Molas of Kuna Yala

Dylan's Mom told us we must stock up on molas. Having admired the ones that she already owns we acknowledged the suggestion and looked forward to the situation arising. At the time I had never heard of molas so gave it a google to learn more. 'Mola' is Kuna's native language for 'shirt' or 'clothing', it's traditional dress and typically women wear a front and back mola panel sewn onto a blouse. To complete the outfit they team this with a sarong, headscarf, beads all the way up their arms and legs (they are particularly proud of their skinny pins) and a gold nose ring through both nostrils. A Kuna lady in her brightly coloured dress, all of 5ft nothing, acts as a fantastic emblem for the matriarchal society they still exists today.

Back in the day, the Kuna women used to paint their bodies with geometric designs of which they had detailed meaning. A local master mola maker (person that is very good at their art) told us that concentric circles for example, are a traditional design and symbolise the nose ring that is worn through the nose of older women. Only with missionary contact did the community start to transfer their body painting to fabric and then the reverse-applique work that we see today. Although animals have almost replaced the geometric patterns and we even saw teletubbies in one design! With the arrival of cruise ships and more yachties in the area, the designs cater to their main customers now and Kuna's often ask for magazines to aid inspiration resulting in political and cross-cultural themes. These women seriously kick butt, so much so the Kuna rebellion that led to their land (Kuna Yala) being recognised as a semi-autonomous territory from Panama was started when the government tried to stop Kuna ladies from wearing their traditional dress! These ladies mean business; the designing, the creating, the bartering, the receiving of money is all carried out by the ladies. The men solely act as a taxi driver whizzing them from one boat to another.

Venancio and I holding up the molas I bought

The making of molas is a craft passed down from generation to generation and many master mola makers that you meet act as teachers to school kids just getting started on the reverse-applique skill. But how do they make them? Venancio who I have mentioned earlier in the blog (by far the most talented of the mola makers in my opinion!) took out a mola in progress when he was on our boat and kindly demonstrated the amount of effort that goes into them. Between 2 – 7 layers of different coloured cloth are sewn together. Once the design is chosen, he sets about cutting away parts of each layer to form the shape of the design. The edges of each layer of cloth are then turned under and hand sewn closed in different coloured thread. His stitches are so so tiny and intricate and he can thread a needle in 2 seconds with his naked eye and no fancy threader to help! It really is most impressive and you can easily see how it takes him on average 3-6 months to complete one mola.

Having bought my fair share of molas now and learning as I go along, I consider myself pretty well informed on what makes a good quality mola:

• The more layers of cloth the more effort required in reverse-applique technique
• Check the accuracy of the stitching. It should all be equal with no knots visible. The best stitching is almost invisible!
• Cut out pieces of cloth should all be equal in width
• Check for wear as some of them have been sitting around in a plastic bin stinking of mould for years
• Check for old stitch marks in the corners, these molas have been taken off an old blouse and could be damaged (but then again, if they were proud enough to wear them, they are probably of better quality – albeit “second hand”)
• Check for detail, the more layers of cloth, the more cut out pieces, the more stitches, the more workmanship involved (i.e. time and skill)

And remember, it is OK to critique a mola maker's work. I often pointed out imperfections in the stitching or cloth and thus lead to a tool in the bartering process. If we just give them what they ask for without demanding quality then who knows how much they will cost and look like in 10 years time!

Of course like all things in life, it comes with a compromise. If you manage to get an excellent mola with tons of detail, it will be pricey. Although saying that, Venancio from the mola making island made fabulous molas of eye popping quality and I paid no more than $40 per item. An easy way to guess straight away which are the expensive molas is to look for the small cut out triangles. If you see them on a mola you have taken a fancy to, expect to start the bartering at $35/40. Unfortunately I was always drawn to this type! The makers often make the molas in pairs with a common theme through both of them as they are usually worn on a blouse covering front and back. However I often only wanted one of them and they are fine to separate the two if needed.

My favourite mola from Venancio

The most famous of the mola makers in Kuna Yana is probably the transvestite Lisa. She signs all of her work and manages to get to most anchorages in the area peddling her wares. Yes her work is good but I still think Venancio's stands out. You will usually find him in the Lemmons and he is always accompanied by his cousin as the taxi driver.

Lisa and I holding the molas I bought

Mola I bought from Lisa

Now with my stash of molas I am thinking of putting them to good use. A couple will be given away as presents, some framed and others made into pillows. Come to think of it...I may need to get more...