A Fresh Look at Molas

"'SFTI-PPLBU by Lola Bo˝ ll McCracken, Ph.D. Purchasing a handmade original from the artist entitles the buyer to a photograph. The blouse skeleton was returned to the artist and will be used again with another mola. Festival molas, approximately 17" x 13". The Kuna leaders (Kantules) sometimes chant for as long as three days, describing the history of the Kuna people and the role of men and women Girls as young as seven learn to fashion their in society during the inna, a coming-out festival for young girls. Here, the Kantules smoke a long own molas on Aligandi Island. cigar and blow smoke out to the people. hen I fi rst traveled to Panama, I could not have explained the differ- W ence between chicken molé and a chicken mola, although I was fond of eating the former. But since visiting Panama for extended periods over the last three years, I have become enchanted by the cultural richness of this small Central American country. Recently retired after nearly 30 years teaching German and English both in the United States and Europe, I was excited to be in a new and somewhat exotic place, speaking a new language and eager to discover cultural nuances of Panama. Because of its incredible diversity in peoples, climate, and fauna and fl ora, Panama is itself like a pieced quilt that reveals rich meanings to the curious. Panama has several groups of indigenous peoples, each tribe with its own homeland, culture, and artisans. Authentic molas are found throughout Panama and exported worldwide, but are only produced in the San Blas Islands along the Panamanian Caribbean coast. I wanted to know about the Kuna peoples to learn fi rst hand about molas but had no idea how complex and fascinating the journey Excited to hear that tourists are on their would be. Traveling by plane from Panama City and then by canoe to Mamitupo island, these boys rush out to display the meant traveling back in time at least a hundred years. family handiwork. 36 AMERICAN QUILTER Fall 2007 007fall_35-50.indd7fall_35-50.indd 3636 66/6/07/6/07 111:31:091:31:09 AMAM CHILD’S MOLA, 13" x 10½". A child artist begins with a two- or three-color mola that is less complex and easier to complete. The young girl who made this piece lives on Mamitupu but declined to have her photo taken. Albino Kuna) rescues the nworld take him before the monster ca MOON CHILD, 16" x 13". The Moon Child (an ow at the dragon and killing by shooting an arr ankind. bites out of the moon and doom m Kuna History and Culture Kuna women in a dugout The Cuna/Dule peoples immigrated canoe return home after an from the Darien Rainforest on the main- early morning work detail land of Panama (then Columbia) to the on the airport runway at Mamitupu. San Blas Islands, either to escape the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century or to escape disease and snakes in the eighteenth century. The culture has always been matrilineal: only the women own and inherit property and the women handle the money. The male tribal chief speaks for the community, mediates disputes, and serves as spiritual guide. Marriages are still arranged by the par- ents. The chosen young man moves in with the daughter and her family and works as an apprentice to the father-in-law. A daughter is prized because she will bring additional man- power into the family when she marries. Divorce is uncommon but simple–the young man needs only to gather his things and leave. An ethnographic sidelight I found inter- esting is that Kuna men have the most signifi - cant heredity albinism in the world, a fact that PINEAPPLE, 15½" x 12½". A commonly accepted symbol of hospitality, the pineapple is grown extensively throughout Panama (although not in the Kuna Yala). 38 AMERICAN QUILTER Fall 2007 007fall_35-50.indd7fall_35-50.indd 3838 66/6/07/6/07 111:31:231:31:23 AMAM The Kuna ladies of the Dolphin Lodge on At a fabric store on Aligandi, the orange The porch railing outside the cabana at Uagitupu wear blouses that incorporate stun- print fabric in the foreground is used for the Dolphin Lodge on Uagitupu makes a great ning molas. traditional head scarf. display rack for purchased molas. led to the legend of the White Indian. ment of Panama sought to bar the the quilter’s muse, is as varied as the An albino boy is called a moon child. Kuna women from wearing them in artist herself. The highly regarded tra- Although encouraged not to marry, an attempt to modernize the culture. ditional and antique molas, known as these albino boys are highly respected The fi erce Indians actually killed sev- Serkan, are usually geometric and gen- and integrated into the