The Manabi dress consists of a cot or light shirt, cloth trousers, straw hat, and palm of mocora, in the man.
The woman wore long, loose skirts, long-sleeved poles, adorned with arambeles and fringes or lace. Long braided hair, adorned with showy ribbons and flowers.
Manaba is an Ecuadorian province located in north-central Ecuador, on the coast of the country. The capital is Portoviejo.
Its border to the north is with the province of Esmeraldas, the west with the Pacific Ocean, the east with the province of Santo Domingo de Tsáchilas and Los Ríos, and the south with the province of Santa Elena and the one of Guayas.
Origin of the dress Manabí
Manabi dress comes from the montubia culture. This identity arises from the colony.
It is a product of the mixture of the native societies of the coast and mountain. They mixed with black slaves, Spaniards (Andalusians in their majority), Creoles and mestizos of the time.
Currently, there are 1,200 montubite communities registered in the Ministry of Social Inclusion of Ecuador and n the provinces of Guayas, Manaba, Los Ríos and El Oro.
It is the largest ethnic minority group in the country, above Afro-Ecuadorians and indigenous peoples.
Manabí clothing and its characteristics
The montubia manabi's dress reflected her state of mind. Their dress is very colorful and with striking combinations.
The montubio recreates in its dress to its natural surroundings. In the case of the woman, it represents the peacock when it extends its feathers.
Hence the breadth and viscosity of his skirt. The blouses were called polka. They had a box in the front, and they had rings and lace.
Married women wore more discreet colored clothes and were more covered. The unmarried girls wore more striking colors and were more uncovered.
The hairstyle was also different, in everyday life the woman wore two braids and at parties added more colorful bows and adorned it with flowers.
The Manabí culture today
With the passage of time, the montubia manabí culture has been lost. Clothing is only worn at parties and holidays.
The abandonment of agriculture caused the peasants to migrate to the cities in search of welfare, assuming new customs and new ways of dressing.
The consequence was the natal uprooting. In this way, the children who were born in the city, do not know their past Manabi, which leads to the loss of much of their culture.
Among the main manifestations that are preserved of the montubia culture is the"amorfino", oral heritage of the town.
They are improvised popular songs by two musicians. Alternately, quatrains of verses with rhyme are created. In them the political or social events are commented, or to court the ladies.
One of the icons of the Montubio people is the rodeo. The montubio man is an excellent rider, and rodeo with animals is his sport par excellence.
The dress of man has to do with being a rider; button-down cotton shirt and sturdy fabric trousers. To mount it he rolled up to the top of the ankle, and used spurs.
References
- "The dress of the montubia woman reflected joy"in Culture & Society (August 2016). Recovered in September 2017 from El Diario EC in: thediario.ec
- "Manabi typical costumes"in Soy Manaba at heart. Recovered in September 2017 from Soy Manaba from heart in: sites.google.com
- "The dance of the Iguana, tradition manabita of the colonial time"in Regional Manabí (October 2014). Recovered in September 2017 from El Telégrafo in: eltelegrafo.com.ec
- "Montubios: one of the most representative towns of the Ecuadorian coast"in Metro. Recovered in September 2017 from Metro: The
- "Montubios, a vital group in Ecuador"in Cinema and TV (October 2014). Recovered in September 2017 from The Universe in: theuniverso.com.