Researched by Ashley Sayers

This colorful band is designed to be worn on a straw hat that is traditionally worn by men in Zapotec culture, although today such straw hats and bands are also frequently sold to both male and female tourists to help prevent sunstroke. The hat band is very long, so that it might be wrapped around the hat twice, to adjust the fit of the hat and secure it to the head of the wearer. The colorful stripes are a traditional folk design that is woven in tapestry fashion, much the same way as did the weaver’s Zapotec ancestors in what is today Oaxaca, Mexico.