Chaparreras or chaps () are a type of sturdy over-pants (overalls) or leggings that developed in Mexico from earlier Spanish equestrian and ranching traditions brought to America during the colonial era. Chaps are made of leather, without a seat, made up of two separate legs that are fastened to the waist with straps or belt. They are worn over trousers and were originally intended for protecting the rider from the rain and mud, and from tears and injuries. They were created to replace armas de agua (water shields) or simply armas (shields), a set of leather flaps that hung from the Mexican saddle to protect the rider's legs from the rain. The word "chaparreras" is believed to have come from either “chaparrón”, a cloudburst or sudden, heavy rain, or from “chaparros”, a Mexican colloquial name for brush and a type of shrub. Due to the difficult pronunciation, Americans shortened the word to Chaps, originally spelled and pronounced schaps or shaps. Chivarras, from chivo (goat), is the name for chaparreras made of goatskins tanned with the hair on.
There were other similar garments worn by Mexican riders, including botas huastecas, a set of wide leggings of pre-Hispanic origin used in the lowlands along the Gulf of Mexico, mitazas, leggings that were similar to Chaparreras but were not attached to the waist, only reaching up to the thigh, and the cuadrilera, a small apron that predates chaparreras, made of leather that only covered the hip and part of the thigh, that was used for roping.
In the modern world, they are worn for both practical work purposes and for exhibition or show use. Chaparreras or chaps have also been adopted for use on motorcycles, particularly by cruiser-style motorcycle riders.
Etymology The most accepted etymology of “chaparreras" is that it comes from "chaparros" a Mexican colloquial generic name for brush, and a specific type of shrub, chaparral (thick, thorny, low brush), from which it’s believed they were designed to protect the legs while riding on horseback. Another, equally plausible etymology is that it comes from chaparrón, which means cloudburst or downpour, a heavy rain, itself from the onomatopoeic chap which is the sound of rain hitting the ground. In most 19th century texts, chaparreras are described as trousers worn to protect the pants underneath from the rain and mud. Due to the difficult pronunciation, Americans shortened the word to Chaps, originally spelled and pronounced Shaps.Simpson, J.A., Weiner, E.S.C. (prepared by). Oxford English Dictionary, vol. III (Chan-creeky). Oxford:Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, 2nd Edition, 1989, 2000 reprint, pp. 24 and 28. (Vol. III only), (set) By 1884, the Dictionary of American Regional English notes use of the word in Wyoming, spelled "schaps".Cassidy, Frederic G., ed. Dictionary of American Regional English, vol. I. Cambridge/London:Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1985 (vol I) Chaparejos, misspelled by Americans as "chaparajos", is a blend of the words chaparreras and aparejo (rig or equipment for horseback riding).
History
The precise history of Chaparreras is uncertain. They appeared on the scene in Mexico between the late 1830s and early 1840s. The first mention of them that historians have been able to find is from 1843. Before this, no evidence of their existence has been found, as they were absent from writings and paintings from that time. Before the appearance of Chaparreras, the Mexican horsemen used a set of leather flaps called Armas or Armas de Agua that hung from the pommel of their saddles. These armas or “shields” were used to protect the riders pants and boots from the rain, hence their name “Armas de Agua” or “water shields”. Armas also have a recent history as no evidence of their existence prior to the 19th century has been found, neither in writings nor in paintings.
The first documented evidence of Chaparreras is in an 1843 article titled “Cartas Sobre México: Alameda y Bucareli” in the magazine “El Museo Mexicano” about life in the Mexico City promenade Alameda Central, although the writer doesn’t go into detail about them. It would be the following year 1844 in the article “Costumbres y Trajes Nacionales: Los Rancheros” about the life and customs of Mexican Rancheros, that readers would get a description. The writer, Don Domingo Revilla, states that Chaparreras are “in vogue everywhere” in Mexico implying that they were something recent and new. Revilla describes Chaparreras as “trousers with buttons on the sides and no seat” and goes on to say that they are “widely used in El Jaral and in Tierra-Adentro” referring to the great hacienda “El Jaral de Berrio” in Guanajuato and “Tierra-Adentro” or hinterland. One popular song from that time tells that people go to “El Jaral” to buy chaparrreras. El Jaral de Berrio, known for their fine leather production, might be a possible place of origin of Chaparreras.
The first Chaparreras were actually pants made out of leather with no seat and with buttons on the sides, as Revilla described, that was worn over the riders’ cloth or suede pants to protect them from the rain and mud. Don Carlos Rincón Gallardo states that those early Chaparreras were distinct from the most recent ones (20th century) in that they were never unbuttoned, so that, to put them on, the rider had to remove his shoes and place one leg into each pant-leg one at a time like any other pants. These first Chaparreras were in disuse in Mexico by the early 20th century being replaced by a new model that remains the standard today, two separate leather pant-legs that are united at the top by a strap or clasp that serves as a belt, with buttons or laces on the side that could be undone making it possible to wear them without having to take your boots off
One common assumption today is that chaparreras derived from Spanish zahones, a leather apron used by shepherds, hunters, workers and others, to protect the front of pants from tears, but no evidence has been found to support this. The hypothesis holds that chaparreras are zahones that had been highly modified to better suit the needs of Mexico’s horsemen; for example, they were made longer to cover the whole leg. But for Chaparreras to have been descended from zahones or be modified versions of them, zahones would have to have existed prior, but in Mexico, no mention of anything resembling zahones has been found in any text, document or painting, either from the 19th century or earlier, so their connection to chaparreras is unlikely.
