Variants Name of Poncho

A poncho is a simple garment designed to keep the body warm, or if made from an impermeable material, to keep dry during rain. It is essentially a single large sheet of fabric with an opening for the head and sometimes for the arms. Some ponchos, especially those made toward off rain, also have hood attached.

Alternative ponchos are now designed as fashion accessories, they are the same shape but of different material. They are designed to look fashionable and be loose and comfortable, rather than ward off cold and rain. These are often made out of wool or yarn, knitted or crocheted.

While a traditional clothing in the whole world it is nowadays a standard in military field uniforms, and as a raincoat for wandering and biking. Traditional and more local names and variants are:

- Poncho, most of Latin America, Spain and worldwide.

- Chamanto, only in central Chile, poncho in the north and south.

- Jorongo or Sarape, Mexico.

- Kotze or “Wetterfleck” in Austria, Switzerland and Bavaria, a dark green or brown clothing for hunting.

- Paenula, in ancient Rome; some kind of cape or jacket.

- Kasel or Pluviale, Roman Catholic Church clothing.

- Pelerine, Redingote and Cape; a weather jacket without arms.

- Poncho Chilote, a heavy poncho made of wool.

- Gurgle, in the Middle Ages; short, sometimes with hood.

- In the cold regions of Colombia there’s a clothing similar to a poncho called the Ruana.

Military Equipment

In the infantry of Australia and the UK, a poncho is a shelter half that may also serve as a raincoat or as an individual shelter. In operations in which ponchos are used, one is carried by each person, and when combined with another forms a two-person tent.

(This entry is from Wikipedia)

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Poncho

Meaning :

1. a blanket-like cloak with a hole in the center for the head.
2. a multi purpose rectangle of rubberized canvas with a hole in the middle so that the head can be inserted. It was used to fend off rain, as a tent or to carry bodies, among many other uses.
3. a similar garment having a hood used as a raincoat.

Poncho, from Mapudungun, this word originated in Chile. In the southern regions of Chile live a people, the Mapuche, who managed to avoid Spanish conquest and have held on to their culture and language under the independent Chilean government as well. The Mapuche learn military tactics from the Spanish so that they could fend them off, the Spanish learned from the Mapuche to fend off the rain with an ingenious garment they called a poncho.

To make a poncho, the Mapuche take a watertight wool blanket and make a slit in it so it can be worn as a cloak. It was discussed in English as early as 1717: “The Spaniards have taken up the use of the Chony, or poncho....to ride in. because the poncho keeps out the rain.” As that remark indicates, it is through Spanish that poncho came to English.

The Mapuche invention is used by soldiers, campers, and other outdoors people the world around. Now sometimes equipped with a hood, it serves not only as a cloak but also as a pillow and blanket. When it isn’t needed for protection against the elements, a wool poncho makes a fine wall decoration.

Mapudungun or Araucano is spoken by 400,000 people in Chile today and 40,000 more in Argentina. It is in a language family by itself. The Mapudungun language has also given us to the Coypu (1793), an otter-like rodent also known as the nutria (a Spanish word). Valued for its fur, the coypu has been imported into North America along with its name, where it has escaped from fur farms and become a pest.

(This entry is from Wikipedia)

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