The Book Prize Index

Thunder Shaman: Making History with Mapuche Spirits in Chile and Patagonia

Ana Mariella Bacigalupo

As a “wild,” drumming thunder shaman, a warrior mounted on her spirit horse, Francisca Kolipi’s spirit traveled to other historical times and places, gaining the power and knowledge to conduct spiritual warfare against her community’s enemies, including forestry companies and settlers. As a “civilized” shaman, Francisca narrated the Mapuche people’s attachment to their local sacred landscapes, which are themselves imbued with shamanic power, and constructed nonlinear histories of intra- and interethnic relations that created a moral order in which Mapuche become history’s spiritual victors. Thunder Shaman represents an extraordinary collaboration between Francisca Kolipi and anthropologist Ana Mariella Bacigalupo, who became Kolipi’s “granddaughter,” trusted helper, and agent in a mission of historical (re)construction and myth-making.

Society & CultureSociety & Culture · medium confidenceSociety & Culture81 signalsLlm Classifier: Society & Culture -> Society & CultureKeyword Classifier: Religion -> ReligionTopic Classifier: Religion & Religious Movements -> ReligionReligion & Religious MovementsRegional & Local History

Award History

0 wins · 1 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
PROSE Award for Anthropology and Sociology2017Honorable mentionOfficial source
View all award history (1)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    • Francisca Kolipi90%

  2. 02 Central places

    • Chile85%
    Show lower-confidence suggestions

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • Patagonia65%

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.

    This suggestion did not meet the normal display threshold and is more likely to be wrong.

    Thunder Shaman argues that Mapuche sacred landscapes and shamanic narratives construct nonlinear histories that establish a moral order in which Mapuche emerge as history’s spiritual victors, shaping spiritual warfare against enemies.

    Model confidence 55%

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    70 / 100 academic

    Academic

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 78%.