Molas: A Women`s Global Folk Art

Molas: A Women’s Global Folk Art
Nadia De Leon
Kuna women with her molas for sale. Note: From aventuraspanama.com
Final Paper
Folk Art
Fall 2009
Dr. Tim Evans
Western Kentucky University
1
Table of Contents
Introduction
3
The Kuna of Panama
History
4
Gender Roles
5
Molas: Technique, Style, and Ethnoaesthetics
7
The Emergence and Production of Molas as a Global Phenomenon
8
Molas as a Women’s Folk Art
9
Molas and Identity
11
Outside, Modern, and Global Content in Mola Themes
14
Commercialization of Molas and the Global Market
21
Molas as Women’s Commodity Art
The Mola Cash Economy and Women’s Lives
26
The Cooperative
29
Mola Politics and Policy
31
Conclusion
32
References
34
2
“Mola commercialization is one of the most farreaching changes affecting Kuna women‟s lives in
this century” (Tice 1995:19).
This essay explores molas, a textile art of the Kuna Indians from Panama. Current
scholarship has focused on molas as product, as art objects, analyzing their style, technique, or
meaning (Tice 1995:18). In this essay, I look at molas as process – as a global process in fact –
crucial to Kuna women‟s lives and, nowadays, highly commercialized. The majority of the
scholarship I consulted for this essay states that the designs now used to create molas come from
ancient body painting. However, molas did not come into existence until contact with outsiders
who brought along fabric and needles. Women still obtain their materials, and often also their
inspiration, to make molas from outside sources from across the world. Additionally, molas are
sold commercially worldwide. Because of this, I analyze molas as a global folk art, though that
may sound contradictive at first.
I look into how the history of outside influences (from colonizers and pirates to
Panamanian politics and international commerce) combined with a fierce protection of their
traditions have affected the Kuna society. Mola making is a central part of Kuna women‟s
everyday lives. I pay special attention to the processes through which traditional aesthetics,
techniques and designs interrelate with outside influences and adapt to commercialization. Well
into the 21st century, the art form is very alive, constantly evolving and adapting, and has become
an important source of income for Kuna households.
In fact, not just molas but also new items (shoes, bags, etc.) made out of molas are now
being sold around the world. Typing molas into an online search engine will bring up numerous
sources from which molas can be bought. Molas have become by far the best known symbol for
3
the Kuna culture to outsiders, and Kuna women themselves attach ethnic pride and identity value
to wearing molas. Although women often sell their molas directly to tourists, they also organize
in groups to fulfill large orders, and have formed a sizeable cooperative.
This essay considers the effects the change from production-for-use to production-forsale has had in the art form, the region‟s economy, and the lives of the women who produce it.
This is accomplished by investigating the entire system of production and consumption, as well
as the current global interest and market for mola products, especially over the internet.
The Kuna of Panama
History
The Kuna of Panama reside in the San Blas archipelago and adjacent coastal areas in
what is now known as the Kuna Yala comarca in the Eastern Caribbean coast of Panama, as well
as in the Darien province and in Panama City.
Kuna society is democratic and egalitarian, based on highly organized cooperation from
all members of the community. Even before colonization, they had a democratic system in place
that allowed individuals to vote for their leaders (Howe 1998:70). Throughout the centuries, their
leaders have carefully evaluated the potential positive or negative effects of foreign influences,
thus welcoming some aspects they perceive as beneficial and evading those perceived as
threatening. They have repeatedly resented colonizing powers and allied with other foreign
forces to support their resistance efforts against colonization. In the early 1900s, Leonardo
Gasso, a Spanish Roman Catholic priest who resided with the Kuna, wrote: “They wish to ally
themselves with anyone at all in exchange for throwing out the one who comes closest to them”
(Gasso p. 85, as cited in Howe 1998:28).
4
One way in which the Kuna have preserved their traditions and social cohesiveness has
been by forbidding, or at least discouraging, intermarriage with any of the peoples that have
moved into the Isthmus of Panama over the centuries (Puls 1988:8). It has been suggested,
however, that the Kuna may have first obtained cloth and sewing tools from a colony of
Huguenots that maintained close trade relationships with them during the 1700s (Stout 1947:54).
The Kuna even allowed intermarriage with the Huguenots, until the 1740‟s when the Kuna
revolted against being exploited for cheap labor, killed the Huguenots, and took over the cacao
fields, which they successfully traded with ships that passed by regularly (Langebaek 1991).
Other groups that have had a presence in the Kuna territories include the American
Protestant missionaries and the Panamanian government. In 1915 a governor to the region was
appointed by the Panamanian government. Rules to encourage the assimilation of the Kuna to
mainstream society were put into effect, such as forbidding them to wear their traditional dress.
During the 1910s Anna Coope, a Protestant missionary, established a school were
children learned English. At the same time, Panamanians sent lay teachers to set up schools were
children learned Spanish. The Kuna took full advantage of educational opportunities, but
resented attempts to change or limit their culture. Another revolt in which all of those outsiders
who did not escape were killed took place in February of 1925 (Howe 1986). Nowadays, the
Kuna retain autonomy of their region and have control over their own politics, as well as
representation in Panama‟s central government, and access to health care and primary education
(Jennings 2005, Tice 1995).
Gender Roles
Citing a 1699 publication by Lionel Wafer, Jennings explains there was evidence that the
Kuna were cotton cultivators at the time and that women had the technology and ability to weave
5
hammocks and cloth they wrapped below their waists (2005:22). Nowadays, most Kuna men
wear Western clothing while women retain their traditional clothing (Jennings 2005:47).
