South of the border a machete is man’s best friend. It’s like a Swiss knife. It’s used for just about everything in the house and out on the working fields. No Panamanian farmer or campesino would imagine leaving his house without his trustworthy machete.
In tropical and subtropical countries, the machete is frequently used to cut through rainforest undergrowth and for agricultural purposes (e.g., cutting sugar cane). Besides this, in Latin America common use is for such household tasks as cutting large foodstuffs into pieces—much as a cleaver is used—or to perform crude cutting tasks such as making simple wooden handles for other tools. It is also common to see people using machetes for their odd jobs such as splitting open coconuts, working the lawns, clearing brush, even shaving, or other related activities.
Since they are kept hair-splitting sharp, they are safely tucked away in the ceiling of the house, away from the nervous hand of children. They call it, safekeeping the Collins, (guardando el Collins). Collins is the favorite brand of machetes used in this part of the world.
In the past, the best and most famous manufacturer of machetes in Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean was Collins Company of Collinsville, Connecticut. The company was founded as Collins & Company in 1826 by Samuel W. Collins to make axes. Its first machetes were sold in 1845 and became so famous that all good machetes were called “un Collins.”
Below is a picture of a machete stored under the roof of the house. Scenes like these were very typical in the remote villages of our countryside. The Collins had a ubiquitous presence in the campesino home.
Snapshot of a machete safely stored on the roof of a house on display at Mi Pueblito in Panama City, Panama. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.
My first introduction to the pervasiveness of the machete in the campesino culture was when I spent three months on the Rio Dulce in Guatemala. It seemed as if EVERYONE carried one, usually in a scabard on their backs. In fact, many of the farmhands had special “dress up” scabards for when they went to town on Sundays.
Out here in Chiriqui you see a lot of workers carrying machetes though not in the proportions that I saw in Guatemala. It is very common to see people working around their yards with machetes although it seems that the string “weed whacker” is making inroads into the use of the tried and true machete.
And many of the people who use machetes are real artists with them. In Boqueron at the town square I watched with admiration as the care takers of the topiaries shaped and trimmed them using their machetes rather than with mechanical hedge trimmers as you see in the States.
Hi Richard:
Yes, I have also observed the inroads of the string “whacker” as you call them in our country. This is the tool our gardener uses to trim the lawn around our house.
Watching a Panamanian using a machete to cut coconuts is amazing. They are really skilled artists in using this sharp ubiquitous tool.
Thanks for your valuable comments,
Omar.-
Omar, you are amazing! I just never know which direction you will take me but the machete article send me looking for ours. I brought it home from Panama 30 years ago and it has seen endless hours of gardening/yard work since then. The string trimmers have their place, but NOTHING stands up against a sharp, steel blade.
The wood handle on mine has cracked, been glued, taped together over the years but the blade still holds as keen an edge as ever (if only my brain had that attribute!). As it turns out, I CAN BUY A NEW ONE!
http://www.invermec.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.product_details&flypage=ilvm_fly2_blue.tpl&category_id=7&product_id=158&Itemid=2&lang=en
Maybe I’ll give the old “collins” a rest and start the next 30 years with his replacement.
jim and nena
fort worth, tx
Hello Jim and Nena:
I went to the site suggested by the link and found the Corneta brand. I recall these machetes were also sold by the United Fruit Company in Changuinola, Bocas del Toro where I lived for over 14 years. But the “King of the Hill” was the Collins machete.
I see that your machete has been with you for quite a long time. Good for you!
Regards,
Omar.-
Hi Omar,
Absolutely agree with you. I have been describing your tour through Mi Pueblito these past days to Nena, but when I related the story of Collins I mispronounced it as CAH’ llins and she just looked at me funny. (I get that a lot).
Then I said, “you know, the machete” and her dark eyes went wide with understanding and said, “oh, co LEENS’”!
I did spend some time yesterday regluing the wood handle and polishing the rust from the blade. Got to get it ready for duty again as we have started clearing the garden to prepare for Spring planting.
I have 3 of those string trimmers, by the way, but the Corneta needs neither gasoline or electricity nor are they much good for opening up the earth to plant beans! haha
jim and nena
fort worth, tx
Hello Jim and Nena:
Pronunciation between English and Spanish makes a lot of difference in communications. It happens to me all the time when I start mixing both languages. Fortunately, most of my English is in writing, so my mistakes are drastically reduced.
Enjoy your upcoming Spring.
Regards,
Omar.-
Folks in Honduras refer to anyone missing a digit or limb as suffering from “Collins Disease”