Hammocks - 60 YEARS TO THE PRESENT

In the second half of the twentieth century, with the introduction of cotton yarn and nylon, which brings about the creation of new stitches to weave and color development as a fundamental element of the design of a hammock; with the change in the type of frame and the opening of the national and international market, the production process of the hammock is completely redefined.

            By not relying on the knowledge and management of the natural environment for the production of fibers and tools, one of the first changes is that, generally speaking, man ceases to participate in the development of the hammocks, remaining well as a predominantly female activity. She is the woman of the house who will decide, based on household economic conditions and availability of time, a hammock is made when and if it will have a commercial purpose or be for their own consumption.

            The ancient technique of contrived hammock with horizontal racks is abandoned, adopting a type of vertical frame that can be transported relatively easily from one room to another and who takes up less space in the house (see illustration and photography).

            With the introduction of cotton yarn or hemp, in addition to the diversification of colors, it gives way to the emergence of a variety of stitches or variations in the form of weaving. In the east were detected up to eleven of these, the most common, "biscotelas" called "raindrop", "dogs" and "nugget".

            As for the method of production of the raw material, money becomes the essential element to start the production cycle, thereby giving rise to a dependency of the poorest families to intermediaries that provide the thread that can not acquire for themselves.

At the upper end a piece of vile observed. The hand position is rotated indicated as sisal fiber to tender corchando

            However, following the recent history of Tixcacalcupul stresses the importance they played in the technical changes outlined both the action of institutions such as the Cultural Missions of the Ministry of Education who taught village women to weave with racks in position Vertical and hemp thread (1964), such as middlemen who created a permanent demand for hammocks for sale, thus helping to strengthen the development of this craft as a subsistence activity that is essential for many families in the village.

            Economic inequality that characterizes rural communities of Yucatan and was accentuated with the arrival of Hurricane Gilbert (1988) influences the different types of hammock that are made today.

            Some families, not having money to buy commercial yarn, resort to the strategy of dismembering the plastic bags in which they are sold fertilizer, rice or sugar and, through the old system corchado, obtain strips plastic thread with which hatched their hammocks. In the same case, lack of economic resources, are those who make their own instruments work using the old techniques. It should be noted that the hammocks that are made in these technical conditions are usually self-consumption.

            However, it has greater acceptance in the market nylon hammock results in other "hook" of low-income families. As already mentioned, this is that the broker provides the thread to weave, compromising the delivery of the product within certain time and a certain level of quality. Usually what the urdidor delivery is the "body" of the hammock, which is called maya wíinkal and the broker ends the piece by adding the "arms", or k'ab in Maya, and Maya eyelet whose name is yiich. This type of production is paid to the producer piecework, or delivered by piece.

            Thus, intermediaries are those who have control of the production process, they determine their demand rhythms and working times, set the price paid to labor and marketing hog.