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Traditional craft of Mallorca

Marxandos and mercers (pedlars)

At a glance

The Marxando is the traveling salesman of Mallorca and Menorca: he went from town to town with his load of offal, ribbons, needles, soap, and bought or…

Crafts
Traditional craft of Mallorca
Words
baratar, drapaire, marxando, mercer, «Es marxando va a Alaró | tot carregat d'embarassos; | dones, si teniu pedaços, | los vos barat amb sabó», «Sempre s'estira, com sa veta d'es marxando»

What it is and technique

The Marxando is the traveling salesman of Mallorca and Menorca: he went from town to town with his load of offal, ribbons, needles, soap, and bought or bartered old rags. The mercer sold ribbons, buttons and needles in the store. In Palma, Marxandos and Mercers formed col·legi with glounters and passamaners.

Process step by step

1. Stock up on haberdashery and hardware in Palma.

2. Load the beast or the cart.

3. Tour towns and possessions, preaching.

4. Sell or cheap (barter): merchandise for rags, skins or farm products.

Forms and objects

Vocabulary

  • marxando — street vendor (mall., men.; fon. məɾʃándo; in Sóller məɾʃándu).
  • marxando (fig., mall.) — rogue, untrustworthy person.
  • mercer — seller of ribbons, buttons and needles.
  • cheap - barter.
  • drapaire — who trades in old rags.
  • «It's Marxando going to Alaró | tot carregat d'embarassos; | gifts, if you have pieces, | “los vos barat amb sabó” — Majorcan popular song.
  • «Sempre s'estira, com sa veta d'es marxando» – of something very elastic (Men.).

Geography

  • The entire island; Palma as a supply center.
  • Col·legi room in Plaça de Can Tagamanent (Palma).

Short story

  • 1289: rule on merchants who carry clothes to sell (Catalan scope).
  • 16th century: col·legi of glounters, passamaners, mercers and marxandos already organized (patron sant Antoni; Santa Eulàlia, Sant Antoni de Viana, la Mercè).
  • 1713: "gerrers, sabaters, marxandos, venedors de llegums" in the History of Sóller.

State

Transformed into market and fair sales. The figure of Marxand has disappeared.

Why is it design

  • Portable store: minimum assortment designed for the weight of a load.
  • Circular economy before the word: soap is exchanged for rags that become paper or eraser again.
  • Sound brand: the proclamation as an interface.

For the project

  • Mallorcan design shopping cart for markets (the logic of Marxando today).
  • Collect songs and proclamations from street vendors.

Frequently asked questions

What is Marxandos and mercers (pedlars)?

The Marxando is the traveling salesman of Mallorca and Menorca: he went from town to town with his load of offal, ribbons, needles, soap, and bought or…

What are the traditional words for Marxandos and mercers (pedlars)?

Some words: baratar, drapaire, marxando, mercer, «Es marxando va a Alaró | tot carregat d'embarassos; | dones, si teniu pedaços, | los vos barat amb sabó», «Sempre s'estira, com sa veta d'es marxando».

Sources

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

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