Mola art developed throughout the years when Guna women had access to store-bought yard goods. The mola originated with the traditional practice of Guna women painting their bodies with geometrical and zigzag designs, using available natural colors which were available on the Islands and in the Jungle.
Full Answer
What is the purpose of molas?
Molas were originally used as part of the women's blouses. Molas are traditionally made and worn by the Kuna women and girls in pairs to serve as front and back panels of the blouses they wear everyday. Nowadays they are also sold to collectors and framed and exhibited.
What is the origin of a mola?
Molas, a traditional textile craft, are made from layers of colored fabric that are stitched and cut using applique techniques to create patterns and pictures. They originated in Panama, with the women of the Kuna tribe in the San Blas islands.
What inspired the Kunas to create the molas?
The earliest molas are said to have developed after the arrival of Spanish missionaries in Central America, when women were encouraged to cover their bare upper torsos. In response, the Kuna women created blouses made of imported cotton cloth and thread.
Who created molas?
Molas are a brightly colored textile art created by the Kuna tribe from the San Blas Blas region of Panama. Mola means cloth or clothing in the Kuna language. These panels of stacked cloth are used to make women's blouses. Girls learn to make these at an early age and can spend up to 100 hours making one Mola!
What is the meaning of a mola?
millstoneThe ocean sunfish, also known as a mola mola, is an odd-looking fish. The word “mola” means millstone in Latin and describes the unusual, disc-like shape of this fish. Their teeth are fused together giving the sunfish a beak-like mouth that is always open, similar to their relative the porcupine fish.
What makes a good traditional mola?
The quality of stitching is also a factor, with the stitching on the best molas being close to invisible. Although some molas rely on embroidery to some degree to enhance the design, those which are made using only the pure reverse-appliqué technique (or nearly so) are considered better.
What is a mola design?
A mola is an appliqued fabric panel created by Cuna women, an indigenous people from the San Blas Islands of Panama. The term "mola" refers to a traditional blouse made by women to serve as front and back panels of the blouses they wear everyday. Now molas are also sold to collectors and framed and exhibited.
How do you wash a mola?
Molas are sturdy and well sewn. They already been washed and they can be safely washed in warm water with woolite soap.
What does mola mean in Spain?
It is used to express something that you like a lot, that's fun, attractive and surprising to the point that you just have to share it with your friends. For example, when someone shows you the new smartphone they've just bought, you say, “¡Cómo mola!” (“Cool!”) Notice that molar is a verb!
What is a mola in Mexico?
A mola is an appliqued fabric panel created by Cuna women, an indigenous people from the San Blas Islands of Panama. The term "mola" refers to a traditional blouse made by women to serve as front and back panels of the blouses they wear everyday.
What does mola mean in Latin?
From Latin mola, from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to grind, crush”).
What is a Colombian mola?
Molas are hand-made textiles that form part of the traditional women's clothing of the indigenous Kuna people of Panama and Colombia. As an inspiration for their designs, the Kuna first used the geometrical patterns that had previously been used for body painting.
Development of the style
A Guna woman displays a selection of molas for sale at her home in the San Blas Islands.
Construction
Molas are hand-made using a reverse appliqué technique. Several layers (usually two to seven) of different-colored cloth (usually cotton) are sewn together; the design is then formed by cutting away parts of each layer. The edges of the layers are then turned under and sewn down. Often, the stitches are nearly invisible.
Molas in Guna Culture
This traditional mola represents the olasu, a nose ring worn by the Guna women.
Banning of Molas
In 1919, President Belisario Porras began a policy of forced assimilation banning mola's dress and nose piercing in women. The government introduced these laws to Westernize Guna society and assert control.
Overview
Molas in Guna Culture
Several early influences were a small colony by Christopher Columbus in 1502, a scottish colony established in the south of Darien, 1698, the Calvinist or French Huguenots settled and married some Cuna women, even though they were killed in 1757, then in 1790 a Spanish colony. 2
By 1907, the traditional costume of a Guna woman consists of a patterned blu…
Development of the style
Two groups, Choco a group who lives near the Isthmus known as Darien were the body painters. ,
Molas may have their origin in body painting. In 1514, Pasqual de Andagoya, arrived in Darian and wrote.. the women are very well dressed, in embroidered cotton mantles which extend down so as to cover their feet, but the arms and …
Construction
Molas are hand-made using a reverse appliqué technique. Several layers (usually two to seven) of different-colored cloth (usually cotton) are sewn together; the design is then formed by cutting away parts of each layer. The edges of the layers are then turned under and sewn down. Often, the stitches are nearly invisible. This is achieved by using a thread the same color as the la…
Banning of Molas
In 1919, the panamanian government began a policy of forced assimilation banning mola's dress and nose piercing in women. The government introduced these laws to Westernize Guna society and assert control.
There was a strong link between traditional dress and Guna culture and identity. Molas have such an importance for the Guna people and their traditional identity that they can be considered resp…
Further reading
• Günther Hartmann, Molakana: Volkskunst der Cuna, Panama, Museum für Voelkerkunde, Berlin, 1980 ISBN 3-88609-001-9.
• Kit S. Kapp, Mola Art From the San Blas Islands, 1972.
• Clyde E. Keeler, Secrets of the Cuna Earthmother: A Comparative Study of Ancient Religions Illustrated, New York: Exposition Press, 1960.
External links
• The Art of Being Kuna, from The San Diego Museum of Man. Retrieved February 19, 2006. Link Broken 7/17/19.
• Molas: the Textile Art of Panama, from The University of Missouri. Retrieved February 19, 2006. Link Broken 7/17/19.
• Rainforest Art. Retrieved February 19, 2006. Link Broken 7/17/19.