The shyness and silence of the deer, a historical approximation to the Huemul in the chilean culture

Abstract

The huemul could be considered an absent presence throughout the history of Chile. It is represented in the national coat of arms, and, at the same time, it is mainly unknown by the inhabitants of Chile. It could be considered a mystery for Chilean cultural history. This essay starts with the question of: What has the huemul signify and represents in Chilean history? To answer this question, I explored a variety of moments in the social and cultural history of Chile: the appearance of the huemul as a national icon, the first graphic description of the animal by the French naturalist Claudio Gay, the relevance of the huemul in the works of Gabriela Mistral, and I finalize the study by analyzing the preservation and conservation policies about the animal, that were just promulgated in 2007. Through this study, it is possible to conclude that therelationship between the people of Chile and the animal is more immaterial and symbolic than physical and tangible. This consolidates a mythical ideal of the animal that, despite the cultural projects related to he huemul, means nothing more than a drawing on the national coat of arms for most of the population. 

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