page_title: Hammock
section_title: El Salvador hammocks
hierarchical_section_title: Hammock / History / El Salvador hammocks
caption_attribution_description: English: Three Salvadoran synthetic-thread hammocks (hamacas) strung inside a living room in Morazán Department, El Salvador
context_page_description: A hammock is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two or more points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a woven network of twine or thin rope stretched with ropes between two firm anchor points such as trees or posts. Hammocks were developed by native inhabitants of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America for sleeping, as well as the English. Later, they were used aboard ships by sailors to enable comfort and maximize available space, and by explorers or soldiers travelling in wooded regions. Eventually, in the 1920s, parents throughout North America used fabric hammocks to contain babies just learning to crawl. Today they are popular around the world for relaxation; they are also used as a lightweight bed on camping trips. The hammock is often seen as a symbol of summer, leisure, relaxation and simple, easy living.
context_section_description: El Salvador is a large producer and exporter of hammocks. The valley in which San Salvador City sits is dubbed "The Valley of the Hammocks" because the Native Americans used hammocks to "repel" constant earthquakes. Later, the colonizing Spaniards used the term as an allusion to earthquakes constantly rocking the valley like a hammock. Hammocks are a big part of Salvadoran culture and are often used for afternoon naps. It is completely socially acceptable to lie in a hammock all day in this Central American country. Hammocks swing from doorways, inside living rooms, on porches, in outdoor courtyards, and from trees, in all social classes of Salvadoran homes from the most humble rural home to the most prestigious city hotel chains. In rural El Salvador, a family home may have multiple hammocks strung across the main room, for use as seating, as beds, or as sleep-swings for infants. The municipality of "Concepcion Quezaltepeque" celebrates its traditional Hammocks Festival, where artisans produce and sell hammocks, every year between the first and second weekend of November.
caption: Three Salvadoran synthetic-thread hammocks (hamacas) strung inside a living room in Morazán Department, El Salvador.
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