And in all descriptions of chaparreras made by foreigners they never compared or linked them to zahones. In the accounts of Spanish travelers who described chaparreras, they never mentioned any similarity with zahones or inferred that they were derived from them and never indicated that it was a known garment in Spain; on the contrary, they always implied that chaparreras were something unknown or “exotic” to them. The Spanish writer and poet Juan Martínez Villergas who visited Mexico in the 1850s, found Chaparreras to be interesting or amusing, suggesting they were unknown to him as a Spaniard, and criticized the opulence, stating:
Likewise, the Spanish journalist and historian Niceto de Zamacois never mentioned Chaparreras as being derived from Spanish zahones nor did he claim they were similar to them when he described them to Spanish readers, implying that they were unknown in Spain, stating:
In addition to this, zahones are not and have never been trousers like chaparreras but rather aprons, known in Spanish as delantal or delantera, two pieces of leather or cloth that only protect the front of the thighs (femur) of each leg and are tied around the waist. Prior to the 20th century, zahones were shorter only covering the front of the thigh down to the knees. In all 19th century Spanish dictionaries, zahones are defined as either leather or cloth aprons or short opened breeches that are tied around the waist and behind each thigh covering the front down to the knees or never going beyond the calves. Zahones, of Arabic origin, are also older than chaparreras dating back to at least the 16th century and were originally gregüescos (zaragüelles), very distinct from the styles of the 19th and 20th centuries. Chaparreras, on the contrary, are not aprons but trousers that cover the entire leg, front and back, and were originally intended to protect the rider's pants from the rain and, unlike zahones, were introduced in the 19th century and have no known connection to gregüescos.
One possible origin of Chaparreras might be the pre-Hispanic “calzas” or leggings used by the indigenous people of Mexico. Leather leggings, called calzas by the Spanish, made out of deerskin or wild dog, were part of the traditional outfit of the Chichimecas of Central Mexico. Botas Huastecas, wide leather leggings or pants that were attached around the waist and were used by the herdsmen of Veracruz might also be a possible origin, as they were similar to and predated chaparreras. The name “Huastecas”, referring to the Huastec people and the peculiar way of manufacture by tanning deerskins with rotten brains and smoking them with burnt corncobs to generate a pungent smell to repel bugs and other critters, indicates an indigenous origin. “Mitazas”, a set of leggings similar to chaparreras but that were not attached at the waist, only reaching up and attaching to each thigh, are also credited to indigenous leggings.
There is also evidence in the United States that certain design features may derive from the mountain men, who copied them from the leggings worn by Native Americans.Blevins, Win. Dictionary of the American West. Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 2001 , pp.75-76 According to David Hackett Fischer (1989), the leather bottoms worn among frontiersmen had Scotch-Irish and Northern English predecessors, giving 18th century records of sheepskin leggings in Westmorland and gaiters known as "leather stockings" in Carlisle as evidence. Different styles developed to fit local climate, terrain and hazards. Designs were also modified for purely stylistic and decorative purposes. The time of actual appearance of the garment on American cowboys is uncertain. By the late 1870s, however, most Texas cowboys wore them as the cattle industry moved north.Rickey, Don Jr. $10 Horse, $40 Saddle: Cowboy Clothing, Arms, Tools and Horse Gear of the 1880s. The Old Army Press, 1976, LC no. 76-9411. pp.46-47
The first chaparreras were made out of cowhide and goatskin tanned with the hair on, the latter being the most sought after because the hair repels water better. These chaparreras made of goatskins are called chivarras, a portmanteau of chivo (goat) and chaparreras. The more expensive ones were made out of jaguar skin, bear and otter fur. Many were embossed with intricate designs and patterns and richly decorated with gold and silver buttons, brooches and buckles.
Armas
The Armas de Agua (Water Shields), Armas de Pelo (Hairy Shields), or simply Armas (Shields), are two large leather flaps, commonly goat, deer or calf skin, sometimes embossed, that are attached to and hung from the pommel, on both sides, of the Mexican saddles to cover and protect, from the rain, the Calzoneras (trousers), legs and feet of the Charro. When they are being used, they each are pulled over the legs and feet, and are tied behind the waist. When they are not, they remain hanging on each side of the saddle, just in front of the rider’s legs. When the Charro camped outside, they could be removed from the saddle and be used as a sleeping mat and blanket. Some of the more expensive kind were richly decorated, made of “tiger” (jaguar), puma, bear or otter fur. Armas, like most of the equipment of the Charro, arose in Central Mexico and later, through migration and necessity, they passed on to the rest of the country, to north and south.