- Ritual
- Katan Pilun
- Region and community
- チリ・アラウカニア地方／マプチェ
- Age at the cultural rite
- Variable or not confirmed in the source
- Transition conditions
- Community initiation / New social responsibilities
- Legal age of majority
- Chile18 yearsChile · Calendar unspecified · Law and supporting sources
About the rite
Katan Pilun is a Mapuche life-stage ceremony in Chile in which a girl’s ears are pierced and fitted with earrings known as chaway. Family members and community elders gather to teach her about Mapuche women’s clothing, responsibilities and cultural belonging. Public accounts describe prayers and words of guidance, followed by the presentation of the earrings as the community recognizes her movement beyond childhood.
A ceremony held in the Pangue community of the Araucanía Region was shown in a 2024 video report. A Mapuche community source also describes the practice as a family occasion celebrating a girl’s maturity and spiritual growth.
Related rites
