Ruana are not “Celtic”

[wanderingspark]

It frustrates me that people are appropriating the ruana rather than bringing back actual Celtic garments that were killed off by English colonialism like the Irish brat or the Scottish earasaid.

[Steph_here]

💛💛💛 I'm so happy you mentioned this. I still have my ruana from when I was a kid (I'm Venezuelan) and I'm so proud of it as a piece of culture. It's nice for ppl to know it's ours

[Bioarch]

Thank you! I would like to further add that it is from the Andean regions of Colombia and Venezuela, which tend to have cooler climates. I’m originally from Bogotá and the ruana is associated with it having indigenous roots.

[eazy]

Neat! Thanks for the tidbit! I’d imagine people get confused because it looks similar to a typical Northern European style cloak, and people just see checkered/plaid and just automatically assume “Celtic”

[MossCoveredBonez]

sold a few at a renfair, and for each costumer i had to give speech on how they arent celtic but are like you said middle-south america and by their basic design similar cloaks have popped up around the world across time and with plaid patterns are a good fit for a celtic-esque renfair costume. It was a mouthful. But i hope more people see this

[RychaardRyder]

I had no idea these even existed in the first place but now I really want one *pulls out my sewing machine*

[Wanderer_of_Sol]

I feel like I need to know more about this, I say as I wrap myself in the Ruana cloak I made last winter. The first one I made has become my goto computer chair blanket.

[elizathemermaid]

I appreciate these little facts you share with us!

[elisabethm]

Yep, not European at all - so not re-enactment worthy, but I wear them all the time because they are easy, elegant and oh so comfortable. Thanks for the update ❤

[velazquezarmouries]

That's why I call mine a square of cloth wit a slit

[eldricgrubbidge]

I mean the "big piece of cloth for when it gets cold" concept is pretty universal, and I think there might be a few historical European cloak and shawl designs that are vaguely ruanaish.

But why would you then call it a ruana?

That's like me calling black pudding "Celtic morcilla".

Or is it because woolen mills in Ireland are producing "Irish ruanas"? Well I bought some Argentinian boots a while back. They didn't hark back to special gaucho boot designs or anything. They were just boots that were made in Argentina.

[butternutsquash]

I can't remember the Welsh term for it but I bought a beautiful traditional Welsh wool wrap years ago. It's super cozy. Basically a square wool kerchief but heavier than typically seen in old illustrations.

[thebraxtonater]

I recently purchased an “Irish Ruana” from Ring of Kerry Crafts and had no idea until I saw this. I have also read that there are two different types of Ruanas that appeared during different times (granted that was from a Reddit comment and I’m not finding much on it other than the true origin not being clear)

[JohannRosario]

And the nice colorful clothes and hats Peruvians wear came from Spain.

[Lady_dromeda]

Would women have just worn shawls/ small blankets? I want to start making (and of course wearing) historical clothing and want to have some Scottish inspired elements (I have what seems to be half Scottish ancestry, and have been wanting to learn more about it but unless I take a dna test I wont actually know, and I don’t feel comfortable doing anything until I know for sure “how Scottish” I am. Mainly I want to know if my family had a clan tartan once upon a time, and if it is still available… someday I would like to be able to weave it, or a tartan that anyone could use if it doesn exist.) but I live in Canada and it gets cold and snowy so I want the proper garments

[coalcreekdefense]

The first time I saw mention of the Ruana, it was by a LARP and ren faire YouTuber whose name I won't mention because I don't want him to catch heat. He was speculating on what type of cloak might be best for a fantasy adventurer, and concluded that the Ruana probably has the best combination of features. He made every effort to stress that they were NOT authentic to any historical European setting, but you know how the Internet is...

[angelinabrown]

The spelling alone is a clue that it's not Celtic, yeesh.

[IneffabLeigh]

Huh, never heard of these! Interesting, looks like someone wanted to do an Earasaid but it was too complex rofl

[RowanWiccae]

I'm actually a little curious about the context of these questions and why one would think a garment of Indigenous American origin would be considered a Celtic garment instead. Just out of curiosity only.

[CelticAugur]

Pretty cool seeing as I’m Mexican/Irish