Identidad y memoria histórica del tejueleo artesanal: un oficio maderero en riesgo de extinción en la región de Aysén

The exploitation and use of native wood has been a cultural invariance since remote times. The first settlers (pioneers) that arrived to the Aysén region found the abundance of wood to be the source for building their homes. During this process the use of the hand-split wooden shingle marks a unique architectural past that today is struggling to stay alive. The main objective of this work seeks to value and disseminate the different cultural elements that characterize the hand-split wooden shingle as a traditional wood handicraft of the native forests of the Aysén region. Oral interviews were carried out and photographs were taken of the hand-split wooden shingles making process in the forest, of ancient sites of shingle crafting, and of old and new constructions with these shingles. Hand-split wooden shingles originated during the first exploitations of the alerzales (Fitzroya cupressoides (Mol.) Johnston.) in the 17th and 18th centuries in the areas of Chiloé, Puerto Montt, Osorno and Valdivia. Hand-split wooden shingle crafting reached the Aysén region at the end of the 19th century and became part of the cultural identity of the individual and the community where this craft was practiced.