Kuna Mola Blouses: an Example of the Perpetuation of an Art/Craft Form in a Small Scale Society
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KUNA MOLA BLOUSES: AN EXAMPLE OF THE PERPETUATION OF AN ART/CRAFT FORM IN A SMALL SCALE SOCIETY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Teena Jennings-Rentenaar, M.S. * * * * * The Ohio State University 2005 Dissertation Committee: Professor Patricia Cunningham Approved by Professor Kathryn Jakes Professor Sabra Webber Advisor Curator Gayle Strege College of Human Ecology ABSTRACT This research used a collection of Kuna mola blouses that are housed at Denison University in Granville, Ohio; to gain an understanding of what it is within a community that maintains an art and craft form. The Kuna are an indigenous people that live in the San Blas region of Panama. The women sew and wear a mola blouse that includes decorative panels sewn in a technique referred to as “reverse appliqué.” Through documentation and analysis of the design, subject matter, color selection and method of manufacture, these blouses were categorized. The relative importance of the various categories was explored. Although mola-making came about through European contact, the blouses reflect a Kuna aesthetic and the art and craft practices already established within the community. Generally speaking, regardless of how strong the cultural imperative may be, if the artists/crafters are not happy with the results, the art/craft form will not be maintained. Through the documentation and analysis of this collection, it was uncovered that there are different categories of mola blouses that reward the Kuna women for having different skills and abilities. By developing these, they receive the recognition that they require to propel them into more mola blouse making. Also, there was no category that was more prestigious than another; again assuring that everyone is rewarded. There were, however, ii good panels and even better panels within each category, giving everyone the incentive to continue to strive for better results. It was shown that the different categories are based on different art/craft traditions previously established within the community. The different categories of mola blouses also support the presence of an art/craft interplay. Art stresses innovation, whereas craft stresses virtuosity of technical skill. This study demonstrated the possibility of an art/craft interplay existing, which implies that the community implicitly rewards the stitcher according to the needs of the community in keeping the art/craft vital. Evidence for this interplay was suggested by the presence of different categories that permit different types of emphasis. Research stretching over a longer time period is required to establish how and when the switches in emphasis occur. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research was able to proceed through the generous access provided by Denison University. Specifically, I would like to thank Dr. Karl Sandin and Ms.Lee Hanford for initially establishing the possibility for working with the collection and for understanding the open-ended nature of this kind of research. Upon her arrival, Dr. Alexandra Green became not only supportive and encouraging, but a wonderful friend. She completely removed the issue of accessibility out of the equation for me. Several organizations and authors permitted the use of copyrighted material and I thank them for their generosity. They include; the Museum of World Culture, Gothenburg, Sweden for permission to use images reproduced from E. Nordenskiold’s 1938 edition of An Historical and Ethnological Survey of the Cuna Indians; The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art and Armand Labbe for permission to use images from Guardians of the Life Stream: Shamans, Art and Power in Prehispanic Central Panama; Dover Publications, Inc. and Samuel Kirkland Lothrop for permission to use images from his book entitled Pre-Columbian Designs from Panama: 591 Illustrations of Cocle Pottery. Denison University permitted the use of images from their publication Art and Artifacts of the San Blas Cuna: An Exhibition from the Denison University Collection as well as permission to photograph the mola blouses and panels. iv I want to thank the faculty and staff at The Ohio State University. My time there was rich and rewarding, and without knowing it, fully prepared me for my future academic career. I appreciate the support given to me through the Gladys Brannigan Fellowship. I especially want to thank Dr. Patricia Cunningham and her seemingly unwavering confidence in me. Her careful editing and her thoughtful questions propelled me to rethink and rework my writing and for that I am grateful. I am also very grateful to Dr. Kathryn Jakes, who not only pushed me onward and kept me mindful of dates and