Kuna myths and cosmology give Kuna women a symbolic central role and suggest they
hold a high status in Kuna society (Helms 1976, Howe and Hirschfeld 1981). Kuna women are
considered preservers of traditional values and control the family finances (Puls 1988: 18). Howe
writes: “Kuna women tend to be strong, purposeful and assertive, they enjoy considerable
collective prestige, and they strongly influence household decisions” (1981:320). Although men
hold most position of political/religious power, Kuna society is matrilineal, “with property rights
passing through the female line” (Puls 1988:54), and matrilocal, “once married, a man is
expected to reside in his mother-in-law‟s household and to work under the direction of his fatherin-law. Any fish caught, game hunted, or produce harvested must be given to the mother-in-law
to distribute. This is true even regarding food harvested from fields to which he owns the rights”
(Tice 1995:46).
Given the focus on gender specific perspectives of this essay, it is important to point out
that the Kuna have four gender classifications: male, female, omekit (womanlike biological
man), and macharetkit (manlike biological woman). Tice explains that:
“Male gender crossing among the Kuna is characterized primarily by choice of
productive labor and demeanor and only secondarily by sexual orientation. According to
interviewees, omekits are usually identified as such as children. These boys talk and sing
like little girls and always want to play with girls, not boys. They also are interested in
„female tasks‟ such as cooking, sewing molas, and sweeping … In the 1980s, omekits …
were members of the mola cooperative and were well known as highly competent mola
sewers… Sewing molas is a „woman‟s‟ task whether performed by a biological woman
or a man who is socially defined as womanlike” (1995:73-75).
6
Molas: Technique, Style, and Ethnoaesthetics
Molas are a textile art, similar to quilting, created by Kuna women. The word mola
literally means blouse, and they are used as the front and back panels for the blouses that Kuna
women wear (Parker 1977:21).
Intricate designs in mola panels are created through a combination of appliqué and
reverse appliqué, in which layers of fabric are laid on top of each other or cut through to reveal
colors underneath. Raw edges are rolled under and held in place with minute stitches. Additional
colors can be added by inserting pieces of fabric in between the layers. Designs are also
embellished using embroidery. According to Jennings, “the Kuna aesthetic involves color and
design that encompasses all of the available space … colors are exposed through small lateral
slits that are beyond those needed to execute the body of the design” (2005:26).
The simplest molas are formed out of two or three pieces of fabric of different colors, but
intricate ones have up to seven layers. Their excellence is also judged based on the fine stitching,
which aims to be invisible. Designs follow traditional patterns, but also allow for innovation
(Parker 1977:48). Thus, molas from a century ago featured mostly geometric patterns (Parker
1977:52), while contemporary molas prominently feature aspects of their environment: flowers
and animals (especially birds and ocean animals, such as fish and sea turtles).
Scholars such as Jennings, state that the mola designs arise from body painting, which
Wafer described as “figures of birds, beasts, men, trees, or the like, … These pigments were very
bright and highly saturated colors of red, yellow and blue” (as cited on Jennings 2005:24). It has
been suggested that these designs were first painted onto cloth and later created through
appliqué. Contemporary mola designs emphasize those same colors and still often depict the
subjects described by Wafer.
7
The Emergence and Production of Molas as a Global Phenomenon
We do not know exactly when Kuna women gained access to the cloth, needles, scissors,
and thread necessary to produce molas (Salvador 1978:10), or whether they developed the
appliqué technique independently or derived it from cutting and sewing techniques learned from
outsiders. However, we do now that as early as the 1600s, perhaps even earlier, the kuna had
established friendship and commercial relationships with pirates and merchants (Tice 1995:61).
In the contemporary Kuna women‟s dress, including the mola blouses, foreign elements “have
combined with traditional ones to create a unique clothing style” (Salvador 1978:10).
By the early 19th century, the mola blouse had become the traditional Kuna women style
of dress and the practice of sewing molas was pervasive among all Kuna women. The oldest
documented mola in existence was collected by Eleanor York Bell in 1909 and is now housed at
the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. (Puls 1988:22). Jennings traces the early history
of mola blouses thus:
“Lucien De Puydt, writing of his observations while in Panama from 1861 to 1865, said
that the women wore blouses down to their knees (p 97). By1888, Armand Reclus writes
that the women were wearing an „ungraceful blue blouse which falls scarcely to the knee
and which is edged with yellow or red design‟ (p 206). By 1927, when Erland
Nordenskiold was collecting artifacts for the Gotenburg museum in Sweden, the style had
evolved to one that closely resembles today‟s mola blouse” (2005:25).
According to Tice, as of 1985,
“all the materials needed to sew a mola (cloth, thread, a needle, a pair of scissors, and a
thimble) could be purchased or traded for at one or more local store in every San Blas
community. Bolts of coarse cloth, generally used only as the bottom layer of a mola, were
acquired by store owners from Colombian traders. Most of the cloth, however, was
purchased in Panama City and came from Japan, China, or England. Thread, also
purchased in Panama City, was imported from France and England. Scissors came from
West Germany and China” (1995:77).
Although a uniquely Kuna phenomenon, molas are the result of, and are dependent on,
the international commerce that brings such materials from around the globe to the Kuna women
8
in a relatively isolated coastal region of Panama. Thus, we can see that molas are a remarkable
example of bricolage, as foreign elements are adapted to a new context to create something novel
and original. Molas are also an excellent example of the concept of „emergent tradition‟, since
the Kuna consider them an important aspect of their cultural identity, to be practiced and
preserved, although they are a relatively new tradition. Mola art is a quintessential „living
tradition‟ which is constantly evolving, while absorbing or rejecting outside influences, and
negotiating conservative and innovative processes.
