1. Los indios Kuna
Panamá

2. Los indios Kuna viven en Panamá. La mujer en la foto es un indio Kuna.

3. Panamá está en Centroamérica

4. The approximately 30,000 Kuna Indians now live on the San Blas Islands and on the strip of mainland Panamá called Kuna Yala.

5. The Kuna Indians are a strongly tribal society that live much like their ancestors did.

6. Una casa típica de los indios Kuna

7. Most houses are a large, single room filled with hammocks where the Kuna Indians rest & sleep.

8. Each dwelling may be home to 10 or 20 Kuna from three to four generations, all related to a line of women. A woman never leaves the house into which she is born!

9. Un baño típico de los indios Kuna

10. The Kuna Indians are Central America’s last unassimilated indigenous tribe.

11. The Kuna Indians have stepped into modern times with both their culture and their political automony intact.
They accomplished this by mounting a successful rebellion against the Panamanian government in 1925.

12. The Kuna Indians govern themselves, and each village is autonomous
The Kuna Indians govern themselves, and each village is autonomous. This is the meeting place for one Kuna village, where they gather to hear the stories and advice of the elders.

13. There are various political parties among the Kuna Indians.
Their government is a social democracy where each has rights to a voice in council.
There are various political parties among the Kuna Indians.

14. Las banderas representan partidos políticos (political parties) diferentes.

15. Each person is expected to make their own way in Kuna society, but also to contribute to communal labor, such as farming a plot of land…

16. …or preparing coconuts brought to the island by boat.

17. For transportation, the Kuna indians use boats that they have made by digging out a single tree. These are used to transport water from the mainland to the islands.

18. Many Kuna women make a living by creating molas.

19. In fact, many women make more money than men by selling their hand-crafted molas.

20. In the Kuna language mola means “blouse.”

21. Mola panels are also art.

22. In this simple mola, the top layer is cut away to show the fabric underneath.

23. The top layer is then hand-stitched to the fabric beneath.

24. This Kuna woman is wearing a similar simple mola design.

25. Most molas have multiple layers of fabric overlays, which create intricate designs.

26. This woman’s mola design is more complex and intricate.

27. When complete, two molas are sewn together to become the front and back of a blouse.

28. Many mola designs depict scenes from nature.

29. The Kuna Indians live in one of the richest biological regions in Central America.

30. This location provides a unique source of inspiration for mola makers.

31. ¿Sabes el animal?
los burros

32. ¿Sabes el animal?
el elefante

33. ¿Sabes el animal?
los gatos

34. ¿Sabes el animal?
los perros

35. ¿Sabes el animal?
el armadillo

36. ¿Sabes el animal?
los monos

37. ¿Sabes el animal?
el delfín

38. ¿Sabes el animal?
la tortuga

39. Kuna women also create molas to represent objects used in their everyday lives. This mola depicts two washboards.

40. This mola depicts firepots
This mola depicts firepots. The pots are used to burn incense to help heal the sick and dying.

41. In addition to nature and everyday objects, molas often depict themes related to politics, popular culture, or Kuna legends.

42. For example, this mola is a reproduction of a campaign ad for presidential elections.

43. Some molas have intricate geometric designs.

44. Molas take weeks to create. No two molas are the same!

45. The quality of the mola is determined by factors such as:
Number of layers
Fineness of stitching
Evenness and width of cutouts
Addition of details such as zigzag borders, lattice-work or embroidery
General artistic merit of the design and color combination.

46. When Kuna women get tired of their molas (blouses), they typically disassemble them and sell them to collectors.

47. When it comes to molas, second-hand is the best
When it comes to molas, second-hand is the best! Authentic molas, and not ones created just for tourists, will show signs of wear, such as fading and stitch marks along the edges of the paneling.

48. Mola-making has been a custom among the Kuna for more than a century, but has only recently become an important commodity for tourist trade.

49. Tourism and molas provide a source of income for the Kuna, but also have an impact on their culture.

50. In what ways could increased tourism among the Kuna impact their culture?

51. How have molas served to both maintain and to threaten the cultural identity of the Kuna Indians?

52. Create your own mola design using the following materials:
Art Project
Create your own mola design using the following materials:
8 ½ x 11 piece of poster board
Yarn
Glue

53. Art Project
Like the Kuna Indians’ designs, yours can represent the nature around you, an object from your everyday life, depict a political or pop culture theme, a geometric design, or a legend.