Liliana Ancalao (b. 1961) is a member of the Mapuche-Tehuelche Nankulaven community in the Patagonian province of Chubut in southern Argentina. She is a leading Mapuche poet, and her academic investigations of Mapuche culture and indigenous musics are similarly acclaimed.
The kultrún is the quintessential Mapuche instrument. A drum of carved wood and animal hide, it is traditionally played by a machi, or Mapuche shaman, during rituals and celebrations.
Althou...