Serape

The sarape or jorongo is a long blanket-like shawl, often brightly colored and fringed at the ends, worn in Mexico, especially by men. The spelling of the word sarape [1] (or infrequently, zarape[2]) is the accepted form in Mexico and in other Spanish-speaking countries. The term sarape is for the rectangular woven blanket (no openings), though in more recent years it can also be used to refer to a very soft rectangular blanket with an opening in the middle for one's head, similar to a poncho called gabán, or jorongo in Mexico. Modern variations of some serapes are made with matching hoods for head covering. The length varies, but front and back normally reach knee height on an average person.

This article is about the Mexican shawl. For the ancient Egyptian gods, see Serapis.
A Navajo serape from the mid 19th century.
Classic Saltillo Serape, circa 1825
Traditional serapes are worn like a shawl or cloak. Its alteration into a poncho-like clothing item is more recent.

Available in various colors and design patterns, the typical colors of serapes from the highland regions are two-tone combinations of black, grey, brown, or tan depending on the natural color of the sheep flocks grown in the area, with large design patterns utilizing traditional indigenous motifs. On the other hand, the traditional serape as made in the Mexican state of Coahuila in north-eastern Mexico near the city of Saltillo often consists of a dark base color with bands of yellow, orange, red, blue, green, purple or other bright colors. The ends are usually fringed.

History

The sarape is thought to have its forebears in garments worn in the region near Chiautempan and Contla, Tlaxcala. During the Colonial period, it was taken to northern New Spain where it was adapted to the climate and the motifs changed. The city of Saltillo is strongly linked to the development of the sarape, although it was widespread throughout the area then known as Nueva Vizcaya.

Guatemalan serape

The serape is not a typical garment for the Maya highland people, who wear different clothing in cold regions. The serape is more of an imitation of the Mexican serape with a Maya twist, and their production is specifically for sales to foreigners or city dwellers who feel attracted to the garment. The sale of sarapes goes through a broker process, where the Maya families, who depend mostly upon agricultural work, manufacture small quantities for additional income. The brokers display the sarapes at a higher price on local markets or the sides of highland roads in improvised huts. The brokers are typically Maya. The appeal of the sarape may consist in the fact that these are woven by Maya families, normally women, in their traditional house looms, giving the sarape a "handmade" look.

gollark: That seems like not determinism as much as some bizarre philosophical thing about truth.
gollark: What?
gollark: <@!221827050892296192> The Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 is from 2006.
gollark: I probably already have by using my RTL-SDR to look at pager messages. It turns out there are a lot of them here.
gollark: Weirdly, in the UK it's illegal to "[use] wireless telegraphy apparatus with intent to obtain information as to the contents, sender or addressee of a message (whether sent by means of wireless telegraphy or not) of which neither he nor a person on whose behalf he is acting is an intended recipient" because of the "Wireless Telegraphy Act", presumably even if someone is broadcasting stuff completely unencrypted.

See also

References

Notes

  1. Real Academia Española
  2. "zarape | Definición de zarape en español de Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | Español. Retrieved 2019-05-01.

Bibliography

  • Conkling, Alfred Ronald (2009). Appleton's Guide to Mexico. Richardson. ISBN 1-115-58237-2.
  • "sarape". Diccionario de la Lengua Española (22nd ed.). Real Academia Española. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  • Media related to sarape at Wikimedia Commons


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.