Molas as a Women’s Folk Art
The Kuna believe that hundreds of years ago, God sent Ibeorkun to teach them how to
conduct a good life (Stout 1947:41). He taught that women should be responsible for sewing
their own clothes, as well as those for their daughters and mothers if they were unable to sew
their own (Nordenskiold 1979(1925):135). Thus, mola-making is seen by many Kuna as a
significant, if not sacred, women‟s occupation. Jennings points out that, because of the time
consuming nature of mola making, it would not be possible for women to practice it without the
sanctioning of the entire community. In fact, without the religious and social paradigm that
justifies it, mola-making would not have evolved and thrived within a sustenance society, which
the Kuna society has largely been until recent years (2005:21, 38).
As a matter of fact, Kuna women keep their started molas and materials always within
reach and use any spare moment for stitching (Puls 1988:40). Moreover, most Kuna women used
to “spend many hours per day fetching water for drinking, cooking, washing, and bathing” from
the mainland rivers, until the construction of aqueducts to many islands in the 70s. This shift
could be considered as one of the major factors that allowed for a situation favorable to the
9
commercialization of molas, since it “considerably increased women‟s available time for mola
making” (Jennings 2005:52).
Mola making techniques are learned informally, passed from the older women to the
young girls of the Kuna communities from early childhood. Women develop and refine their
mola making skills throughout their lives, although the Kuna also recognize individual inborn
talent. Aesthetics, traditional designs, and excellence standards are also passed from generation
through generation fluidly, because women tend to sew in groups and critique each other‟s work
(Jennings 2005:38).
Kuna women distinguish themselves within their society by being fine mola makers. In
fact, they “may wash their eyes in water steeped with forest leaves called sapigarda, whose
patterns evoke the marks of a pen on paper,” in order to dream beautiful mola designs. However,
the belief is that traditional “medicine baths, however important, matter less than apprenticeship”
and practice (Salvador 1997:48-49).
In regards to Kuna mola aesthetics and excellence standards, Jennings points out that
“there are specific techniques that are highly regarded by the Kuna, such as compact and parallel
lines and serrated edges. Frequent color alterations and full use of the area allocated to the panel
are the signs of a mola panel that was well designed” (2005:12).
10
Figure 1. Cuna mother sewing a mola, "one of the most common place scenes” in San Blas, and mola depicting a similar
scene. Parker (1977) p. 61-62.
Figure 2. Women sewing molas at the entrance of a house. Salvador (1997) p. 169.
11
Molas and Identity
According to Howe, one of the main reasons for the Kuna‟s focus on political autonomy
is concerned with maintaining their dignity and identity (1998:8). Their appearance, clothing,
body painting, and jewelry, are considered primordial because they allow for recognition and
make a proud outward statement of Kuna identity (Howe 1998:125, Puls 1988:18). He states
that Kuna women “create beautifully sewn decorative blouses … to display themselves as being
Kuna, a culture apart from the rest of the world” (1998:17). Salvador asserts that: “mola making
is considered by the Kuna to be an integral part of their culture and important to their ethnic
identity” (1978:22). Such is the importance of women‟s right to wear their mola costume as an
assertion of their identity, that scholars such as Tice state it was “at the heart” of the 1925
revolution, after the Panamanian government had prohibited congresos (Kuna‟s self-governance
meetings), healing methods, and women‟s dress” (1995:40).
Thus, molas came to be the main Kuna ethnicity marker, and symbolize pride in their
traditions. Jennings states: “Pride of dress became as important as being Kuna” (2005:34).
However, it is important to point out that not all Kuna women wear the traditional dress.
According to Tice:
“Dress code varies from island to island. On some islands … what a woman wears is
considered her own business, and women wear western dress, mola, or a combination as
they see fit. On other islands, however, women and girls of all ages are required by their
local congresos to wear mola (full Kuna dress). This is considered a symbol of resistance
to acculturation into western, or non-Kuna, culture” (1995:28).
I find it fascinating that molas have come to embody Kuna identity so thoroughly for
both insiders and outsiders, given the fact that Kuna women did not began to make molas until
little over a century ago. As historical records show, Kuna women‟s dress traditions have
12
changed rapidly and repeatedly in the past few centuries. In fact, smaller details, such as the
length or width of nose rings or mola blouses, or the shape of the mola blouses sleeves, have
been changing according to fashion through the decades, as can be observed in pictures of Kuna
women from the „40s to the present. Regardless of the plasticity of Kuna costuming fashion, it is
clear that exterior appearance is a major aspect and manifestation of their ethnic identity. The
appearance and importance of making and wearing molas is, thus, also an excellent example of
„emergent identity‟ which is constantly redefined in ever changing economic, cultural, and
sociopolitical contexts.
Furthermore, molas are not only a prime identifier of Kuna identity, but have also come
to represent Panama as a whole. This is in part due to the tourism industry and the efforts of the
Panamanian government to attract tourists to the country, to a certain extent by highlighting „the
exotic other‟. Kuna women were prominently featured in Panama‟s tourist literature during the
1960s (Tice 1995:66). Tice recounts a personal communication, the veracity of which I
personally witnessed during the late 1990s and up to the present:
“By 1985, molas had become a well-recognized symbol of Panama. Molas were hung in
prominent public places throughout Panama City. Large murals made from numerous
mola panels sewn together covered entire walls in one of Panama‟s major hotels and in
the lobbies of two banks … it was not uncommon to find framed mola panels hanging in
hotel lobbies, government offices, and banks … One gas station had mola designs …
Decorative ceramic tiles painted with mola designs were prominent on at least two public
buildings in the city … In the 1990s, wearing clothing incorporating molas has become
fashionable and a symbol of national pride (Anna Wenzel, personal communication)”
(1995:94).
Furthermore, it could also be interpreted that Kuna women have also used their molas to express
their identity as Panamanian citizens (see Figure 3).
13
Figure 3. Mola with the national eagle and Panamanian flags. Letters read: November 4th, Flag Day. Puls (1988) p. 36.
