ET&MT COLOMBIAN ART

The mola forms part of the traditional costume of a Kuna woman. The Kuna people hail mostly from Panama but there are small villages in Colombia where they also live. The mola blouse is made when two mola panels are incorporated as front and back panels of the same piece. The full costume traditionally includes a patterned wrapped skirt, a red and yellow headscarf, arm and leg beads, a gold nose ring and earrings in addition to the mola blouse.

In Dulegaya, the Kuna’s native language, “mola” means “shirt” or “clothing”. The mola originated with the tradition of Kuna women painting their bodies with geometrical designs, using available natural colours; in later years these same designs were woven in cotton, and later still, sewn using cloth bought from the European settlers of Panamá.

Molas have their origin in the body painting. Only after the colonization by the Spanish and contact with missionaries the Kuna started to transfer their traditional geometric designs on fabric, first by painting directly on the fabric and later by using the technique of reverse application. It is not known for certain when this technique was first used. It is assumed that the oldest molas are between 150 and 170 years old.

Depending on the tradition of each island, Kuna women begin with the crafting of molas either after they reach puberty, some even at a much younger age. Women who prefer to dress in western style are in the minority