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 backstrap "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.
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.
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, "cenzotl," from a phrase that means "cloth of a thousand colors."
The origin of the rebozo is not known, but the garment probably had its beginnings in the very early colonial period. The first mention and description of the garment in written records was 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.
The rebozo's origin was most likely among the lower, mestizo classes in the early colonial period, being most prominent among them first. The most traditional rebozos show coloring and designs from the colonial period, and mestizo women, unable to afford Spanish finery, probably wore them to distinguish themselves from indigenous women. In 1625, Thomas Gage noted that blacks and mixed race people in Mexico wore wide strips of clothes on their head instead of the Spanish mantilla. In the colonial period how it was worn distinguished married women from single. Married women wore it loose covering the top of the head down over the back. Single women would wrap it tighter, allowing more of the back to be seen. These garments were initially made of cotton but, by later in the colonial period, they were also made of wool and silk. Their use eventually spread into indigenous communities, among which they became an integral part of many women's attire and culture. For example, an Otomi woman used to dip a point of her rebozo into water to indicate that she was thinking of her betrothed or husband. One important use for the garment in colonial times to the 19th century was for women to cover their heads in church. After its initial development in Mexico, the rebozo spread south into Central America, and even as far as Ecuador.
The rebozo was in common use among the middle and lower classes by the 18th century, with the kind of fibre used to weave it distinguishing the two. The garment was in common use among women by the 18th century. At that time the Count of Revillagigedo noted that it was worn by all women, except nuns and those of the uppermost classes. The two most common fibres were cotton and the more expensive cotton/silk or silk. Sizes and designs varied, but those made with the ikat dyeing technique became dominant. In some parts of Mexico, a woman was given a rebozo by a man instead of a ring as a way to propose marriage. The finest rebozos included ornate embroidery including silver and gold thread. One fashion of that century was to embroider country scenes.
In 1886, a synthetic silk called rayon was created in France. The use of this cheaper thread made decorative rebozos more affordable. The rebozo's use as an identifying marker of Mexican identity began at this time as well, with even the Empress Carlota wearing it on various formal occasions, especially while at her country home in Cuernavaca. By the end of the 19th century, the garment had become indispensable and its making an important handcraft.
Its symbolic function continued into the Mexican Revolution, during which it was associated with rebel women called "Adelitas," who wrapped both babies and weapons inside rebozos as they passed federal checkpoints. During this time, the rebozo was also often used as a shroud for the dead. Much of the world's familiarity with the rebozo comes from later cinematic depictions of Adelitas, but it also accentuated the garment's use with indigenous women, poverty and low socioeconomic station.
Today, the rebozo can be found in all parts of Mexico, and just about all women in the country own at least one, regardless of socioeconomic class. In many villages, women are still dressed as infants in them, grow up with them, get married with them, and are buried in them. The rebozo is still commonly worn in church by rural women. During the 20th century, the rebozo came to be seen as a sign both of modesty/tradition and of revolution, including in some communities in the United States. For women of the Chicano movement, it represented the "complete woman" as both feminine and strong, ready to fight for "the Cause." Prominent people who have prominently worn rebozos include María Félix, Frida Kahlo, Lila Downs and model Luly Jáuregui, as well as former Mexican First Lady Margarita Zavala, who was noted for wearing the garment at state functions. The rebozo has appeared in popular culture and media as well as literature. During the Golden Age of Mexican cinema the garment appeared in many movies, including one named El Rebozo de Soledad (Soledad's Rebozo). A de bolita patterned rebozo is mentioned in one of Francisco Gabilondo Soler’s famous children's songs. The character of la India María, played by renowned female comedian María Elena Velasco, is very much characterized by her rebozo.