Outside, Modern, and Global Content in Mola Themes
Almost anything a Kuna woman sees or hears about can become the inspiration for a
mola (Salvador 1978:46). Michael Perrin categorized molas by subject into the following groups:
ancestral, those depicting animals, those depicting myths and rites, those depicting tools that are
used in daily life, and those that show modern images. Other scholars have classified them
similarly or by design style (i.e. labyrinthic). For the purpose of this study I have classified them
in three broader categories: ancestral, traditional, and modern. Ancestral molas are those that
feature geometric patterns (see Figure 4). Traditional molas are those depicting nature
(landscape, plants, and animals) or culture (rituals, everyday activities, myths, etc.) (See Figures
5 and 6). From my personal experience, I have come to the conclusion that these molas,
especially those depicting the flora and fauna of the Kuna‟s coastal homeland are the ones most
commonly produced and sold to tourists. Modern molas include those with catholic themes (see
Figures 7 and 8), political themes (see Figure 9), and those depicting modern objects (such as
airplanes and labels) (see Figures 10 through 15).
14
Figure 4. Geometric Design Mola. From the collection of the Burke Gallery of Art at Denison University. Jennings (2005)
p. 77.
Figure 5. Animal Mola Patches. Set of six with varied
designs for sale by Crizmac: Art and Cultural
Education Materials, Inc. at crizmac.com.
15
Figure 6. Mola depicting a council meeting. "Chiefs sitting in their hammocks surrounded by people". Jennings (2005) p.
10.
Figure 7. Noah's Arch Mola and detail of sleeve with
sequins. From the collection of the Burke Gallery of Art
at Denison University. Jennings (2005) p. 164.
16
Figure 8. Crucified Christ Mola. From the collection of the Burke Gallery of Art at Denison University. Jennings (2005) p.
141.
Figure 9. Mola Blouse and detail of the political candidates portrayed. From the collection of the Burke Gallery of Art at
Denison University. Jennings (2005) p. 126.
17
Figure 10. Mola depicting the logo of a Panamanian television channel, which in turn is a stylized version of an ancient
pottery motif painted on a polychrome plate discovered at the Sitio Conte archeological site in the province of Coclé.
Parker (1977) p. 41.
Figure 11. Mola blouse and the Panamanian quarter-of-a-Balboa coin from which the design was copied. Parker (1977) p.
39.
18
Figure 12. Mola depicting the RCA Victor logo. "Numerous versions appeared during the 1950s, reflecting the Cuna's
love for both dogs and phonographs." Parker (1977) p. 12.
Figure 13. Mola blouse inspired by Parrot Safety Matches box. Salvador (1997) p. 168.
19
Figure 14. Aqueduct Mola. Puls (1988) p. 37.
Figure 15. Airplane mola. Salvador (1995) p. 196.
It is clear that the subjects depicted on molas often reflect the exposure of the Kuna to
outside concepts and items, their incursion into Panamanian national politics, and the prevalence
20
of air transportation to and from the San Blas islands, as aspects of their everyday lives.
However, it is also important to point out that the commercialization of mola products has also
influenced the art form, alienating it from the Kuna traditional context. Some examples of this
process include molas made into Christmas ornaments, stuffed animals, purses, and shoes. Tice
relates a perfect example of the situation:
“An owner of a large chain of supermarkets in Panama City ordered one thousand small
mola snowmen to be used as Christmas tree ornaments. One day a number of women
were sitting together sewing these snowmen. One leaned over and asked me what
snowmen ate, how big they were, and if they lived in the jungle or the sea. None of the
women had the foggiest idea of what they were sewing. As we sat there with sweat
dripping down our necks, I attempted to explain in Kuna, a language with no word for
snow, all about snowmen” (1995:94-95).
Commercialization of Molas and the Global Market
The San Blas archipelago is geographically isolated from the rest of Panama. However, it
is relatively easily accessible by ships coming from the Caribbean. As early as the 1600s, the
Kuna engaged in lucrative trade with the Scotts, the French, and the British colony of Jamaica, as
well as with pirates (Stout 1947:53). Long before a market for molas developed in the mid
1900s, the Kuna had been rapidly drawn into the international economy through the
commercialization of coconuts and lobster, as well as wage labor migration aboard ships, in
Panama City, and formerly at the Panama Canal Zone (Tice 1995:34). The tourism industry and
the commercialization of molas undoubtedly benefited from such previous experiences and the
networks that arose thereof.
As early at the 1940s and 1950s, Kuna women sold their used blouses, mainly through
personal and kinship networks with Kuna men who had contacts in Panama City (Tice 1995:63).
21
However, as the demand increased in later decades, Kuna women began producing molas
specifically for sale. As early as the 1960s molas had become collectors‟ items (Puls 1988:29).
The development of a global market for molas can be attributed to a number of reasons. For
example, Tice points out that:
“Interest in ethnic arts in general, and molas in particular, increased during the 1960s and
1970s in the United States and Europe. Molas became increasingly sought after by
museums, galleries, fashion designers, and home decorators in the United States. They
were exhibited in various places, including the Field Museum of Natural History in
Chicago, the Pan American Union in Washington, D.C., and several university art
departments. Art galleries in several cities, notably Miami and New York, also featured
molas. Newspaper articles appeared acclaiming molas as genuine works of art … in
1970, a mola skirt was featured on the cover of the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalogue.
From 1966 to 1978, no fewer than four popular books about molas were published in
English. These ranged from „how-to‟ books to those destined for display on a coffee table
…promotion … resulted in increase demand” (Tice 1995:71).
According to the Panamanian Census1 data, the number of molas produced reportedly
increased over threefold between 1960 and 1980 (Tice 1995:68). By now, cruise ships have
been stopping at several islands in the region for decades. Planes land daily and several hotels
offer their services to tourists. Buying molas is the primary tourist activity (Tice 1995:69-70).
