In the frame of activation-competence theories the spoken word recognition in mapudungu is studied using phonological priming as paradigm and lexical decision as experimental task in a condition in that the prime word (kuwu (hand) /kiwi shares the initial syllable with the target word (kume (good) /kime/). The results did not show the inhibitory effects that we expected as a consequence of syllabic overlapping. This could indicate the nonexistence of competition between phonological candidates. The data is discussed from both theorical and metodological assumption, the specifics characteristic of the mapuche language and its speaker.