The vueltiao hat is one of the greatest symbols of Colombian craftsmanship and of Colombia itself, being named in 2004 as Cultural Symbol of the Nation. This has its origin in indigenous culture Zenu located on the banks of the Sinú River In pre-Hispanic times, it was also known as the vueltiao zenú hat or the sinuano hat; This garment is much more common in the sheets of Cordova, Sucre and Bolivar.
This garment was used in pre-Hispanic times to protect from the sun during the cultivation of corn, it is also associated with the hierarchy and religious rites of the time; It is made from dried braids (black and khaki) taken from the arrow cane (a palm endemic to the tropical regions of America).
The parts that make up the vueltiao hat are:
The template, the elm, the cup or cup, the brim, the trim, a small strap can be used around the base of the cup and a chinstrap (usually a cord) is also used; Optionally, the owner's name can be woven on the inside edge of the brim. We are also going to find the pints, these are hand-woven figurines with black filaments in the crown of the hat which represent objects, animals, totems, religious objects typical of the Zenú culture and daily life; each of these pints are particular to a family or community.
(Read Also: Kuisi or Colombian Gaita)
The quality of the hat depends on the type of fiber used and the number of braids in it, depending on this the price can vary from fifty thousand pesos to one million six hundred; Currently there is the hat with 15 turns, 19 turns, 21 turns, 23 turns, 27 turns and 31 turns, the first being the cheapest and the last the most expensive. The quality of the highest returns is corroborated by the ability to fold to the size of a wrapped handkerchief and return to its original state without any imperfection; The complexity and importance of this hat is so great that there is a mathematical formula for calculating the number of braids and the hat.
Mathematical Formula for the Vueltiao Hat:
To determine the number of the braid, the spaces, rhombuses or feet between edge and edge of the braid are counted, which, as has been said, is always even, following the series of natural numbers starting from two (2), so that “n” be occupied by the values: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10… it can also be occupied by the odd ones: 7 and 9, to give the braids: 17 and 21… where n is the number of rhombuses in the through the braid and x is the number of pairs of fibers in the braid... reciprocally the values of the braid follow an arithmetic series whose first term is 7 and the ratio is 4, so that the series is as follows: 15, 19, 23″.
Thus: 2(0 + 1) + 1 = 3; 2(2 + 1) + 1 = 7; 2(4 + 1) + 1 = 11; 2(6 + 1) + 1 = 15; 2(8 + 1) + 1 = 19; 2(10 + 1) + 1 = 23.
This artisanal and cultural symbol in Colombia is one of the most important, so much so that it is celebrated annually in Sampués the Fair and the National Reign of the Vueltiao Hat and in the municipality of San Andrés de Sotavento is carried out Vueltiao Hat Festival; In the 1981 film, On Golden Pond, Katharine Hepburn wears the vueltiao hat, Miguel “El Happy” Lora He wore it when he was crowned world bantamweight boxing champion on August 9, 1985. Pope John Paul II also used it, as did President Bill Clinton of the United States; Likewise, it has been used by the highest spheres of national entertainment and used as clothing for typical dances of the Colombian Caribbean.