Molas have become not just the archetypal Kuna packaged ethnicity item, but the standard
Panamanian souvenir. In fact, molas are also sold extensively in Panama city – from the streets
of the colonial neighborhood visited by tourists daily, to the ruins of the old Spanish city, to the
international airport. As Tice points out, “unlike bulky baskets or ceramics, molas are light, nonbreakable, and take up very little room in a suitcase” (1995:67).
As agricultural endeavors have declined –due, among other reasons, to the migration of
men to the cities, blights, and the instability of the coconut market (Tice 43-44, 64) – and cash
1
In Censos Nacionales de 1980: Cuarto censo nacional agropecuario 17 al 24 de mayo 1981
[Panama City: Dirección del Estadísticas y Censo, 1981 : 59-60]
22
needs have increased (Salvador 1997:35), the income from mola sales has become essential to
Kuna households (Tice 1995:56). In fact, the commercialization of molas has been a major factor
in the ongoing change within Kuna society from a sustenance economy to an economy
dependant on cash (Tice 1995:178). According to Tice, the Kuna often trade coconuts with
Colombian ships for “hammocks, metal storage bins, large steel cooking pots, or one-hundredpound sacks of sugar … the money generated from molas is needed to purchase things for the
household such a sugar, powdered cocoa, salt, and rice … clothing and personal items …
children‟s school supplies” (Tice 1995:30). Decades ago, cocoa, salt, sugar cane, and rice for
household consumption used to be fully provided by sustenance agriculture. Currently, tourism
and mola commerce are the main source of income for the Kuna (Campos Candanedo 2002).
It is important to point out that the mola market, both in Panama and abroad, is
vulnerable to political and economic global forces. As an example of a situation in which tourism
in Kuna Yala was affected by outside forces, Tice cites the cease of economic activity that took
place in the entire country during the economic sanctions previous to the 1989 U.S. invasion of
Panama to capture General Noriega. It took years for the Kuna economy to overcome the adverse
effects of the decline in tourism that followed the invasion (1995:71-72).
According to Tice, in the 1980s, Kuna women‟s mola blouses were “selling for high
prices in small ethnic arts stores, fancy boutiques, and art galleries throughout the United States
and Europe” (1995:12). Nowadays, molas continue to be exported in large quantities. In fact, the
Panamanian Ministry of Commerce and Industry indicates that $1,420,182 worth of molas were
exported in the year 2001, ranking as the main handmade craft exported from Panama (Campos
Candanedo 2002). As we approach the second decade of the 21st Century, molas are now also
largely sold over the internet.
23
Panart.com, crossroadstrade.com,
molaartandcraft.com, and wearmolas.com,
are some of the online stores that sell molas
worldwide. The latter specializes in selling
not traditional mola panels or blouses, but
new applications of mola art: from women‟s
Figure 7: "CossackBoot". Note: From
Wearmolas.com
Figure 6: "Isabel Open Toe Heels".
Note: From Wearmolas.com.
flat and high heeled shoes, boots, and sandals, to leather and fabric purses, and other accessories.
Besides shopping options, molas have numerous other forms of internet presence, such as
abundant how-to web pages with instructions for making molas2. There are also many personal
mola galleries from individuals‟ collections3, often categorized by theme (i.e., abstract or
geometric, animals, flowers, etc.). There are also numerous academic and coffee table books
available for sale online, as well as how-to books, such as Charlotte Patera‟s Mola Technique’s
for Today Quilters and Jane Hill‟s The Electric Mola: Sewing Machine Method for Making the
Traditional Handcrafted Mola. There is also a mola coloring book, Caren Caraway‟s Mola
Design Book; a book with 45 “permission-free designs”, Mola Designs by Frederick W. Shaffer;
and a children‟s book, Maricel Presilla‟s Mola: Cuna Life Stories and Art. Doing a quick search
online for molas will also bring up book reviews4 and lesson plans5. Finally, there are also some
online museum exhibitions on molas6, most notably the National Museum of the American
2
For example, http://thorup.com/makeamola.html and
http://charlottepatera.com/html/MAKE%20A%20MOLA/makeamola.html.
3
For example, http://park.org/SanBlasDeCuna/molas.html and
http://charlottepatera.com/html/1molacollect.html.
4
For example, http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/fabric_crafts/27030 and
http://planetpatchwork.com/molabook.htm
5
For example, http://www.hipark.austin.isd.tenet.edu/special/kidstudio/molas/molas.html,
http://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/docs/0109teachlearnlookmolas.pdf, and
http://www.dickblick.com/multicultural/mola/.
6
For example, http://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/minigalleries/panamamolas/intro.shtml and
http://artshiftsanjose.com/?p=2024.
24
Indian‟s exhibition The Art of Being Kuna: Layers of Meaning Among the Kuna of Panama. The
exhibition features 32 pieces from their collection, details about their collaboration with Kuna
individuals who visited the museum as cultural specialists, and contextual information 7 (see
Figure 16).
Figure 16: "Dr. Mari Lyn Salvador, curator of The Art of Being Kuna, pictured above, top right, with the visiting Kuna
cultural specialists". Note: National Museum of the American Indian.
As the interest in and documentation of mola art feeds and is fed by its
commercialization, the art form adapts to new contexts. Any form of folk art formerly produced
for personal use is bound to change as it shifts to being produced with the costumer in mind. Tice
points out that “mola designs, colors, and shapes have all changed as a result of their
commercialization” (1995:97). For example, women utilize pastel colors in the molas they sew
for sale that they do not use in the molas they wear, which tend to have brighter and highly
contrasted colors. There is also a higher predominance of animal figures in molas sewn for sale,
7
At http://www.nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/the_art_of_being_kuna/
25
reflecting the tourist‟s preferences. However, the cooperative many mola producers belong to
also encourages revival of „traditional‟ geometric designs for „authentic‟ molas to be sold at
higher prices. Thus, it is clear that the commoditization of molas can simultaneously encourage
change and perpetuation, even regression, within the art form – all effective forms of the most
recent outside influence in the evolution of molas.
