The thought that always comes to mind is, “this is what an 18th-century apothecary must have smelled like”. When new, the rebozo de luto has a powerful fragrance, a mix of florals and herbs, a slightly old-fashioned medical scent. Day of the Dead altar and four women wrapped in rebozo de lutos. Women close to the deceased could wear them, but it was only expected by first-degree relatives (wife, mother, daughter). Traditionally one would start wearing the mourning shawl shortly after the death of a loved one. Rebozo de luto with a name woven in, displayed at the Museo Hacienda la Pila. Though fringe is common and some modern shawls will have the loved one’s name woven into the piece. The rebozo de luto can be distinguished visually from its sisters by its dark colour and relative lack of adornment. These perfumed rebozos identified a woman as being in mourning and provided olfactory comfort to her through their fragrance. It was also not a universal garment as Mexico is diverse, and the scented mourning shawl has always been most popular in the Central Region. Unlike the everyday and fashion shawls, the rebozo de luto was only for periods of mourning. Above all, the rebozo is a garment deeply tied to Mexican femininity. One can project their national identity through the rebozo or the identity of a particular region or community.
They can serve as an individualistic fashion accessory or as a statement of culture. Rebozo de Plumo, (Feathered Rebozo) woven by Cecelia Bautista Caballero Yet, they can also be highly fashionable and made out of delicate fabrics with intricate beadwork, embroidery or feathers. It’s easy to think that these versatile garments are only for practical purposes. Rebozos woven in the Purepecha community of Ahuiran, Michoacan, Mexico. It seems there is nothing these shawls can’t do. With a few knots and twists, it can be used as a bag. Midwives in the UK have even adopted the age-old Mexican tradition of wrapping the post-delivery belly with a rebozo for support and compression. Many a babe-in-arms has also been swaddled or carried in one.
San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, A Tsotsil woman carries her baby in rebozo. This traditional shawl is deployed as a warming layer or to keep the sun off one’s skin. The rebozo is both a fashionable and functional garment worn chiefly by women in Mexico and Guatemala. Sadly, like many forms of traditional dress around the world, the mourning shawls of Mexico may one day become a thing of the past. More than the shawl itself, the scent impregnated in its fibres is what makes these items so incredibly memorable and comforting. These simple garments convey culture and identity as well as give physical space for grief and mourning. There are many ways people mark time when it comes to death, but one of the most elegant is the rebozo de luto or the perfumed mourning shawls. In honour of Día de Muertos this year, I wanted to discuss an area of aromatic mourning that is fairly unique to the Mexican tradition.
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