This post is dedicated to our hammock inspiration and artisanal partners, the Wayúu people.

Mostly known for their colorful crafts,  they are one of the only native groups in Colombia to have fended off the Spaniard conquistadors.

 The next time you are relaxing in one of our beautiful hammocks, ponder one of these ten cool facts about Colombia’s most infamous indigenous tribe.

They fiercely protected their culture and won!

 When Spanish explorers threatened to upend their way of life, the Wayúu  people fought back using firearms and horses they got from English and Dutch smugglers to fight for their land, their freedom, and their rights.

 Eventually, the conquistadores retreated, and the Wayúu gained the right to say that they are one of the only indigenous tribes to not be conquered by Spain in Colombia.

That resilient spirit is still alive today as the Wayúu tribe continues to maintain their traditional way of life through agriculture and selling their world-class artisanal crafts.

They Still Live The Way They Did Hundreds of Years Ago

 Members of the tribes might drive around in SUV’s to transport goods, but don’t be fooled!  

The Wayúu are all about preserving their culture, and one of the ways they do that is by choosing to live in the same hut houses their ancestors called home.

 Western standards and perspectives influence us to equate these simple dwellings with poverty, but for the Wayúu,  it’s a show of strength and conviction of who they are as a people.

They Are A Self-Governing Society

 Years after battling Spaniards, the Wayúu people have retained control of their destiny by resisting government interference, opting to create their own laws and ways of governing their communities.

It is said that in the past, their trade visits to neighboring island, Curasco were regarded as state visits.

 Today the tribe crosses the border between Colombia and Venezuela without passports, and continues to run their communities their way.

The Wayúu Women Are Held In High Esteem

 The Wayúu people have a matrilineal society, which means that trace their roots through their mother’s side of the family.

In fact, when women get married, the groom presents the bride’s family with money and irreplaceable, antique gold necklaces that have passed down for years. The bride goes to her new home with a new blanket, and of course, a hammock that was made by her family.

 Wayúu women also play a major role in the preservation of culture and tradition through performing various rituals and many have leadership roles in the community, including Neris Uriana who is the first female leader for the tribe.

The Hammocks Aren’t Just For Decoration

 While our beautiful chinchorros are a wonderful addition to your home decor (and the perfect place to pamper yourself with a mid-day siesta!) for the Wayúu tribe the hammocks aren’t just art.

 Their chinchorros are their only sleeping space and one of their most prized possessions.

They Share Their Culture Through Entrepreneurship

 In addition to making some of the beautiful hammocks we feature on our site, the Wayúu have also honed their entrepreneurial spirit to build business ventures around other crafts, fish, gold, and some contact with tourists including The Festival of Wayúu Culture which takes place every May in Uribia, a municipality that is considered “the indigenous capital of Colombia.

They Have Special Rituals For Mourning Their Loved Ones

 When someone in the Wayúu community passes on, the women stop creating crafts for at least a month to honor the dead.

They travel to be with family and friends in neighboring regions where they hook their best hammock up in an enramada, a dwelling for visitors and meetings. It’s said that the hammocks displayed during this time are considered the best examples of the family’s talent and traditions.

They Keep Their Communities Together

Despite living in a world that places an emphasis on the individual, the members of the Wayúu tribe maintain a close connection to their community by supporting each other through life’s trials and the challenges of learning new ways to build a sustainable future together through preserving their rituals.

Their Hammocks Are With Them From The Beginning To The End

 The beautiful chinchorros seem to play a part in every stage of life,  when Wayúu women give birth, they welcome the newest member of the tribe to the world in their hammock.

Also  when a member of the tribe dies, the person is buried in the clan’s cemetery with a hammock.

You Can Visit The Wayúu!

 You might not be able to visit tribe’s land, but if you want to visit with and learn more about the spirited Wayúu tribe, you can travel to Northern Colombia to the town of Riohacha, where they sell more of their crafts at a market.

And of course, we’re happy to support your quest to own one of their beautiful hammocks. Check out the styles that we carry.

HAMMOCKS FROM SAN JACINTO, BOLIVAR DEPARMENT

San Jacinto is a municipality of Bolivar Department in Northern Colombia.

The municipality of San Jacinto has made ​​its name as a craft centre where people specialize in knitting.

It is known as the “first craft center on the Atlantic Coast,” above all, women and girls specialize in weaving colourful hammocks, handbags and pillows, amongst other products on a vertical loom.

Girls inherit the craft at the age of 12, as a result, some of them follow the path of their artisan mother and grandmother.

Weaving is a way of life for them, and is a symbol of cultural wealth and tradition.

Your investment in a hammock from San Jancinto provides economic stability and sustains the way of life that has been present for generations, in addition you will relax, love, and cherish your authentic handwoven hammock from San Jacinto.

MACRAME HAMMOCKS FROM COLOMBIA

Somewhere in the warm and dusty outskirts of Corozal, Colombia, some of the best macrame hammocks in the world are produced.

We traveled through many areas in our country, Colombia, and discovered beautiful little towns, where proud crafters were happy to collaborate with us and create new pieces that combined craft and design.

This area is also called “the cultural loom of the savannas of eastern Colombia”. Known for its peacefulness and easygoing personality, the inhabitants from the region enjoy a warm climate and a clean and calm seaboard which is the main pillar of their identity.

This macramé hammocks are 100% handmade and produced with a great deal of detail, in this region waving is a deeply embedded cultural point of pride.