community. eral Panamanian policemen and threw erally display red, black, and orange as Because they cannot work in the intense foreigners off the islands. anchor colors. The themes range from tropical sun, they often become the best I learned from tribal elders that the mythological scenes and legends, to mola makers, honored for their excel- United States played a signifi cant role dreams and the spirit realm. lence in the craft. in deflecting the ensuing attempted Molas made strictly for sale to These Kuna artists narrate the subjugation of the Kuna by positioning tourists can be any size, and tend to be story of their lives and culture in their a U.S. warship between Colon and the fun, inexpensive, and colorful. Flowers, sewing, and they incorporate this infor- Kuna Comarca in February 1925. The coats of arms, flags, birds, nautical mation in a collage of fabric very much show of force was apparently enough themes, narratives, and trees are some like quilters. Unlike a quilt, however, to secure the Kuna independence, and typical themes. a mola is a multi-layered fabric panel visitors from the United States are still Construction constructed to adorn a blouse. warmly welcomed by the Kuna. A mola is constructed using reverse Mola Evolution Design Inspiration appliqué on several layers of colored Molas evolved from the body The inspiration for the mola, like cotton fabric. The first (foundation) painting practiced by layer remains whole many of the indigenous and uncut. Subsequent tribes in Panama: the pieces of fabric are tattoo-like geometric inserted into the patterns were trans- mélange and then cut ferred to cloth as yard in intricate patterns and goods, scissors, needles, slits to reveal the colors and thread fi rst became underneath. The pains- available via barter in takingly small incisions the mid-eighteenth cen- are made without ben- tury. The Embera and efit of guidelines, and Wounaan indigenous finished mola patterns peoples in the Darien can range from the very Rainforest nearby still simple to the extremely display body painting. complex. Molas even became Hand sewn and a subtle form of social made in pairs, the tra- and political protest, ditional mola measures most notably in 1925 RCA DOG, 16½" x 13". Sometimes images familiar as cultural icons in non-Kuna about 16" x 13" to fi t the culture are used in molas. This design depicts the RCA Nipper dog and the old- when the govern- time victrola turntable. middle portion of the Fall 2007 AMERICAN QUILTER 39 007fall_35-50.indd7fall_35-50.indd 3939 66/6/07/6/07 111:31:291:31:29 AMAM DOLPHIN AND TOUCAN, each approximately 13" x 11". This bright pair depicting a dolphin and a toucan use non-traditional foundation colors and lots of embroidery rather than the tiny reverse-applique cutouts which would take more time. These are made primarily to appeal to tourists as souvenirs. blouse, front and back. To fully appre- Molas and Quilts ativity. That will come soon, but at ciate the symmetry, it is helpful to see The quality of stitching in the least I know the difference between both front and back panels. The designs mola is important: it should be tight chicken molé and a chicken mola! are related but never exactly the same. and nearly invisible on both the front Acknowledgements Collectors look for the remains of and back. The pattern should be bal- I am grateful to Charlotte Patera for her thread and the needle marks left when anced and proportional but not nec- helpful suggestions stemming from a lifetime of the Kuna woman removes the mola essarily symmetrical, as no precise researching molas. My thanks also go to Sandy from her blouse in order to sew a new measurements are used. Molas are very Dierks and Louise Young for their valuable one into that same blouse skeleton. stable with all the fi ne stitching and do insights into Kuna mola making and for intro- Worn molas often have the patina of not come apart when they are cut into ducing me to their longtime Kuna friends during age; those most cherished by the artist smaller pieces, so they are easily incor- our shared visit to the San Blas Islands earlier this are usually well worn, having been porated into a quilting project. year. The Kuna people in these photos granted me washed often and exposed for years to The molas I have collected so far verbal permission (many Kunas are non-literate) the relentless tropical sun. are still awaiting my own burst of cre- to photograph them and to publish these photos. 40 AMERICAN QUILTER Fall 2007 007fall_35-50.indd7fall_35-50.indd 4040 66/6/07/6/07 111:31:351:31:35 AMAM.

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