Product Description
TINKU HELMET – BOLIVIAN INDIGENOUS MAN’S FESTIVAL HEAD GEAR
Bolivia has the largest indigenous population in South America with an estimated 60% of her population claiming indigenous descent. La Paz, has the most prominent indigenous culture is the Aymara.
This mans hat from Bolivia, South America, looks great but smells horrible! It is because the hat is made from cow dung, straw and paper. These materials were mixed together and moulded into the helmet shape then left to dry, like paper mache.
The hat is covered with black felt, and strips of pink and brown leather are sewn in a pattern on the crown. Sequins, shiny paper circles and small bunches of pink and yellow wool are sewn onto the white nylon material at the brim. The final adornment is a plume of green, yellow and purple feathers flying out from a wire above the hat.
This hat comes from the Altiplano region in the west of the Bolivia. This is where one of the two Indian groups in Bolivia, the Aymara Indians, live. Aymara men wear hats daily, but for ordinary wear hats would not have feathers. With this hat, feathers may have been added for a special occasion. The low drop in the brim could be to shelter the head from the biting cold weather of the Andes or the design could be to protect the neck from evil spirits. According to Aymara legend, spirits can cut open the neck of a person and steal the soul, after which the person sickens, and dies. So the hat is protection from both natural and supernatural elements.