THE SMALL MAYA VILLAGE WHERE HAMMOCKS HAVE BEEN MADE SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL.

The art of weaving hammocks is believed to have been introduced to the Maya culture with the beginning of sea trade. Specifically, when this Mesoamerican civilization began to trade with the neighboring islands of the Antilles, where the use of hammocks was already widespread among the indigenous population. 

The Maya wove their hammocks from sisal fiber threads, which they also used to make bags, sacks and rugs. Some contemporary archaeologists speak of the existence of pottery depicting Maya dignitaries lying on something similar to a hammock.

By colonial times, the use of hammocks was so common that European travelers, adventurers, and explorers who visited the Yucatan Peninsula in the 18th and 19th centuries mention their everyday presence among all social classes.

It was back then that Maya cities in Yucatan, including Chumayel, Tixkokob and Teabo became the main manufacturing and export centers for hammocks. In these villages, weaving hammocks by hand remains an activity that has been passed down from generation to generation. It's in the latter, Teabo, that Amanttina hammocks are woven.

Teabo, 50 miles away from Merida, was inhabited by the Maya long before the arrival of the Spaniards. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the newly-arrived Europeans built convents and chapels that can still be visited today. At just a few miles' distance you'll find the vestiges of the legendarily mighty Maya city of Mayapan.

In the peaceful village of Teabo, home to only about six thousand people, the tradition of weaving hammocks, with cotton and nylon threads, lives on.  Each hammock is a celebration of the skill, creativity and dedication of Yucatecan artisans. Making a hammock takes approximately two months of several-hours-a-day’s work. It's a delicate process that has been perfected over centuries.

When you buy an Amanttina hammock made in Teabo, you're purchasing a unique piece that holds over five centuries of knowledge and 500 hours of individual work. Additionally, your purchase makes a difference in the quality of life of a family that deeply loves what they do, and who are paid fairly for their skill and effort.