The stunning craftmanship of the artisans that kept this art alive for generations was propably born with the Zenú or Sinú, an Amerindian tribe in Colombia, whose ancestral territory comprises the valleys of the Sinu and San Jorge rivers as well as the coast of the Caribbean around the Gulf of Morrosquillo.

It is very likely that the Zenú tecniques mixed and evolved through the centuries as many different visitors brought new ideas and stories that ended up in new products, creations and traditions. Today, different families and areas produce pieces that crafters can identify.

Every step in the macrame hammocks production is done by hand on a vertical loom, from the washing of the cotton to spinning, dyeing, and weaving. The meticulous formula goes from yarn to hammock in 3 weeks.

Attention and details is paramount – which ensures your hammock will last a lifetime.

These pieces of art are dedicated to consumers who increasingly value history, authenticity and the non-industrialized labor force, preserving the tender loving care on each piece and a meaningful emotional connection.

Are you a hammock passionate? get something meaningful and timeless, the best macrame hammocks, and many other hammock styles are in our store.

La Guajira is a department in Northern Colombia bordering Venezuela, with a population of about 900,000. It accounts for the majority of the La Guajira Peninsula in the northeast region of Colombia on the Caribbean Sea.

The first settler known to have placed foot on La Guajira was Juan de la Cosa, a Spanish navigator and cartographer, in 1499. During the colonial area, the department was a tangled mess of dispute amongst various groups such as English pirates, Frenchman, and Germans.

The first settlement was a small town on the Caribbean coast called Riohacha, now the capital city of La Guajira. In 1964, the Department of La Guajira was established, amongst a majestic panoramic of the Caribbean Sea is the spectacular Peninsula of La Guajira, where the indigenous Wayuu people reside.

Northern Colombia is an isolated region divided by serene blue waters, where the streets are decorated with the stunning colors of Wayuu handcrafts: the famous Wayuu chinchorros (hammock) and Mochila bags. It is an area with its own unique combination of reality, fantasy, serenity, and hardship. The land, the water, the people, and the animals create one of the most different and stunning regions you will explore in the Caribbean.

The Wayuu People, Their Lifestyle and Handicrafts

The Wayuu Chinchorro

The Wayuu (Wah-You) people is a Native American ethnic group in La Guajira, although they do not like to be called “natives”. The Wayuu people are a talented group of artisans who weave magnificent pieces of art that illustrate unique stories. Unfortunately, the Wayuu people do not receive much financial assistance from the government. Therefore, the people of the Wayuu tribes rely on the sales of their handicrafts in order to provide for their families.

Traditional Wayuu settlements (rancherias) consist of five to six small houses (piichi or miichi), which are made of wooden posts and frame, with mud and clay walls. Inside these houses, hammocks (or chinchorros) are suspended for sleeping and for storing personal belongings. To the Wayuu people, their hammocks are the most valued possessions.

Life is busy for the Wayuu people. They split their time between farming, caring for children, and weaving. From a young age, Wayuu girls are taught by their mothers and grandmothers how to make handwoven products such as hammocks and mochilas (bags). For the girls, learning to perfect the art of weaving authentic Wayuu items is their education.

The Wayuu Mochila

The chinchorro is the centerpiece of every room in a Wayuu household. An artist will devote up to eight months to hand-weave a hammock one strand at a time on a vertical loom. The skirts and tassels of the hammock is a spectacular show of intricate patterns designed with a crochet technique. Furthermore, a Wayuu hammock tells a unique story through its patterns and colors.

Wayuu people cherish their hammocks. The pride and value they place on this long-standing Wayuu cultural artefact show through their beautifully handwoven products.

Our hammocks are meticulously handcrafted by Wayuu indigenous women with the paletiado technique (using a loom). The bottom section (the skirt) is threaded with a crochet technique. One hammock takes up to eight months to produce. Browse our chinchorros and see it for yourself.

Women are not the only artisans of handwoven products. The Wayuu men craft belts, bracelets, and strap for the mochilas, while the women make the mochilas and chinchorros. The men also use a weaving process for the straps, and combine the colors of the mochila in the straps.

Slow down, reconnect with your possesions and bring in the pleasure of buying a well-made timeless design.

We are dedicated to producing everything locally and responsibly by people who love what they do, as well as commiting on high quality standars.

There is no sewing machine involved in the production of our hammocks, yarn gets delivered to our crafters homes (mostly single mothers) where they produce our pieces, not having to choose between work or caring for their children.

Looms are handmade of untreated wood sticks and have been there for generations, they carry on long tradition of multigenerational crafters along the Caribbean cost in Colombia, they have a special place in a crafters home where she/he works under a thatched roof that keeps the temperature down to work comfortably.

Hammock fringes are made in croche or macramé technique, they are produced in between convesations with family, neighbours or friends at the house patio or porch, that is right, no clock or production chief only performing a well made craft, no matter how long it takes.

Young girls learn by watching and helping on small tasks first, with the years some become skilled craters themselves, but only age and experience bring the craft to the superior level and true expertise that grandmothers aquire, they never retire as the craft keeps them alive and gives them an important position in society.

No source of energy besides the crafter own hands are used, the most traditional tecniques are kept alive while experienced artists guarantee great craftsmanship standars.

Colombian Hammocks and particulary Wayuu Chinchorros are a meaningful symbol of our indigenous heritage, they are a valuable statement that stands proud in Wayuu enramadas but also in the most affluent homes of luxury craft connoisseurs.