Argentina In order to fully understand and appreciate the current magical climate in Argentina, we must first turn our attention towards two specific magical groups that have lived in Argentina since its inception, though the land was known by a different name then. The two peoples we will discuss today have many similarities and are excellent examples of how magic can and should be used to survive the harshest climates. Yet, despite their similarities, you'll find that they are also very unique.
The Yaghan
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Considered the world's southernmost indigenous group, the Yaghan made their way through the channels of Tierra del Fuego ("Land of Fire" in English) in the south of Patagonia over 10,000 years ago. Their journey was not easy and to this day, they are regarded as a culture and people that learned to survive some of the most extreme conditions on the planet. Though the origins of the Yaghan are unknown to many Muggle historians, magihistorians are fairly certain that they are indigenous to the southern parts of Argentina and Chile based on the discovery of places such as Bahia Wulaia, an area found on Navarino Island, on the Chilean side of the Beagle Channel consisting of rocky hills in which the Yaghan sought refuge from the bitter cold. How do a bunch of rock hills and small cave-like homes on a number of islands suggest any kind of magic use? It wasn't so much the location as it was the structures themselves. After studying the architecture of these homes, magihistorians and architects concluded such residences would not have been structurally sound enough to remain upright on their own and that hollowing out a rock formation of this composition and size with the tools available at the time would have been nearly impossible without magic. After consulting a number of charms experts, it is generally believed that an early version of the Tunneling Charm was used to hollow out the rocks and a collection of stabilizing and strengthening forms were used to ensure stability.
If that doesn't convince you, allow me to go a step farther. The Yaghan were naturalistic, in that they lived completely nude despite the frigid temperatures of Tierra del Fuego. To give you some background, the average temperature on land in the southern cone at that time was very cold and the water averaged a temperature of 8 degrees Celsius (48 ℉). What makes their lifestyle even more impressive is that the women would dive into the water to fish despite such temperatures. Water at that temperature combined with the cold blasting air would give any normal human hypothermia and likely kill them, but the Yaghan were ingenious in how they solved that problem. They did not only hunt fish, but also other large mammals for food and, in the true spirit of naturalists, believed in using every part of their kills. The animal blubber (or fat) was used to help them keep warm when diving and hunting outside. Many magihistorians believe that the Yaghan charmed the blubber with a variation of a warming charm before application. Through experiments done by charms experts, we believe the blubber insulated the warmth from the charm, which allowed the blubber to be warmer and more protective. In addition to their charmed animal blubber, it is thought that the Yaghan used the Bubble-Head Charm when hunting larger prey, which would allow them to stay underwater for extended periods of time.