Molas as Women’s Commodity Art
MOLA CASH ECONOMY AND WOMEN‟S LIVES
Although many women from egalitarian societies who shifted from sustenance to cashbased economy lose their former access to resources, Tice argues that has not been the case for
Kuna women. In the 1980s, she wrote: “for the Kuna, gender symmetry remains in many areas of
their lives, despite their direct involvement in the global capitalist economy” (1995:13). She also
points out that their experience might provide clues “to prevent or begin to reverse the negative
and unequal impact of economic development … on women relative to men” (1995:5).
In fact, in some islands, the commercial production of molas has shifted previously firm
gender-based divisions of labor. In the process, some young men have taken up tasks previously
exclusively performed by women, such as cooking, in order for women to have more time to sew
(Tice 1995:125). In the islands in which gender divisions of labor remained strict, older women
took over more household work as younger women began dedicating more time to sewing molas
(Tice 1995:126).
One of the reasons for the outstanding benefits of mola-making for Kuna women is the
fact that they have individual control over their own income from mola sales, a particular
26
socioeconomic situation unlike that of many other populations in similar circumstances around
the world (Tice 1995:176). Addditionally, Kuna women have developed a keen business sense
and worked cooperatively. Tice summarizes it thus:
“Alone, the commercialization of crafts may not provide impoverished women with a
sustainable stable income. As the Kuna have shown, however, craft commercialization
can be used to help women develop and finance collective means for obtaining credit,
access to foodstuffs and other commodities, language and business skills, and leverage
for participating in regional and national economic planning processes” (1995:187-188).
As we have seen, Tice argues that Kuna women have a more stable income source than
other third world women (1995:16), such as those in places where foreign industries have
brought wage jobs. In such cases, women have often abandoned their crafts to join the labor
force, leaving them with no source of income when industries move out. However, we must also
consider that the mola commerce relies on fashion and tourism – both very unstable outside
forces.
As Tice points out, when a women‟s craft is commercialized chances exist for both
income-generating opportunities as for the exploitation of producers. The extent to which women
gain or lose economic control when crafts are commercialized varies according to many issues
(1995:11). For example, several barriers prevented Kuna women in the 1980s from selling
directly to store owners in Panama City: the distance, since many women did not travel to the
city; and the language, since many women did not speak (much) Spanish. Thus, they often
depended on Kuna male intermediaries (Tice 1995:91). Although the situation has improved and
the women-run cooperative of mola producers has grown and taken over the role of many
intermediaries, the members of the cooperative still have to fight for their inclusion in economic
development planning meetings (Tice 1995:22). Even though Kuna women have gained new
27
opportunities for political participation in recent decades, they are still largely “left out of
regional and local economic development planning activities” (Tice 1995:51).
It is important to point out that mola sales help many Kuna mothers to partially or
completely support their children‟s studies (Tice 1995:21). In fact, although most Kuna single
mothers live in extended households (Tice 1995:173), the income they generate from selling
molas is vital for their own survival and the sustenance of their children. According to Tice,
“Kuna women become single mothers in several ways: divorce or separation, death of partner,
absence of partner due to wage labor migration, or no partner” (1995:171). In fact, she states:
“approximately half of the households in each of the three communities I studied were supported
by mothers living without partners” (1995:172). As one would expect, “households where single
mothers resided with their children were generally more dependent on mola sales than were other
households” (1995:174).
Tice tells the particular story of how the change from a sustenance economy to one based
on cash affected a Kuna woman she met:
“Her life was very different then. Food was more abundant, and her young children‟s
father was still living with them in her mother‟s household. He planted plantains, corn,
and rice and provided them with fresh fish. Amma tells me that her husband decided to
go to Panama City to find a paying job. At first, he sent ten dollars every now and then,
but soon the money stopped coming. She heard from her friends living in the city that he
had found another woman. Amma‟s father was old and could not keep up with all the
agricultural labor. Amma began to sell her molas so that they could buy a little rice
occasionally. In those days, there was no cooperative and store owners paid only two
dollars per mola. Amma was not making any money, so when the mola cooperative
started, she joined. It had been a struggle, but without the money she made from selling
molas through the cooperative, her children would have gone hungry. Many women were
in her same situation; it seemed that more and more often they needed money to eat.”
28
THE COOPERATIVE
The cooperative of mola producers emerged from a Peace Corp initiative in the 1960s.
At the time, most women had to sell their molas through intermediaries who traveled, since only
women in the Mandinga Bay area could sell directly to tourists (Tice 1995:102). These
intermediaries exploited the women by purchasing molas by the hundreds for incredibly cheap
prices in order to make large profits themselves. Before the cooperative, women had little option
and needed the cash (Tice 1995:64-65). In 1974 the cooperative, officially named Los
Productores de Molas R.L., became licensed and recognized. In 1978 they received a $30,000
grant from the Inter-American Foundation which allowed them to “(1) expand membership; (2)
further diversify products sold by the cooperative; (3) lower production costs; (4) develop new
educational and income-generating opportunities for members; and (5) increase women‟s
participation in politics” (Tice 1995:103).
The mola cooperative has provided women with more control over the distribution of
income from mola sales, so the producers can retain a more fair percentage of the price molas
actually sell for. This is largely due to the fact that the cooperative is entirely run and
administered by women who are mola producers themselves. According to Tice, “while the
Kuna have developed many projects designed to maintain local control over important economic
resources such as land, urban housing, and the tourist trade, the mola cooperative is the only
project in which women have taken exclusive leadership” (1995:101).
