LALT-Iso_1
  • menu
Search
Close
  • English
  • Español
Featured Author: Elicura Chihuailaf

The Water of Life

  • by Elicura Chihuailaf
Waterfall, Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve, Neltume, Panguipulli, Chile. Photo: Luis Villasmil, Unsplash.

Itrofill mogen

May, ¿iney feyentulayafuy? 
pigeken: Ti Ko  fey ta  Mogen 
¿Welu chem kam ta ko  
        mvlenole Kvrvf?  
¿Welu chumkey ti Kvrvf 
       ka ti Ko mvlenole Mapu? 
¿Welu chumkey ta Mapu 
       mvlenole  ti Kvtral?  
¿Welu chumkey ta kvtral 
       mvlenole ta Antv?
¿Welu chumkey ta  Antv 
        mvlenole Kvyen ñi trufken?
¿Welu chumkey ta Kvyen
       mvlenole ta Ñikvf ñi vl?
¿Welu chumkey ti ñikvf  
        mvlenole chi Azkintun?  
¿Welu chumkey ta azkintun
       mvlenole  ta  Zugun?  
¿Welu chumkey ta Zugun  
        mvlenole ta Mogen ñi neyen?
¿Welu chi Itrofill ñi neyen  
        mvlenole Mogen tañi Ko?*

 

*Freneaen, eymi amulñifige tvfachi vlkantun: 
Ragintu ta chi  kileen chi mawiza mew
Chi  liwen mvlfen mew
Inaltu ta ti kiñeke witrunko mew
        lewfv, trayenko, lafken
Azkintulen chi fvtrake wampu konwe 
       antv mew ti fvtralafken mew
ka ti kvtran kvrvf chi antv mew…
Chi wente wigkul pun mew ka welun zugu
        ta rakizuam mew ta peyepeyemvn mew.   

 

 

The Water of Life
(Biodiversity, Reciprocity)

Yes, who can doubt it?
They tell me: Water is Life
But what does Water do
          without the Air?
But what can the Air
          and Water do without the Earth?
But what does the Earth do
          without the Fire?
But what does the Fire do
          without the Sun?
But what does the Sun do
          without the ashes of the Moon?
But what does the Moon do
          without the song of Silence?
But what does silence do
without Contemplation?
But what does Contemplation do
          without the Word?
But what does the Word do
          without the breath of Nature?
But what does Nature do
          without the Water of Life? *

 

* Please, do continue this poem:
In the middle of the last forests
In the early morning dew
On the shores of the dwindling rivers
          waterfalls, lakes
Looking at the boats on the horizon
          of the sea
and in the polluted air of the day …
On the nocturnal and most delirious
          summit of imagination.

Translated by Camila Yver

  • Elicura Chihuailaf

Photo: Gonzalo Donoso

Elicura Chihuailaf is a definitive voice of contemporary Mapuche poetry. He writes in both Mapuzugun and Spanish, and he has translated works by other poets, such as Pablo Neruda, into Mapuzugun. His published works include En el país de la memoria (1988), El invierno, su imagen y otros poemas azules (1991), and De sueños azules y contrasueños (1995), Recado confidencial a los chilenos (1999), Kallfv (2006), A orillas de un sueño azul (2010), La vida es una nube azul (2019), and El azul del tiempo que nos sueña (2020). In 2020, he was awarded the National Literature Prize of Chile, becoming the first Mapuche writer to receive this honor. He has been referred to as the lonko, or headman, of present-day Mapuche poetry.

  • Camila Yver

SHARE:

related posts

McDowell Style

by Carlos Fonseca
One short story by Honduran author Salvador Godoy—perhaps the most kafkaesque of all Central American writers—tells of a mysterious character whom no one has seen but whose presence permeates the…

New Versions of the Central American Crime Novel: Moronga by Horacio Castellanos Moya

by José Juan Colín

Lately the world of murder mysteries or crime novels has taken on new and varied forms of expression.  We do not propose to make a list of those paths since…

Hebe Uhart: Her Simple, Incredible Time in Ecuador

by Edwin Madrid

It was the first time that she had visited Ecuador. She called me but wrote again later: “I’m the Argentine writer, Hebe Uhart, I can’t hear you very well over…

LALT-LatinAmericanLiteratureToday-Black_1

University of Oklahoma
780 Van Vleet Oval
Kaufman Hall, Room 105
Norman, OK 73019-4037

  • Accessibility
  • Sustainability
  • HIPAA
  • OU Job Search
  • Policies
  • Legal Notices
  • Copyright
  • Resources & Offices
Updated 06/20/2022 16:00:00
  • email
MAGAZINE

Current Issue

Book Reviews

Back Issues

Author Index

Translator Index

PUBLISH IN LALT

Style Guide

Guidelines for Translators

GET INVOLVED

Student Opportunities

ABOUT

About LALT

LALT Team

Mission

Editorial Board

Subscribe
  • email

Subscriptions

Subscribe to our mailing list.

RELATED POSTS

The Tears of a Tongue

by Gina Saraceni

The Stateless Verse of Fabio Morábito

by Francisco José Cruz