Bowler Hats

They are everywhere. Worn by women of the Aymara and the Chechua. They are called Cholas in Bolivia but they are in reality Bowler hats first worn in Bolivia in the 1920's by English railway workers and copied ever since. Butch Cassidy even had one, although his would not have the significance of those worn by the power house indigenous women. These women are real commercialistas, stern to speak to and almost impossible to photograph. They are likely to break the camera with a glare and are best photographed cautiously from a distance, unless they invite you in.

These women work really hard. They can be seen for up to fifteen hours on the streets selling anything, from hand made textiles to biros, to beans. They gradually accumulate wealth. The bowler hats signify where they stand in their society. The tallest hat signifying the greatest wealth, the most powerful caste.

They are the redoubtable matriarchs of the family as this grandchild's obedient upward stare goes some way to demonstrating.

The positioning of the Chola on a woman's head indicates if a woman is married or single. Worn to the right the woman is unapproachable by men outside of her family. To the left and she can be courted. If an indigenous woman takes off her hat and hands it to a man, she is engaged.

Indigenous woman have been seen at the front of many a political parade standing down the army and the police. Consider the culture of  Pachamama, the most powerful deliver of life, abundance, rain, presented in female form, and understand the force these women have in Bolivian society. Not only are they through hours and decades of hard sales work, a real economic force, sporting lavish satin clothes and jewellery any Inca would be proud of, they are also revered.

Sometimes although commercially intrusive, approaching strangers in a darkened museum and asking for cash, they are simply abrasively and boldly sweet.