Panamanian
Tembleques
Hair ornaments called tembleques are an
important part of Panamanian traditional
dress. They are called tembleques, which
means trembling or shaking, because they
are made of very delicate, flexible materials
that shake when the wearer makes any sort
of movement while dancing or walking.
In former times, a woman in a long, full-
skirted dress used natural flowers to adorn
her hair, such as a carnation over the ear,
under the brim of the hat, or small white
jasmines.
The descriptions of tembleques we have in-
dicate that the first artifical ones used by
women were made with fish scales; these
are the most traditional type.
Message from Evelyn and Cecilia De Sasso: Remember that each
design is inspired by the beautiful flora and fauna of Panama.
Bun-cover models
Peacock
Small flowers and ear-cover models
Jasmine
Evelyn Cassano Tel: 585-329-9671 [email protected]
1-scissors, pliers, electricity or jewelry tweezers
2 30-gauge soft wire and thick aluminum wire
3- #3 to #10 white and iridescent pearl beads
4 white and iridescent teardrops in different sizes
5 white and iridescent rice-grain beads in diffe-
rent sizes
6 white, gold, and iridescent bugle beads
7 transparent pony beads
8 green DMC embroidery thread, hairpins
9 box with dividers
10 floral tape and cloth hair band
11 clamp
The original set of tembleques is made up of:
2 bun covers
2 ear covers
2 mosquetas (rosettes)
2 butterflies
2 peacocks
2 orchids
2 flowers with long pistils
2 full roses
2 simple flowers
4 jasmine flowers
For a dance group I recommend making 1 pair
of four-flower bun covers with leaves, two pairs of
bun covers with three flowers, one pair of pea-
cocks or one pair of flower bunches, one pair of
ear covers, 4-6 Jasmine flowers, 2-4 single flo-
wers.
Making the tembleque flower. Tembleques flowers are always made
in pairs. To make a pair you will need to cut 30 wires in 7-inch
lengths. String 24 pearl beads on a wire, put the ends together,
and turn them so the beads wont fall off. On the second wire string
18 pearls and finish in the same way. Now take the third wire, add
three pearls, put the ends together and add another pearl. Then
open the wire and put it in the middle of the pearls. Add a large
pearl, a rice grain bead, and join the three wires. Make all the
petals in this way until you have ten total (five for each
flower).
Making the pistils. Now you must make the pistils. There are
four on each flo-
wer, and here are some models:
When you have eight made, tie them together in this way: Join
the four pistils, then add the four petals one by one and
turn them twice, with the thread very close to the petal. Then
add the five remaining peals one by one, wrapping them with the
thread to cover about one inch.
Bun cover and ear cover. The bun cover: cut a thick wire to 18
cm (7), wrap the tip in green and add the branches of pistils and
flowers.
The bun cover should have at least 2 4-pistil flowers of 2.5 in
length. 2 branches, one pointing up and the other down, with three
pistils: 2 short and one long and two leaves more on each side to
fill. The pistils should be 3.5 and 4.5, and the wire for the
petals should measure approximately 8.5 inches, and it should have
20-28 petals.
Ear cover: These are made like the bun cover, but they only have
one flower, five leaves, and three pistils. They should have 10 or
13 petals.
Form and function
The bun cover is the first tembleque one puts on after put-ting
in the combs. As its name indicates, it should cover ones bun.
Similarly, an ear cover is meant to cover the ears and is placed
over them.
The various tembleques are named according to their sha-pe. The
doves are placed above the ear covers.
We also have the mosquetas, which simulate two White roses,
which decorate and show off the face. The head of the tembleques is
made of a pair of mosquetas, which should be placed behind the
doves where the bun cover begins. There are also peacocks, which
should be placed where the small and large combs meet.
Other tembleque shapes include the butterflies and scor-pions,
which are placed on the upper portion of the head taking care that
they do not cover the part in the hair. As for the flowers, these
fill the rest of the head and should be put on from top to bottom.
They represent lilies, orchids, impatiens, etc. We also have the
jasmines, and these are placed after all the other tembleques.
Between 4 and 6 jas-mines are placed on the upper part of the head
around the combs. These can be natural or artificial.
Materials used