Taino hammock: The history of hammocks– Kammok

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March 10, 2023
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The history of hammocks– Kammok

July 18, 2018

Hammocks have a long history of providing shelter and a place to rest, but how is that the case? Who made the first one, and how did they come to be? Well, it’s time to find some answers.

So where did hammocks come from anyway?

“Hammock” originated from a Taino culture Arwakan word meaning “fish net”. Traditional hammocks originated in Central America, and can be traced back nearly 1,000 years ago to the Mayan civilization.

Originally, hammocks were not designed for leisure, but instead served as protection. The suspended beds safely kept hammockers away from dangerous creatures and insects in warmer climates.

Christopher Columbus is credited with bringing hammocks to Europe after observing their widespread use among the Taino people of the Bahamas. During Spain’s colonial period, cotton and canvas were brought to the Americas and began to be incorporated into the hammock design we know today.

Source: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f92/hammock-for-our-little-sailor-138106.html

No sea-sickness here / Safe at sea

In the mid-16th century, hammocks were adopted as the primary on-deck sleeping choice by Spanish and English navies. These portable beds were used aboard ships for three centuries spanning from World War I, World War II, the Civil War, and the Vietnam War.

By the late 19th century, British prisons saved space and cut costs by replacing cots with hammocks. Meanwhile in the United States, hammocks were used as both as cheap, practical solutions for farmers, and a leisure item for wealthy families.

Well, what are you up to now? / A hammock for modern times

Today, hammocks are used in a variety of ways, especially with the invention of lightweight and portable hammock stands.

Hammocks are particularly trendy among millennials and are used as a way to engage in community. In 2016, the market research group NPD found that overall sales of the product had doubled since 2014. Why is this the case? According to Matt Powell, sports industry analyst at NPD, “millennials are looking for products they can share with their friends that they can turn into an experience….Hammocking is a way of hanging out with your pals—you don’t have to be in a deep forest, you can be in a backyard. It’s a relatively inexpensive way to spend an afternoon.”

Not only are hammocks being adopted by millennials, but companies and as well. Google, Hubspot, and Box Inc. are just a few companies that have incorporated hammocks in their offices as a place to work and/or nap.

Source: https://hammocktown.com/blogs/hammock-life/the-office-hammock-template

Lastly, hammock camping has become a popular alternative to tents, because of their lightweight and easy-to-use set-up. For more reasons why people are switching, here are 5.

Palette of the Bend

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The History Of The Hammock: What You Didn’t Know

Back in the day (waaaay back in the day) there was a tribe that centered itself around what is now Florida as well as the West Indies.

This tribe was called the Arawakan.

A subsection of this tribe that lived in Haiti was called the Taino people.

They used a word for fish nets that looked something like amaca.

They also used this netting technology to sleep in which was an early form of what is know today as a hammock.

When Spanish explorers met these people and saw their fish net style beds they interpreted the word a little differently than amaca and eventually turned it into hamaca and of course through time it became hammock.

For a deeper look into hammock history, read on.

The origin and history of hammocks

Even the most casual glance easily explains the enduring popularity of hammocks. Rewind far back enough in history and you won’t find smart phones or even automobiles, but what you will find pretty much everywhere you look are hammocks.

What is the origin of the weird word “hammock?” How did the modern hammock we know and love today evolve over the centuries? What, if anything, is different about today’s hammocks as opposed to early hammock designs?

Let’s find out!

Where does the word hammock come from?

The word “hammock” is generally thought to have been derived from the Taino Indians of Central America (now Puerto Rico), who used the word “hamaca” to describe nets made from rope fibers that hung between trees.

Confusingly, there is also another definition for the word “hammock” that actually has nothing at all to do with a hanging hammock! It means a fertile piece of land that is raised above the surrounding land – so a land hammock of sorts.

This word “hammock” is derived from the word “hummock,” which may have early American or English origins, although historians are not sure of its origins.

Interestingly, some anecdotal evidence suggests that the word hammock was one of the first words to become a part of common language shared by indigenous and immigrant peoples in Central America, pointing once again to the hammock’s potential for universal appeal.

