Under the framework of social semiotics, the article analyzes the symbolic motif of the small rhea or 'Patagonian ostrich' expressed in the choyke purun , a Mapuche dance representing the behaviors of this species, non-existent in Araucania. The mimetic performance shows the identification of the Mapuche with the motives of nature, but through a deterritorialized reference, alien to the context of enunciation. By analyzing various contextual chronotopes, we show the marks of transculturality in the evolution of this migrant symbolism, its movements, variants, transformations, and identity applications to express gender, lineage, or ethnicity, changing along with the context. The research method applied was the case study. The data show the antiquity, continuity, diversity, and increasing complexity of intercultural relationships engraved in the history of such a symbolic expression. Through both the linguistic and semiotic boundaries of the peoples of Patagonia, the choyke purun transits into modernity to settle down within the canon of Mapuche culture in neo-liberal Chilean society.