The Mexican Rebozo – more than just a shall

A rebozo is a long flat garment, very similar to a shawl, worn mostly by women in Mexico. It can be worn in various ways, usually folded or wrapped around the head and/or upper body to shade from the sun, provide warmth and as an accessory to an outfit. It is also used to carry babies and large bundles, especially among indigenous women.

 The origin of the garment is unclear, but Indigenous women of Mesoamerica were the primary weavers of the first rebozos, often crafted with body-tensioned or back-strap “otate” looms. Spaniards used it in religious situations to conceal the bare bodies of indigenous women. Rebozos were quickly influenced by the fringed shawls of the Philippines and Spanish mantillas as a result of colonization. Traditional versions of the garment show indigenous, European and Asian influences.

Traditional rebozos are handwoven from cotton, wool, silk and rayon in various lengths but all have some kind of pattern (usually from the ikat method of dyeing) and have fringe, which can be fingerwoven into complicated designs. The garment is considered to be part of Mexican identity. It has been prominently worn by women such as Frida Kahlo, actress María Félix and former Mexican first lady Margarita Zavala and still popular in rural areas of the country. However, its use has diminished in urban areas

Description and use of garment

A rebozo is a long straight piece of cloth which looks like a cross between a scarf and a shawl. Like ponchos, huipils and sarapes they are classic Mexican garments made of straight, mostly uncut cloth, but rebozos have their own characteristics. It is classically a woman’s garment, traditionally hand woven, distinguished by complicated fingerwoven fringes called rapacejos.

The wearing of the rebozo is said to make the movement of a woman more graceful.The wearing of a rebozo by many women is a sign of Mexican heritage, and for that reason, sales of the garment can double before Mexican Independence Day on September 16. Because of the nature of the garment, especially the fringes, they should be hand washed. The dye may or may not be colorfast so mild soap should be used.

Silk rebozo from Santa María del Río, SLP on a mannequin at the Feria de Rebozo in Tenancingo, State of Mexico

While all rebozos are rectangular woven cloth with fringes, there is significant variation within these constraints. There are three classes of rebozos. Traditional ones have a design created with the ikat dyeing technique and come in various set patterns. Regional rebozos are more colorful and their origins can be identified, especially those from Oaxaca, Chiapas and Guerrero. Contemporary rebozos experiment with non-traditional fibres and designs. Sizes vary with lengths anywhere from 1.5 to about 3.5 meters long.

Most Mexican rebozos are made from cotton, wool, silk or rayon.The type of fibre used is the main factor in determining a price of a piece which can vary from a couple hundred pesos to thousands of pesos, with fine pure silk pieces being the most expensive. The finest silk rebozos can be passed through a wedding ring.

Young street vendor carrying baby in a rebozo in the city of Oaxaca

Rebozo colors and patterns vary widely and traditional designs can usually identify where it was made.For example, a tightly woven black and indigo version is identified with the mountain areas of the state of Michoacán. Designs are generally classified as “classic” and “indigenous.” Classic rebozos come in various colors with designs based on the prehispanic art of plumaría, or creating images with feathers. Some of these have their fringes knotted to form images of animals and stares. However, almost all are created with the ikat technique. The most famous classic rebozo style is called “de bolitas” whose name comes from little knots of string tied onto groups of threads used in its production. Among indigenous groups designs and colors almost always indicate with group the woman belongs.While most rebozos use more than one color, monochrome versions are called “chalinas.”

Rebozos have two main functions, that of a garment and that as a carrying aid. As a garment, it can be an indispensable part of the wardrobe of many mestizo and indigenous women, especially those who live in rural areas.As a shawl, it can provide warmth (especially the thicker and wool ones), worn on the head to block the sun as well as for modesty, especially in church.For city and upper-class women who use them, they can be worn inside the home but are most often used as an accessory to an outfit, especially on certain occasions.As a carrying aid, it can be tied around the head or shoulders most often to carry small children and large bundles, mostly commonly among indigenous women.The rebozo has even figured into Mexican traditional medicine. It has been used as a tourniquet, as support for a woman in later pregnancy, as an aid to a woman in labor, supporting her allowing for rhythmic movements and positioning with aim of making childbirth easier. It can also be used to alleviate headaches by tying it tightly around the head. Other uses for the rebozo have been in indigenous traditional dances and even as a shroud.One modern and innovative way to wear it has been to twist it around the upper body and fastened to make a kind of blouse or top.

History

The name comes from Spanish, from the verb that means to cover or envelope oneself. However, there have been indigenous names for it as well, such as “ciua nequealtlapacholoni” in colonial-era Nahuatl, which means “that which touches a woman or something like her,” “mini-mahua” among the Otomi and in the Nahuatl of Hueyapan, Morelos, it is called “cenzotl” from a phrase that means “cloth of a thousand colors.

The origin of the rebozo is not known, but probably had its beginnings in the very early colonial period.The first mention and description of the garment in written records is in 1572 by Friar Diego Duran, according to research done by Ruth D. Lechuga.The rebozo itself shows various influences, which probably come from the various cultures that had contact at that time.

There are various indigenous garments that share physical characteristics with the rebozo. They include the ayate, a rough cloth of maguey fibre used to carry cargo, the mamatl, which is a cotton cloth also used to carry objects and which often had a decorative border, and the tilma (used for carrying and as a garment), a cloth best known from the one Juan Diego wore and which bears the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.There are chronicles that say that la Malinche carried a cloth called a “Manta del sol” or “Sun Cloth”, which was not just used to protect from the sun but also to denote status as decoration.However, prehispanic clothing and other cloths did not have woven fringes.The main European influence is most likely the Spanish mantilla, although a southern Spanish garment called a rebociño (introduced to the area by the Moors) may have also played a part. Later influences came from the Filipino alampay (Spanish pañuelo) at the start of trade from the Manila galleons. The 19th century mantón de Manila, also based on the alampay, was also influential in the development of the characteristic fringes.