Nowadays, mola producers have a number of options to sell their products, each with its
own advantages and disadvantages. Independent mola makers are able to sell directly to tourists,
if they live in certain areas, which allows them creative freedom. However, they require capital
to purchase fabric and have no assured buyers. Furthermore, the prices they get for their molas
29
will vary widely depending on their options in regards to who to sell it to, when, and where.
Members of the cooperative, however, do not require capital, have a guaranteed market, and a
better sense of buyer‟s preferences. Nonetheless, their creative choices are somehow limited by
the market and the way the cooperative chooses to organize its members‟ production. Yet
another option now available to mola producers is to sew pieces (pockets, collars, yokes, etc.) for
Panamanian or foreign fashion designers or garment industries (Tice 1995:84-87).
The mola cooperative now sells copious
amounts of mola panels, molitas (panels smaller
than those that could be used for a blouse), and
mola patches (small circles). Additionally, they
have long sold stuffed animal made with molas,
mola pillows, bags, purses, eyeglass cases, belts,
Figure 8. Mola pot holders from Garagesalesally.com.
as well as Christmas stockings and tree ornaments (Tice 1995:104). Nowadays, they also create
towels, tablecloth, kitchen items, and picture frames with mola designs (Campos Candanedo
2002).
The mola cooperative is also concerned with educating its consumers. For example, they
realize that buyers lack the knowledge to judge the quality of molas. Tice tells of how in 1985,
the mola cooperative developed a strategy to revive interest in “„traditional‟ geometric mola
designs” and to sell high-quality, high-cost molas:
“They sewed these designs into mola panels that, because they were „traditional‟ and of
high quality, sold through the cooperative for fifty dollars, more than twice the price of
other mola panels. The „authenticity‟ of these molas, in addition to the quality of
stitching, was used as a main selling point. Tourists and merchants alike were educated
about the history, social context, and meaning of these molas. The cooperative also used
these molas to educate young Kuna women about their own history” (1995:96).
30
According to Tice, the cooperative has also improved mola producers‟ situation by “(1)
eliminating some of the intermediaries in the marketing chain, thereby increasing prices received
by producers; (2) lowering producers‟ costs for cloth and thread by purchasing them wholesale;
(3) raising mola prices; …and offering women the opportunity to improve the quality of their
handiwork [through workshops]” (1995:114).
Mola Politics and Policy
Tice tells about how in the 1980s when she was conducting research in Panama, mass
produced items with mola designs were being sold in stores:
“Large bath towels and other beachwear featuring mola design were being massproduced in El Salvador and sold in high-priced ladies‟ fashion stores in Panama City …
„mola‟ cloth was being produced in Japan and sold in fabric stores by the yard … [a
Taiwanese] firm produced ashtrays, playing cards, and plastic shopping bags featuring
mola designs. These „souvenir‟ items would then be shipped back to Panama for sale to
tourists” (Tice 87). “The women talked to me at length about how angry it made them to
have their mola designs stolen and mass-produced. Adela told me that she had heard
about a law that prohibited the sale of goods competing with handcrafted items made in
Panama and told me that if I could find a copy of this law she personally would visit
Panama‟s vice-president and demand that the law be enforced” (1995:76). “During the
course of my research, I found a copy of the law and the cooperative‟s administrator went
to speak with Panama‟s vice-president as she had promised. Although the vice-president
was sympathetic to her concerns, as far as we know no actions were taken to enforce the
law” (1995: Note 1 chapter 6 p. 204) “In 1984 Kuna legislators, encouraged by the mola
cooperative leaders, worked to pass a law specifically prohibiting the import of mass
produced molas into Panama. The law reads: „Article I. – It is prohibited to import mola
cloth; prints that copy molas; imitations of molas and any other cloth or article that in one
form or another copies or competes with the Kuna handicraft called mola‟ (Law 26 –
October 1984)” (1995:87).
As a response to the threat of plagiarism, the Kuna General Congress prohibits Kuna
women from teaching mola-making to non-Kuna women. Currently, Panamanian law grants
31
collective intellectual property rights to indigenous peoples “for the protection and defense of
their cultural identity and their traditional knowledge” through the Ley 20 del 26 de junio de
20008. The law covers property such as drawings and designs, figures, symbols, dance, music,
traditional art forms, and inventions, among others, through registration at the Dirección General
de Artesanías Nacionales. Fines for failing to adhere to the law are also specified.
Conclusion
Mola making, an essential aspect of Kuna women‟s lives, has been a global art form from
its inception out of imported supplies and likely foreign-adopted sewing techniques. It has been
and continues to be a global art as women who make molas choose to depict not just elements of
their own traditional culture and environment, but also outside and modern elements newly
introduced to their society. Finally, molas as a form of commoditized folk art have become
global through the large market and considerable interest, both popular and academic, it has
aroused in recent decades.
The complexity of the contemporary roles of mola making for Kuna society and Kuna
women cannot be underestimated. On one side, it is a traditional art within the cultural context of
Kuna society, closely tied to their ethnic identity, which has nonetheless emerged relatively
recently and out of foreign elements. On the other side, it is an innovative income source that has
radically changed their interaction with the global market, as well as women‟s economic roles
within their society. Mola commerce helps single mothers, but also entire households, to
8
Retrieved through LEGISPAN at
http://www.asamblea.gob.pa/APPS/LEGISPAN/PDF_NORMAS/2000/2000/2000_517_0603.PDF on November
28th, 2009.
32
confront the modern need for cash in the face of unstable markets, a depressed agriculture, and
the realities of emigration.
Molas continue to become more and more important as symbols of Kuna identity and
sources of income (Salvador 1978:99, 100). In fact, they are becoming the central way of
communication, both cultural and economic, between the Kuna and the outside world, as
outgoing commoditized ethnicity, and also as a process of “Kunification” of outside influences
being absorbed into their culture. The role of mola commercialization in the processes of
economic development and social mainstream-ification taking place within Kuna society (such
as the adjustment to a cash economy and the emergence of nuclear households) is and will
continue to be polemic, as both a cause for and a consequence of change.
