Brazilian Hammocks-Redes

Handmade hammocks Redes & Hammocks from Brazil

The hammock was of great importance in Brazilian society since the dawn of discovery and throughout the colonial era.

The Brazilian hammock is a legacy of Aboriginal (Indigenous) of South America and Brazil. Indigenous Native considered the hammock necessary accessory, as it was not just a utilitarian object, but also a feature of each race depending on the style and colors and a sign of social prestige depending on how large and elaborate was the hammock they had.

 During the colonial Brazil, hammock had been widely used in many ways not only for sleeping but also as a means of transportation, where the slaves were carrying settlers to city tours and excursions on them. It is remarkable that in many rural areas in Brazil, the dead were buried in a hammock, as a sign of respect, as it was too important a hammock to accompany the dead in the long journey to the other world, to the unknown.

 

With the arrival of the Portuguese conquerors, the hammock won their interest as a convenient bed for travel, and indigenous women adjusted their technique using not only new materials brought by the conquerors (to make the hammock with cotton), but also additional decorations such as fringes.
 

Today, hammocks are made in various shapes and materials but also from traditional yarn, woven on looms.

Today, all over Brazil, the hammock is still traditionally used for rest at homes, gardens and country houses but in northeastern Brazil there are still indigenous villages that have not exchanged it with bed.