Pano d'Obra
- Handicraft
Rudimentary traditional garments appear in the history of mankind from the time nomad tribes began to settle and cultivate the land, that is, approximately 3000 years before our era.
And what do these traditional garments represent?
In addition to their main role, protection from the elements, they also serve to identify an individual according to the group to which he or she belongs.
Traditional garments also have a social role. In rural societies there were garments for working and there were Sunday garments that were worn on festive days.
The traditional garments of different peoples also vary according to the climate and depend on the materials available.
Nowadays with globalization, in industrialized countries and especially in urban environments there is a trend towards uniformity in the way people dress.
From the 16th Century onwards in Cape Verde, with the introduction of cotton farming also began the production of handcrafted cotton cloth.
Until the mid-twentieth century, especially in the interior of the island of Santiago and in the island of Fogo, traditional garments continued to be worn: a skirt made of dark cloth, an undershirt vest and a shirt, open at the front, with sleeves and folds. Women carried a pano d’obra with characteristic geometrical patterns fastened to their hip or shoulder.
The pano d’obra or pano obrado is the Capeverdian name for a cotton cloth made up of strips approximately 15 centimetres wide, called teadas, woven in small, rudimentary manual looms, with a pattern showing geometric motifs, usually in two colours, white and bluish indigo, that was manufactured in Cape Verde between the sixteenth century and the end of the nineteenth century.
These strips were sown together forming different sized cloths, used for women’s wear (pano de vestir), or blankets (pano di lambu or pano di bambu – wraps for carrying babies).
The name “pano de obra” stems from the difficulties involved in manufacturing these cloths. “Obrado” is a synonym for complicated, laborious.
The distinguishing feature of pano d’obra in relation to other types of cloths produced at that time on the African coastline is the wealth and complexity of the patterns and the flawlessness of the cloth.
Thanks to the quality of the cloth used and the complexity and originality of the motifs, panos d’obra had an influence on the market at that time, and were even used for barter (as a currency called barafula) in the trade with countries of the African coastline, bringing a degree of prosperity to the islands.
In the interior of the island of Santiago, a few weavers still produce the so-called pano di terra as a form of local artisanry.
Modern fashion designers and manufacturers have also brought further detail to the pano de obra.
Rudimentary traditional garments appear in the history of mankind from the time nomad tribes began to settle and cultivate the land, that is, approximately 3000 years before our era.
And what do these traditional garments represent?
In addition to their main role, protection from the elements, they also serve to identify an individual according to the group to which he or she belongs.
Traditional garments also have a social role. In rural societies there were garments for working and there were Sunday garments that were worn on festive days.
The traditional garments of different peoples also vary according to the climate and depend on the materials available.
Nowadays with globalization, in industrialized countries and especially in urban environments there is a trend towards uniformity in the way people dress.
From the 16th Century onwards in Cape Verde, with the introduction of cotton farming also began the production of handcrafted cotton cloth.
Until the mid-twentieth century, especially in the interior of the island of Santiago and in the island of Fogo, traditional garments continued to be worn: a skirt made of dark cloth, an undershirt vest and a shirt, open at the front, with sleeves and folds. Women carried a pano d’obra with characteristic geometrical patterns fastened to their hip or shoulder.
The pano d’obra or pano obrado is the Capeverdian name for a cotton cloth made up of strips approximately 15 centimetres wide, called teadas, woven in small, rudimentary manual looms, with a pattern showing geometric motifs, usually in two colours, white and bluish indigo, that was manufactured in Cape Verde between the sixteenth century and the end of the nineteenth century.
These strips were sown together forming different sized cloths, used for women’s wear (pano de vestir), or blankets (pano di lambu or pano di bambu – wraps for carrying babies).
The name “pano de obra” stems from the difficulties involved in manufacturing these cloths. “Obrado” is a synonym for complicated, laborious.
The distinguishing feature of pano d’obra in relation to other types of cloths produced at that time on the African coastline is the wealth and complexity of the patterns and the flawlessness of the cloth.
Thanks to the quality of the cloth used and the complexity and originality of the motifs, panos d’obra had an influence on the market at that time, and were even used for barter (as a currency called barafula) in the trade with countries of the African coastline, bringing a degree of prosperity to the islands.
In the interior of the island of Santiago, a few weavers still produce the so-called pano di terra as a form of local artisanry.
Modern fashion designers and manufacturers have also brought further detail to the pano de obra.
Armando Ferreira
