Paisa Carriel History
Genuine paisa carriel made by crafstmen from Jerico, Antioquia.
The carriel is a type of leather purse or wallet for men in the
Colombian Paisa region since colonial times . It is a distinctive garment of
the Antioquian gentlemen , totally exclusive of the paisas regions (something
like the Mexican hat is for Mexico or the gaúchos knives are in the south of
Brazil ). It was widely used for the survival of the muleteers , and one of its
characteristics is that it usually has numerous pockets and compartments, some
called "secrets".
The carriel was of quite popular use when Antioquia , ( Colombia ), was
a mainly agrarian region, but the process of national urbanization made the
carriel remain in a certain way relegated to the peasant use. However, over the
years, it acquired a strong sense of belonging, symbolic - cultural, in the
Paisa region of Colombia and in the Paisa historical identity .
Etymology
The carriel Antioqueño had its beginnings in Envigado and thus it was
taken and appropriated by Jericó and Amalfi.
The etymological origin of the word carriel is not clear . It can come
from several origins: from the French Cartier , which means bag hunter , or
also, by linguistic evolution, from the English expression Carry all (load
everything).
Another possibility is that the expression carriel had a Hebrew origin ,
that is, that it was a Hebraism . The ending "El" ( God ), is typical
in the Hebrew language , as happens for example with the names Rafa-El,
Gabri-El, Migu-El, etc.
Could then arise the Hebrew concepts of "load", Carr-I-El ,
"load or carry", or Guarn-I-El (guarniel), "save", the
latter word that is used interchangeably in Antioquia to refer to this garment.
Composition of carriel paisa
The appearance, the front, the lid, or the "facade" of the
carriel paisa that can be observed at first sight is made with unpeeled animal
skin. In a real carriel paisa are essential hair or skin hair, otherwise very
well combed, and the imitations of carriel lacking in hair do not make sense in
relation to the typical original Antioquia garment.
In the original Antioquia carrieles, the skin and fur of the facade used
to be of otter or tigrillo ; also, at some time, facades of lion ( puma ),
tiger and ( jaguar ) were used. However lately, for ecological reasons for the
preservation of wild animal species, the facades of the carriel are being made
with calf skin , which preserves the fundamental presentation of the garment
without the need to hunt wild fauna for the manufacture of the carriel.
The bag, or carriel proper, hangs from the left shoulder through a loop,
or strap, about four centimeters wide, made of thin leather and necessarily
covered with a distinctive patent leather. In the fine carrieles, the hanging
straps are adorned with ojaletes and metal plates, and with drawings made with
colored threads, usually green, yellow and red.
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