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About Mayan Hammocks
Handmade in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico
*For
more photos of weaving, please click here*
Why Mayans do it better...
Maya Hamaklari specializes only in Mayan style hammocks from the
Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
All of our hammocks are hand made by local artisans.
To make one standard size hammock, it can take one person a few weeks to complete it. Because of the Mayan hammock's popularity and growing demand, entire villages across the state of Yucatan dedicate their lives and their childrens lives to making the hammocks. It is a family business and a way of life that is passed on from generation to generation.
The hammock dates back many centuries and has long been a part of Mayan culture. When the Spaniards introduced cotton to Mexico, the Mayan Indians started to use cotton to make their hammocks. They discovered the comfort it brought them. Today, cotton is still used to make the hammocks, but nylon is used as well. The nylon is man made and is easy to work with. The triple weave technique is unique to the Mayan Indians.
History Note
The Hammock originally gained its name, as it was first made from the bark of a Hamak tree roughly a thousand years ago in South America / Caribbean. The Hamak bark was replaced by fibres of the Sisal plant as its more abundant. The first hammocks were brought to Europe by Columbus in around 1500.
Today in North America and Europe, most people now, unfortunately associate a "hammock" with the coarse rope-and-stick version seen in movies and TV and most expect to fall out, be hurt and embarrassed.
There is no comparison between the coarse rope and stick version and the Mayan hammock.
Other varieties of hammocks include:
The American style hammock with cotton strings woven in a cross weave pattern (varies in the number of strings used) also sometimes using two spreader bars. Variations also include fabric cloth to replace the woven string type. The American style hammock and it�s variations are the most inexpensive and equally provides the least amount of comfort for a hammock. Firstly, the weave pattern of this hammock is only two strings intertwined. This does not give ideal support for the body. The more string used, the more web-like therefore more support is distributed evenly across the hammock. Given the two spreader bars, this also reduces the flexibility while you are reclining in the hammock. This is the hammock with the known-reputation for flipping.
The Nicaraguan & Brazilian style hammocks are very similiar in form to the Mayan hammock. The main difference being that instead of a weave technique throughout the body of the hammock; with a Brazilian hammock there is only a rectangular shaped cloth woven to multiple nylon ropes, then fastened together at end loops. This one large piece of cloth traps heat inside. For this reason, Mayan hammocks become the ideal hammock, as most use occurs during warm summer months, unless the hammock is used indoors.
There are numerous other types of hammocks available, here we have listed the main well known types. Various materials can be used for fabric hammocks, such as parachute silk, weather resistant nylon, etc.
When you try a true Mayan woven "hamaca", you will be amazed at its comfort, security and stability and be satisified you have made the best choice.
The hammock is a part of life for the Mayan people: they are born in them, they sleep in them, they conceive in them, and they die in them. The Mayan hammock, which is considered a beautiful work of art in developed countries, is the everyday companion of the Mayan and is a primary form of bedding in the homes of the YucatanPeninsula today.
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