deadlines; she provided wonderful companionship as we searched for the next llama and alpaca farm. Thank you to Ms.Gayle Strege for her friendship, her careful editing and precise thinking. And thank you to Dr. Sabra Webber for being so willing to jump on board, for her careful reading and insightful comments. I would like to thank the faculty in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Akron for their support and confidence in me. Particularly, I would like to thank Dr. Virginia Gunn and Dr. Sandra Buckland for picking up the slack for a mind that was often elsewhere. I am grateful to Dr. Richard Glotzer, Director for the School of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Akron and to Dr. Mark Auburn, Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts for approving a reduced teaching load for the final semester of my dissertation preparation. Ms. Mary Donatelli Schmitt adjusted her life and her family’s life to take on the teaching of those additional laboratory hours and course, and although she tells me that the experience was valuable, I know that it was infinitely more valuable to me. v My colleagues at The Ohio State University are forever linked with my time there and I appreciate the part we play in each other’s lives, so a big thank you to Dr. Catherine Amoroso Leslie, Dr. Amanda Thompson, Dr. Dilia Lopez-Gydosh and Dr. Erica Tiedemann. I thank my dear friends in Granville, a community that feels strongly about everyone’s self-actualization and enrichment. I feel very fortunate to live amongst warm, supportive, and enlightened neighbors who not only raise their children well; they raise each other well! I especially thank Ms. Laurie Mackenzie-Crane for her technical wizardry in taking all of the photographs and for her mind that never stops. I thank my father and late mother for the set of encyclopaedias in the livingroom, indicating to me that there would always be another question and places to look for the answer. My sisters, brother and their families, although their prodding questions sometimes rang with doubt, kept me in touch with where we come from and why we persevere. Finally, I thank my family, who have listened to my moaning for far too long; to my husband, Don, who keeps a supply of homemade cookies around, ensures that there is no handwringing due to gaps in technical knowledge on my behalf and talks me up; to my daughter, Heather, for her skill in preparing the figures for the text, and her caring patience when working with her mother; to my son, Sean, for so matter-of-factly, yet lovingly, assuming that all would be done in time. vi VITA 1975……………………………………..B.S. (Hons.) Biology/Psychology Queen’s University at Kingston, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. 1985……………………………………..M. S. Textiles and Textile Conservation University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 1985-1986……………………………….Quality Assurance Technician, Quality Engineering Testing Establishment, Department of National Defence, Hull, Quebec, Canada. 1996……………………………………..Instructor, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA. 1997-2000………………………………Teaching Assistant, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA. 2001-present…………………………....Assistant Professor, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA. FIELDS OF STUDY Area of Emphasis: Major Field: Human Ecology Minor Fields: History of Clothing and Textiles History of Art Museum Studies Fiber Arts Textile Science vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………..iv Vita……………………………………………………………………………………...vii List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………...xii List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………....xv Chapters: 1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………1 Statement of the Problem: Purpose and Objectives……………………………..6 Method…………………………………………………………………………....7 The Relevance of Material Culture Study……………………………………….14 Assumptions……………………………………………………………………..17 Limitations……………………………………………………………………….17 Definitions……………………………………………………………………….18 2. Review of Literature The Kuna from the San Blas Archipelago of Panama………………………21 The Mola Blouse…………………………………………………………….24 The Social Context of Mola Blouse Making………………………………...28 viii European Contact…………………………………………………………28 A Change in the Life Pattern of the Kuna……………….………………..32 The Increased Need for Something Recognizably Kuna..………………..34 The Presence of the Missionaries……………………………………...….35 Spiritual Beliefs…………………………………………………………...37 Matrilocal and Extended Families………………………………………...38 The Arts and Crafts of a Society……………………………………………...39 The Art/Craft Interplay……………………………………………………….50 Summary..…………………………………………………………………….55 3. Documentation of the Mola Blouses in the Denison University Collection……..56 Labyrinthine Category: Naturalistic Style…………………………………...62 Labyrinthine