A brief history of hammocks

The first known example of a hammock takes us all the way back to really ancient Greece. According to none other than National Geographic, the ancient Greeks had a habit of hosting extensive banquets called “symposia.”

At some point, the hanging bed became a regular fixture at these symposia. No one is quite sure why, but clearly the idea was a hit because it hung around (pun intended) for centuries thereafter and is still with us today.

However, it took literally centuries for the hammock we know and love today to show its face again. The next time the modern hammock appeared, it was approximately 1,000 years ago in Central America.

The Mayan culture adopted hammocks for their functional benefits rather than the simple joys of swinging between two trees.

Living in a tropical rainforest had its perks, but avoiding creepy crawlies with venom and stingers wasn’t one of them. Sleeping off the ground in a hammock kept the sleeper safely elevated from night-time activity on the forest floor. Sometimes they would even light fires underneath their hammocks as a source of heat and insect control!

In 1492, none other than Christopher Columbus snagged some hammocks during his explorations and brought them back to Spain with him. After another hundred years or so passed, the British Navy decided the hammock was a smarter choice to keep sailors in their beds while passing through rough waters. That tradition has continued into modern times.

The origin of hammocks today

Intriguingly, hammocks in modern times are mostly viewed as luxury items. In fact, in most cultures today, it is a near-universal sign of rest and relaxation to see a hammock casually suspended in midair.

But functional hammocks are also making their own surprising comeback. Recent articles highlighting the sleep benefits of hammocks over conventional beds are taking the hammock mainstream.

The respected scientific journal Cell recently reported that the rocking motion of sleeping in a hammock is the same basic rocking motion that occurs when a parent rocks a child to sleep.

The journal took a look at why rocking helps babies fall asleep faster and how inducing that same motion might help adults combat what has now become an international epidemic of sleep problems.

The rocking motion actually sends a message to the brain to transition from a waking to a resting state that more easily induces sleep. Rocking can also support deeper, more restful sleep according to results from EEG scans.

Changes in modern hammocks compared to early ones

The history of hammocks makes it very clear that hammocks have a lot to offer on a functional level and have changed a lot.

Modern hammocks have the following features, all of which have endeared the hammock to military, sailors, explorers, civilians and even astronauts!

Today’s hammocks are:

Lightweight and easy to carry.
Easy to deploy and take down.
Small and compact to store or carry when not in use.
Durable against humidity and harsh conditions over time.
Promotes air circulation and cooling when sleeping in very hot climates.
Can be insulating in winter.
Are readily paired with other protective aids like mosquito netting and rain guards.
Protects from ground vegetation, insects and animals.
May induce better sleep and deeper sleep.

Sidenote: Additional data is now suggesting that regularly sleeping in hammocks may alleviate back pain, which is one of the most common chronic pain conditions people report today.

The reason for this is because, once the sleeper is in an optimal position, the hammock will hold them there much more securely than a traditional bed might. Hammocks are also touted as being able to help the body unwind and stretch back out after yet another long day hunched over a laptop or smart phone.

Then, of course, the gentle rocking motion of the hammock is likely to help the sleeper transition into sleep more quickly and stay there for longer.

Perhaps there is also a subliminal “swaddling” effect not unlike the comfort swaddling provides to babies (and close-fitting anxiety vests do for the family dog).

The origin of hammocks suggests that the appeal of hanging, rocking seating or bedding transcends culture and time itself.

Today, many different types of hammocks exist, from cooling rope hammocks to insulating waterproofed hammocks, camping hammocks to military hammocks and even bedroom hammocks for singles and couples.

Learning more about the origin and history of hammocks can help you decide whether the documented benefits of relaxing or sleeping in hammocks may have something to offer you.

Did you find this interesting?

Read our quick history of the term ‘jackpot’ to see where it came from!

About the hammock and its benefits for humanity.

hammock loan from the French hamac, which goes back to Spanish. hamaca to Taino (Venezuela) hamac, Arawak. amaiḥa “hammock”

I was recently asked a question about equipment, and I came to the conclusion that the topic requires quite a lot of letters. So, I begin to state in order.

