Montañas sagradas de la Patagonia Meridional y Tierra del Fuego

The majestic peaks, granite towers, and expansive glaciers of the Southern Patagonian Andes hold profound symbolic and religious significance for indigenous groups, inspiring a rich tapestry of legends linking mountains to cultural heroes, shamans, petrified warriors, atmospheric forces, and mythical floods. Through extensive fieldwork—including treks to Torres del Paine, Chaltén Massif, and Cerro Torre, as well as glaciated landscapes like Perito Moreno and Viedma—alongside documentation of rock art in Cueva de las Manos and shell middens in Tierra del Fuego, the study reveals how canoeing and guanaco-hunting communities (Yamana, Onas, Tehuelche) have sustained and updated their sacred relationship with these landscapes. Combining ethnohistorical, ethnographic, and anthropological perspectives, the research underscores the mountains' central role in mythology, shamanic practices, and initiatory rites, offering a nuanced understanding of indigenous cosmology in Patagonia.

Ceruti, M. C. (2021). Montañas sagradas de la Patagonia Meridional y Tierra del Fuego. Revista Yachay, 38(74), 139–168. https://doi.org/10.35319/yachay.20217414