You will never be a Weye

Overview

You Will Never Be a Weye is a video performance by Chilean artistə Seba Calfuqueo inspired by the ancestral culture of the Machis Weyes, which, despite its vital role, was historically concealed after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores on Chilean soil, and not accepted by the imported models of society, religion and patriarchy, despite his vital role for Mapuche people. Archival documents on Machis Weyes culture are almost completely non-existent, yet they are reported in the 1673 book El Cautiverio Feliz by the Spanish writer Francisco Ñúñez de Pineda y Bascuñán. In this book, he states referring to a Machi Weye: “He resembled Lucifer in features, size and costume. He wore no underwear because he was of those called hueyes”.