigenous groups.

The Mapuche, with their traditional lands in south-central Chile, account for approximately 80% of the total Indigenous population. There are also small populations of Aymara, Quechua, Atacameño, Qulla (Kolla), Diaguita, Yahgan (Yámana), Rapa Nui and Kawésqar (Alacalufe) people in other parts of the country, as well as many other groups such as Caucahue, Chango, Picunche, Chono, Tehuelche, Cunco and Selkʼnam.

Promaucae, also spelled as Promaucas or Purumaucas (from Quechua purum awqa: wild enemy), were an Indigenous pre-Columbian Mapuche tribal group that lived in the present territory of Chile, south of the Maipo River basin of Santiago, Chile and the Itata River. Those to the north were called Quillotanes and Mapochoes by the Spanish colonists). They spoke Mapudungun, like the Moluche to the south, and were part of the Picunche tribe that lived north of the Itata River.

The Itata River flows in the Ñuble Region, southern Chile.

Until the Conquest of Chile, the Itata was the natural limit between the Mapuche, located to the south, and Picunche, to the north.The Itata River flows westward and reaches the Pacific Ocean approximately 60 kilometers north of Conception.

Lof (Spanish: levo and lov) or caví (Spanish: cahuín); formed the basic social organization of the Mapuche, Mapuche-Huilliche and the extinct Picunche peoples, consisting of a familial clan or lineage that recognizes the authority of a lonco (cacique). The lof or caví is formed by diverse families that share the same territory and who are considered mutually related, descended from a common ancestor. Several lof form a rehue, and nine rehue formed the aillarehue. These formed one of the 3 or 5 great territorial confederations of the Mapuches, the Butalmapu ("great earth").

The identity of lof was reinforced by the accomplishment of diverse community and festive activities. Lof habitually shared a unique rehue, or Machi's altar, in which the more significant religious ceremonies were performed. The vitality of the clan shone in the accomplishment of Lof kudau, a type of retributive communitarian work, followed by a celebration with a feast and drinking, similar to the mingaco of the Quechua. Lof kudau consisted usually of harvests, and other work that demanded large amounts of manpower, mainly in the fields of rich and prestigious personages of the lof: the ulmenes and loncos, who could afford to provide enough food and drink to those who worked.

Aillarehue or Ayllarehue (from the Mapudungun: ayllarewe/ayjarewe: "nine rehues"); a confederation of rehues or family-based units (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.