Even as we delve into the socioeconomic benefits Kuna women have derived from the
commercialization of molas, it still remains to be seen whether this will have any real effect on
their opportunities for political participation within Kuna society. It is undeniable, however, that
mola making has extended its function for Kuna women from a traditional textile art that allowed
them to wear their ethnic identity, to a powerful tool for economic and collective empowerment.
33
References
Auld, Rhoda L. 1977. Molas: What They Are, How to Make Them. New York: Van Nostrand
Reinhold.
Aventuraspanama.com. n.d. “Kuna woman with her molas for sale.” Image.
http://www.aventuraspanama.com/WFOTOS/San%20Blas/Kuna%20women%20displaying%20
her%20molas.jpg accessed December 7, 2009.
Campos Candanedo, Diana. 2002. “Con el Sello Panameño.” La Prensa July 28th, 2002,
http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2002/07/28/hoy/negocios/646518.html accessed
on November 29, 2009.
Caraway, Caren. 1981. Mola Design Book. Gilsum, NH: Pathway Book Service.
Crizmac.com. n.d. “Animal Mola Patches.” Image.
http://www.crizmac.com/online_catalog/store.cfm?step=display&productid=902 (accessed
December 6, 20090
De Puydt, Lucien. 1868. “Account of Scientific Explorations in the Isthmus of Darien in the
Years 1861 and 1865,” Journal of the Royal Geographical Society 38:1868, 97.
Garagesalesally.com. n.d. “Mola Pot Holders.” Image.
http://www.garagesalesally.com/proddetail.asp?prod=VMyNam14 (accessed December 6, 2009)
Gasso, Leonardo. 1911-1914. La Misión de San José de Nargana entre los Karibe. Barcelona:
Las Misiones Católicas.
Hill, Jane. 1995. The Electric Mola: Sewing Machine Method for Making the Traditional
Handcrafted Mola. Boca Raton, FL: Hillcraft Needle Arts.
Howe, James, and Lawrence A. Hirschfeld. 1981. “The Star Girls‟ Descent: A Myth about Men,
Women, Matrilocality, and Singing.” Journal of American Folklore. 94 (373): 292-322.
______1986. The Kuna Gathering: Contemporary Village Politics in Panama. Austin:
University of Texas Press.
_______ 1998. A People Who Would Not Kneel: Panama, the United States, and the San Blas
Kuna. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Jennings-Rentenaar, Teena. 2005. Kuna mola blouses: An example of the perpetuation of an artcraft form in a small scale society. Dissertation, The Ohio State University.
Langebaek, Carl. 1991. “Cuna long distance journeys: the result of colonial interaction”,
Ethnology 30:373.
34
Mathews, Kate. 1998. Molas! Patterns, Techniques, Projects for Colorful Appliqué. Asheville,
NC: Lark Books.
National Museum of the American Indian. n.d. “Dr. Mari Lyn Salvador, curator of The Art of
Being Kuna, pictured above, top right, with the visiting Kuna cultural specialists.” Image. From
The Art of Being Kuna: Layers of Meaning Among the Kuna of Panama. Exhibition.
http://www.nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/the_art_of_being_kuna/eng/intro/foreword.htm (accessed
December 6, 2009).
Nordenskiold, Erland. 1979 (1925). An Historical and Ethnological Survey of the Cuna Indians.
Goteborg, Sweden: Goteborg Sweden Etnografiska Avdelningen.
Parker, Ann, and Avon Neal. 1977. Molas: Folk Art of the Cuna Indians. Barre, MA: Barre
Publishing.
Patera, Charlotte. 1995. Mola Techniques for Today's Quilters. Paducah, KY: American Quilting
Society.
Perrin, Michel. 1999. Magnificent Molas: The Art of the Kuna Indians. Paris: Flammarion.
Presilla, Maricel E. 1996. Mola: Cuna Life Stories & Art. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
Puls, Herta. 1988. Textiles of the Kuna Indians of Panama. Great Britain: Shire Ethnography.
Reclus, Armand. 1888. Panama et Darien: Voyages D’exploration. Paris: Hachette.
Rodaro Vico, Beatrice. 2000. La Mola - Redaction, Technique et Creation. Lyon, France:
Editions de Saxe.
Saint-Amand, Annie. Panama's Kuna and the Perils of Modernity
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2001/6/panamaskuna.cfm , accessed November 22,
2009.
Salvador, Mari Lyn. 1978. Yer Dailege! Kuna Woman's Art. Albuquerque: Maxwell Museum of
Anthropology, University of New Mexico.
Salvador, Mari Lyn, editor. 1997. The Art of Being Kuna: Layers of Meaning Among the Kuna of
Panama. Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History.
Shaffer, Frederick W. 1982. Mola Designs. Dover Publications, Inc.: NY.
Stout, David. 1947. San Blas Cuna Acculturation: An Introduction. New York: Viking Fund
Publications in Anthropology.
Tice, Karin E. 1995. Kuna Crafts, Gender, & the Global Economy. Austin: University of Texas
Press.
35
Ventocilla, Jorge, et al. Edited by Hans Roeder. 1995. Plants and Animals in the Life of the
Kuna. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Wafer, Lionel. 1903 (1699). A New Voyage and Description of the Isthmus of America.
Cleveland: The Burrows Brothers Co.
Wearmolas.com. “Isabel Open Toe Heel”. Image. http://www.wearmolas.com/shoes.html (accessed
on December 6, 2009)
______________ “Cossack-Boots”. ”. Image. http://www.wearmolas.com/Boots.html (accessed on
December 6, 2009)
36