Friday, April 13, 2018

Artists of the day, April 13: The Cuna Molas, traditional art from the women of inland Panama and western Colombia

The mola, or molas, is a handmade stuff that forms part of the traditional women's clothing of the Guna people. The full costume includes a patterned wrapped skirt (saburet), a red and yellow headscarf (musue), arm and leg beads (wini), a gold nose ring (olasu) and earrings in addition to the mola blouse (dulemor).

In Dulegaya, the Guna's native language, "mola" means "shirt" or "clothing". The mola originated with the tradition of Guna women painting their bodies with geometric designs, using available natural colors; in later years these same designs were woven in cotton, and later still, sewn using cloth bought from the European settlers of Panamá.

Kuna women from the San Blas Archipelago produce most of the work, though some molas are also made by Kuna women from inland Panama and western Colombia. Developed in the late 1800s from an earlier tradition of body painting, designs were first painted on cloth and later sewn. Early blouses, dark blue with wide red hems, evolved into those with multi-color designed borders. Borders were widened over time into the rectangular panels of today, and motifs, too, have changed, integrating images from daily life and popular culture. Red, yellow, and dark blue or black remain the preferred colors.

Traditionally worn with a wrap-around skirt (sabured) and a red-and-yellow head scarf (muswe), molas are an important reflection of women´s skills and Kuna identity. Shown here is a sample of molas from MNCH collections, including several "inside" views to illustrate technique.






























































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