Arriero
An arriero, muleteer, or more informally a muleskinner[1] (Spanish: arriero; Portuguese: tropeiro;) is a person who transports goods using pack animals, especially mules.
Distribution and function
In South America, muleskinners transport
Names and etymology
The English word muleteer comes from the French muletier, from Old French, from mulet, diminutive of mul, mule. The term muleskinner means someone who can "skin", or outsmart, a mule.
The Spanish word arriero is derived from the verb arrear, which means to urge cattle or other stock to walk. The verb itself is derived from arre, which is the call used to cry out to animals for this purpose. In English, an arriero is one type of muleteer, a wrangler of pack animals.[citation needed]
The Catalan word traginer comes from the Latin word tragīnare, a variant of tragĕre which means "to transport".
Outfits
Typical muleteer outfits vary from country to country:
- Carriel: Leather bag traditionally made of nutria leather. It is used to carry personal goods and money. It has become an element of the Colombian fashion.
- plants and leather.
- Machete
- Poncho: Rectangular piece of fabric, usually white with linear embroidery, that is used to protect the face and neck from the cold weather.
- Ruana: Square wool garment, larger than the poncho, with a hole in the middle for the head. It covers the torso.
- Straw hat (sombrero aguadeño)
- Tapapinche: Leather apron.
In popular culture
The fictional
In
"
The 1964 Broadway musical Man of La Mancha features a band of muleteers as one of the primary antagonists.
See also
- Igualada Muleteer's Museum
- Teamsters drove animals pulling a wagon.
- Mule drivers of Metsovo
- Tropeiro (equivalent of arriero in Brazil)
References
- ^ "mule skinner | Define mule skinner at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
- ^ McCarthy, Cormack. The Crossing. pp. 24–25 (Book Index 5).