A carriel is a small leather

satchel A satchel is a bag with a strap, traditionally used for carrying books.Satchel
The Cambridge Dictionary. ...

from

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. They are similar in appearance to a

saddlebag Saddlebags are bags that are attached to saddles. Horse riding In horse riding, saddlebags sit in various positions, on the back, side, or front of the saddle. Most attach to the saddle by straps and ties. They can be made from various material ...

but worn over the shoulder, usually by men. ''Carrieles'' were traditionally made of rawhide or

nutria The nutria (''Myocastor coypus''), also known as the coypu, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' is now included within Echimyidae, the family of t ...

fur and are typical of the Antioquia region of

. The bag is associated with

paisa Paisa (also transliterated as ''pice'', ''pesa'', ''poysha'', ''poisha'' and ''baisa'') is a monetary unit in several countries. The word is also a generalised idiom for money and wealth. In India, Nepal, and Pakistan, the ''Paisa'' currently equa ...

culture. The ''carriel'' is part of folkloric dress of the region and is also used by modern businessmen throughout the country. It is said that the word ''carriel'' comes from the English "''carry-all''", but derivation from the French ''cartier'' (handbag) is equally likely.

Notes and references

National symbols of Colombia Colombian handicrafts {{Colombia-stub

See also

Notes and references