Panama hat

The Panama hat, in Spanish speaking countries also Jipijapa, is a hat that is woven by hand from fine Toquillastroh of disk flowers crop Carludovica palmata (also known as " Panama Hat Plant" ) and then its moisture, heat and pressure specific form receives.

Etymology

About the origin of the name, there are several theories.

A story for name creation is busy convincing and historically. Formerly were goods that were produced in South America without the involvement of US-based companies, not imported directly from the country of origin in the United States. Central collection and customs office for the USA import was alone Panama. So all wore these hats, from which country they originally came from, the customs stamp from Panama. They were called thus in the U.S. ado " has panama ". This term had then prevailed in several languages.

Production locations

The Panama hat is made since 1630 in the provinces of Manabi and Azuay in Ecuador, centers of manufactures are the cities of Montecristi and Jipijapa ( Manabí ) and Cuenca ( Azuay ). In Cuenca, the largest and most famous exporters are located. In addition, these hats are also manufactured in Mexico: since a priest in 1859 for the production of the necessary palm plant introduced here, lives in the city Bécal in the state of Campeche, a large part of the population from the lichen this special headgear. In Bécal there are about 2000 limestone caves, where there is the requisite humidity. On the Zócalo of the town is a large Panama hat monument.

Production

Much of the Panama hats is not woven in large factories, but in homework by independent Hutwebern. Often these cultivate even the toquilla plants themselves, to use their leaves. The stalks are briefly boiled in water and then hung up to dry. It is followed by a procedure similar to the kilning of malt, the straw over a fire, " toasted ", is being mixed with the sulfur. This is its characteristic bright color. After further drying, the leaves are manually torn into thin fibers. Here, the subsequent production quality of the hat is already established; The thinner the fiber, the higher the quality. The hat is now woven by the worker starts from the center to interweave several fibers together. Is the flat top part completed, the weaver changes to a typical Ecuadorian Hatter standing, bent forward posture in which he the blank on a block - stores which rests on a post - usually a large stone. On the blank is a further block - now made ​​of wood - placed on the Weber puts his chest to weave the now situated among themselves hat with side panel and brim on. At the end of this process is the hat "closed", in the most another Weber, the straw back binds at the end of the brim. To finish the blank protruding straw is cut now even.

The blank is smooth to protect and around the joints of the straw is now subjected to a special treatment, is then carefully hammered in sulfur powder into the tissue. After cleaning, the blank is then placed under moisture, heat and pressure in its proper form by first pulling it over a unit block, where it is pre-formed so as to press it thereafter in a second step over a more specific block in its final form. Often the hats are not completed on the spot, but after a series of operations, the blank is placed in a large factory or traditionally processed by a milliner and designed and shaped so only the actual hat.

Depending on the thickness of the fiber, the preparation be very tedious and time-consuming, so the finest Panama hats can cost several thousand dollars. Since the middlemen push the price to meet the demand for mass-produced justice, are often used in the traditional way with thatched other plants, because such a straw is braided ready after two days. However, he does not possess the good service properties.

Use

A good Panama hat can be in the country of origin curled easily transported in a bush without fibers are damaged or suffers form. With comparatively lower humidity, such as in Europe, the hat, however, can no longer roll, and he should not be compressed at the top, otherwise easily break the fibers.

Among the famous makers of the Panama hat were: Napoleon III, Ernest Hemingway, Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman, Erich Honecker, David Hilbert and Paul Newman..

Ataturk saw him as a symbol of modern man and had forbid the traditional Ottoman Fes.