More on molas

Cruise Travel, July-August, 2004

Perhaps the most famous cultural artifacts of Panama are the molas created by Kuna women--intricately designed cotton panels made with multiple layers of cloth, and featuring iconic animals, birds, or geometric shapes. It is believed the tradition of making molas goes hack to a much earlier custom of body painting.

"The women are the painters and take great delight in it," an early explorer remarked. When foreign trading ships brought such barter items as cotton, thread, needles, and scissors, along with missionaries who insisted the Kuna weal clothes, the art shifted from skin to fabric. While all women wear molas, only those blessed with kurgin (artistic talent) draft the designs, while others take care of the sewing. Some molas are now created strictly for resale to tourists, but this has not diminished their cultural significance. And the appearance of modern items within the designs--such as windjammer ships do not denote commercialization as much as the Kuna habit of rendering what they see around them. Women weave molas in pairs on a single theme and incorporate them into blouses. When the clothes become old, the mola sections are removed and sold, and it is these that are most valued by collectors.