Ranquel Chief Lemudeu (1883), wearing his traditional Pampa poncho.
The poncho is a garment that serves many purposes. It can be used as a blanket, shawl, cushion, riding gear, and to protect from water and cold. Perhaps for that reason, the poncho has had a long life in indigenous and peasant societies. It is difficult to know since when it has existed and where it originated. But this simple garment, merely a rectangle with a hole in the centre to put the head through and let the cloth fall to the sides, protects the back and chest of the wearer.
Beautiful painting by the artist Aldo Chiappe
Southern ponchos of indigenous roots are generally called pampas. In many of them, each of their parts symbolically shows the attributes of their owner, according to the codes proper to each indigenous group. One of the emblematic pampa ponchos in the Museum is the one that belonged to Lucio V. Mansilla and was given as a gift by Ranquel chief Mariano Rosas.
Ranquel Chief Lemudeu ca. 1868
Brief description and history of the Ranquel poncho
The Ranquel poncho is a traditional garment of an indigenous group that inhabits central Argentina.
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Traditionally it was woven by women and considered a garment of prestige and authority. Chiefs used to give their ponchos as a symbol of generosity and to seal agreements.
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In 1870, Commander Lucio V. Mansilla received as a gift the pampa poncho of Chief Mariano Rosas, woven by his wife. Mansilla recounts this event in his book An Excursion to the Ranquel Indians.
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Ranquel ponchos bear designs representing tribal identity. They were made with fibres of camelids such as the guanaco.
The poncho is an ancestral garment that transcends time and borders. It was and is used by many pre-Columbian ancestral cultures.
Poncho of Ranquel Chief Mariano Rosas, given to Lucio V. Mansilla in 1870
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