The ruana, a Colombian peasant symbol that has dressed great personalities

The ruana is a kind of thick wool coat very common in the Andes of the Cundiboyacense Altiplano, which unites the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá, in central Colombia.

Miguel Carrillo, a farmer and artisan from Cucunubá, a town located some 80 kilometers north of Bogotá, explained to the voice of america how is the process of elaboration of this pre-Columbian garment that serves as a coat, blanket, pillow and even as a wall decoration.

“It begins with the shearing of the sheep,” Carrillo told the VOAwho added that after this process, “the wool is washed and cleaned very well to eliminate all society.”

“We separate the fibers, then we are going to start turning the drum, we make sixteen turns and there we cut, I have to repeat this process five times to obtain some 816 threads that we take to the loom to make a single ruana,” he told the VOA Carrillo, about this process of making the ruana.

For example, in the town of Nobsa, in the Andean department of Boyacá, the inhabitants celebrate World Ruana Day every year, a kind of carnival that seeks to make this ancestral garment visible.

There are different versions of its origin, the most common being that it is a garment of the Muisca civilization, which in their language the word ruana means “land of blankets”. Other versions suggest that it is a fusion between the Spanish capes and the poncho of the Muiscas, and finally, the least replicated story says that its name comes from the fabrics that the Spanish introduced from the city of Rouen in France.

Diversity of colors and garment

The ruana can be found in a wide diversity of colors; however, the characteristic colors are white, brown, gray and black. Although it can also be found in different varieties of colors according to the taste and fashion of the buyers.

“The entire process of the ruanas is done by hand, the spinning, the twisting, the degreasing of the wool and the way in which it is designed, warped and passed to the loom for its elaboration”

Regarding the measure, he says to the VOA Carrillo that depends on the size of the person, generally its traditional measurement is 100 to 120 centimeters wide, with a length that can vary between 140 and 160 centimeters.

“For example, we are going to cut these ones about 100 cm wide because we have an order with those measurements and we are going to leave them about 145 centimeters long so that they are ready to be delivered,” Carrillo said.

The prices of a ruana, like the ones Don Miguel makes, can be between 57, 68 and 90 dollars, it all depends on the color and size.

The importance of the ruana in the tradition

Cundiboyacenses peasants use the ruana in their grazing tasks, to protect themselves from the low Andean temperatures, although it has also become a multifaceted garment that is marketed in different parts of the world such as Spain, Italy and the United States.

“I have been working in the manufacture of ruanas for fifty years, all my life in this. Since we were children, we already knew what we were going to do because our parents taught us the whole process, ”she told the VOA Cheek.

An authentic ruana, says Carrillo, is made of “100% sheep’s wool” and a “national symbol” that represents all social classes.

And it is not for less, in Colombia throughout the region it can be seen in children and adults, since they can be found everywhere. Some have even been used to dress princes, kings, popes, celebrities, athletes and well-known politicians who have been received with this traditional Colombian poncho on their visits to the Andean country.

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