There is such a thing – a hammock. At one time, I came to the conclusion that this is the most useful thing for traveling in Southeast Asia and the tropics in general, that is, it is applicable in South America and Africa. Maybe this is my individual perception, but still I advise you to try. The question arises – where to get it? nine0005

But nowhere. I’ve been surfing the internet for a bit now and was surprised to find that there is no picture of the correct hammock at all. That is, even an illustration cannot be hung here. Trouble. Personally, I got a hammock in January 2007 on the Thai Rainbow. Someone sent him to the warehouse of unnecessary things. He was already badly worn, torn, without ropes. I appropriated it, found an ordinary nylon rope and attached it between the palm trees. I went out for tea, I returned: two non-slender people had already climbed into the hammock … Strange, but the frail-looking hammock survived. Then he was still torn several times, but is still usable. nine0005

How to make

Fabric needed. Durable. Very durable. It is thin and light at the same time. Grids are not rolled for many reasons. We are looking for some synthetics. From this fabric we compose a two-layer rectangle of a convenient size. My Thai hammock is about 100×220 cm. On the Internet, they sometimes offer a width of 140. Extra centimeters of width increase comfort, but make it heavier. 100 suits me. But 220 cm, with my height of 187, is not very satisfactory, and I would sew myself a length of 250.

So, a rectangle. Two-layer. God knows why it’s double layered. It’s more reliable, I guess. On the short side, we bend the edge by 4 centimeters and stitch it properly. There you need to skip the rope. When curtaining, the fabric will gather into an accordion and come out like this:

The place where the rope comes out should be reinforced with a sling or something very strong. This is the most critical place, all the load will fall here.

As a rope, I recommend a thick cord 3-4 meters long. On each side of the hammock. The total design will allow you to hang it on palm trees located 5-6 meters apart. An important nuance: there are only two ropes. There are tons of hammocks on the Internet, but they are all overloaded with ropes, and the ropes are attached through the eyelets, which I don’t really like. nine0005

The hammock can be hung with varying degrees of deflection. Tightly stretched (the deflection is almost absent), it is more comfortable for sleeping. But in this position, it is not easy to climb into it and hold on. You’ll get used to it over time though. Hang a hammock should be extremely horizontal, otherwise at night you will move in the wrong direction. Inside you can lay a sleeping bag – especially if there is a strong wind. A curtain with a large deflection is as comfortable as a chair: you can take all sorts of comfortable positions in it, swing, and so on.

Weight… about 200 grams. Or less. Now I compared it with a 100-gram pack of tea – I did not notice much difference. nine0005

Everything that is offered on the Internet and shops is not good . It is unrealistically expensive, overloaded with ropes, slats and other garbage.

What is useful

The hammock has two functions: you can sleep in it and just sit. On long trips, sometimes you get tired of sleeping and sitting on a plane, and a hammock brings a pleasant variety to life. A hammock can be hung in almost any forest, with any unevenness (dampness, pollution, insect infestation) of the soil. Useful, say, for Malaysia, where there are few flat places. Good for keeping ants away. It can be hung on a tree at any height: so in Pattaya I slept on the embankment in the crown of a tree about two meters above the heads of tourist crowds. In the jungle, you can climb higher into the crown of the forest and live the life of an orangutan there. When spending the night in a city park, it is less noticeable than a tent and can be quickly and efficiently rolled up. nine0005

The hammock does not replace the sleeping bag, but partly replaces the rug. At home, with appropriate hooks in the wall, it forms another sleeping place in case of crowds of guests.

Variations on a theme

An original idea, but it’s just for monkey life.

Esotericism

“To see an empty hammock in a dream means that entertainment is not available to you. Swinging or lying in a hammock means that you do not want to deal with serious people and their problems. Breaking a hammock means that you will be pleased surprised. Fall out of a hammock – get into trouble due to your own negligence, as well as the fact that you have emotional excitement, an exam. Seeing an unusually large hammock is a warning that you will not be able to satisfy your passion. ” :)))))))))) nine0019