The Pollera of Panama

The important fact is the originality and direction the dress developed in Panama, which made it distinct from typical dresses in other Latin countries with similar roots in Spain. It is known that the same seed can produce fruit of different flavor and quality according to the earth in which it falls and the conditions under which it grows. In Panama, time, various ethnic groups, geography, and climate combined to transform our dress into the attractive and pleasing pollera we see today.

How did the pollera come to be the dress it is today? At what moment did the dress of our Spanish or mestizo grandmothers change into this lovely dress of the tropics? The answer lies in the passage of time, which allowed a gradual evolution of the pollera into what we have today. It is fitting to propose several questions concerning the origin and evolution of the pollera. Did it appear in Old Panama, as some people think, or in Acla and Nata? These regions are not the centers for making polleras today. Was it truly the dress for the servant class? If so, by what process was it adopted as the regular dress of peasants in the rural towns of the central provinces and mountain regions? Provinces of Los Santos and Herrera jealously guard the pollera tradition, so much so that models from these provinces have been adopted by all regions of the Republic. Why should these regions be the guardians and not the towns in which the pollera supposedly originated? Year after year, the seamstresses of the central provinces have sent innumerable polleras to Panama City, Colon, Chiriqui, and all points of the Isthmus. One must see the satisfaction and pride the woman dressed in pollera, empollerada, displays as she affirms that her dress was made in one of these provinces, and her confidence in the knowledge that her pollera follows all aspects of tradition. Since Herrera and Los Santos Provinces have conserved other folklore elements descending from Spain, it could explain why the pollera has been so carefully preserved in these areas.

The dictionary defines "pollera" as a long, full skirt with many gathers. We commonly use "pollera" to mean any full skirt. As history and paintings clearly demonstrate, this style of skirt has been found in the women's dress of Europe since time immemorial. By the law of synthesis found among common people, the name for the skirt was applied gradually to the entire dress; there is nothing new, difficult, or novel about this process. None of the legends concerning the origin of the name "pollera" have any concrete base. All the suppositions and fantasies which pass freely from one person to another have no documented foundation. Furthermore, the dates given by some writers for the origin of the name, around 1900, are completely false; the name "pollera" was used for the typical dress in Panama as early as 1846.

Throughout the writings of a number of national investigators who have been interested in this theme, there are some early references to the pollera. These writers include Lady Matilde Obarrio de Mallet, whose writings were published in the Loteria magazine; Miss Nicolle Garay, who presented data in the book Tradiciones y Cantares de Panama written by D. Narciso Garay; Rodrigo Miro; Aurelio A. Dutary; Ruben D. Carles; D. Ernesto Morales; D. Roman B. Reyes; D. Samuel lewis; and poets such as Tomas Martin Feullet, Ana Isabel Illueca, and others-too many to enumerate. Among foreigners we have Armando Reclus, a Frenchman who came to explore the Isthmus and make early canal surveys for France.

Matilde Obarrio de Mallet affirmed that the pollera must have been worn in Old Panama. She did not offer any documents to substantiate her statement other than her own writings in which she delcared that her great-greandmothers had polleras. In addition to information concerning the pollera, Lady Mallet describes colonial life in Panama.

D. Samuel Lewis found a reference to the pollera in the Spanish newspaper Diario de Madrid, March 12 and 13, 1815. The article describes celebrations which occurred in Panama to commeorate the restoration of Fernando VII to the throne. He quotes, "The picture of the King was placed in an exquisitely decorated cart, which left from the courthouse on its way to Santa Ana, pulled by thirty women of the town richly dressed in polleras." If the statement is true, this is the oldest written reference to the pollera known to the present time. The article appeared in 1915, but the celebrations occurred in July, 1814, when D. Pedro de Olesarraga arrived on the Isthmus with the news of the restoration. The time of the celebration was seven years before Panama was to gain her independence from Spain in 1821. Already the pollera was known by the name we know it today and was the dress customarily used for festive occasions.

Armando Reclus, Director of the French Commission that made explorations throughout the Isthmus, described the pollera in almost complete detail. One must admire this French engineer who divided his time between scientific investigations, and a study of the customs which he found in his travels. Referring to celebrations commemorating Panama's independence from Spain, Reclus writes, "The colored ladies wear the pollera, a skirt gathered at the waist with large ruffles which are very full." Later, reviewing his experiences in the Darien, he adds, "the women wear the old dress of the criollas, that is, a white petticoat made of lightweight cotton, adorned with one or more ruffles on which are stamped brightly colored floral designs. Over the shorth sleeved blouse are three ruffles similar in appearance but so low that the upper chest and back are left practically nude. Their hair is parted down the middle, drawn to either side and braided if not too curly; but if the hair is extremely curly or wooly and cannot be braided, they divide the hair into ten sections and make little puffs of each one. Many of the women proudly wear large gold combs and earrings made in Choco area (Darien province), decorated with low cost pearls from the pearl fisheries of Panama, but the favorite arrangement is natural flowers in the hair. Frequently they wear a straw hat, similar in appearance to a man's hat; most of them do not wear shoes, reserving tiny green and pink slippers for fiestas." It would be difficult to find a better description of the pollera than this one difficult to find a better description of the pollera than this one presented by Reclus, who viewed his surroundings with sympathy and interest.

From the middle of the nineteenth century until the present, references to the pollera occur frequently. Designs made by artists around 1879 are still preserved, and their details coincide with descriptions of the dress written during that period. Two prints portraying a lady in pollera wearing a hat and shawl are included in N. Garay's book; the drawings were done by the author's father, D. Epifanio Garay. Another example occurs in the descriptions left by Armando Reclus

After reading the references left by writers interested in the pollera, it is possible to appreciate one important fact; every writer insisted that it was the dress of the lower classes. Lady Mallet described it as "the usual attire of the woman servants; it was especially the dress of the wet nurses who nursed the children of the family. The dress was generally white, almost without adornments. The cooks and wash ladies used colored skirts, usually purple, with a white blouse. . . It was a custom among some families to decorate the clothes of the domestic help with special types of handwork; some used an embroidery stitch, others a cross-stitch, and others applique."

If we pay special attention to the article in the Diario de Madrid referring to celebrations here in Panama mentioned by D. Samuel Lewis, we find it speaks of thirty women of the town richly dressed in polleras. It does not say the higher class, but the townspeople. Reclus also referred to the town: "the colored women wear the pollera" and "the women wear the old dress of the criollas." Who are the criollas for Reclus? The person born in America of Spanish descent? The native aristocracy? From the drawings he presents in his writings, the criolla appears to be neither Spanish nor the native aristocracy. The pollera was the dress of the common people, and here lies its strength, its continuity, and its permanence. As a creation of the common people, it reflected the vitality and spirit of that class, and extended into every city, town, and farm. From its humble beginning the pollera gradually was adopted by the women in the upper classes. Once accepting the pollera, this class adopted it as their own almost as if it had always been their traditional costume. Today the daughters of the aristocracy are just as proud to wear their polleras during days of fiestas as the women in rural areas.