A History of Molas
by Patricia Cummings
photos by James Cummings
What is a Mola?
The answer is simple. Molas are colorful panels that include various types of appliqué and often have added embroidery. Once assembled, they are placed on both the lower front and lower back of a blouse. These colorful blouses are only part of the daily attire worn by the Kuna Indian women of Central America. The mola blouses, and mola panels, in and of themselves, have come to be prized collectibles among textile enthusiasts and museums.
The way that Kuna women dress has come to symbolize their “Kunaness,” a term coined by ethnographer Michel Perrin in his book Magnificent Molas, (Flammarion). In addition to mola blouses, women wear imported red and yellow head scarves, wrap around skirts, gold nose rings and earrings, and rectangular units of decorative beads which encircle calves and forearms. In addition, a black stripe is painted on the nose and runs the full length of it. This practice is thought to enhance beauty, and is a reminder of the more extensive body painting practices of former times. Women sometimes paint their faces with a rouge made from achiote seeds. Mola making itself originated with the Kuna in the second half of the nineteenth century.
The origin of the Kuna people is uncertain. They may be descendants of the Carib Indians of the area. According to Frederick W. Shaffer, some anthropologists believe the Kuna (Cuna) to have originated in Southeast Asia six thousand years ago.
The similarities between the needlework of the two cultures of the Kuna and the Hmong people of Laos, Cambodia, and Laos is remarkable. Both employ channel appliqué, and their design motifs both have symbolic meanings, express cultural identity, and are (now) used to earn income. In fact, they have so much in common, these two distinct but similar types of needlework are sometimes confused by the unknowing.
Language and Habitat
Known as Kuna by everyone else, these Indians call themselves the tule people. Their language, tulekage, is derived from the Chibcha group of languages and was in place long before the occupation of the Spanish conquistadores more than five hundred years ago. In addition to occupying some of the 365 islands that form an archipelago off the coast of Panama, the Kuna also inhabit rain forest land along a 140 mile stretch of Panama’s coast. Access to Panama’s mainland from the islands is limited to boat, canoe, or plane. Approximately one thousand Kuna live in Colombia.
Abandonment of Traditional Dress Urged
The year 1907 marked the beginning of pressure by outsiders for the Kuna to abandon their visible signs of tradition, and to become more “civilized.” In 1913, the conflict escalated when Miss Anna Coope, a Protestant missionary, arrived on Narganá Island.
Her insistence that the women not wear their usual attire was a quest taken up by other missionaries. Soon, government officials intervened and molas were confiscated by police forces kept on the islands. The Indians, who did not wish to be told how to dress, launched the bloody Tule Rebellion of 1925, during which all the whites present on their territory were either killed or expelled.
Since that time, the land of the Kuna has been a semi-autonomous territory of Panama. The Kuna are self-governing and their leaders convene daily in a congreso (meeting) to make decisions. The Kuna call their homeland Kuna Yala which means Kuna homeland. To the rest of the world, the area where they live is called the San Blas Islands or the Comarca de San Blas. Some islands have as few as fifty inhabitants while others accommodate more than one thousand people. Overcrowding is beginning to be problematic.
A Trip Back in Time
To visit the Kuna is to travel back in time. Surrounded by azure blue waters which cover coral reefs, and with swaying coconut palms in sight, one might think of this as an island paradise. While men are engaged in fishing or agricultural activities, women are responsible for the task of collecting fresh water daily from lakes and streams.
Some islands now have irrigation systems in place which result in fresh water being pumped in automatically. Most of the residents live in thatched houses and sleep in hammocks. The women stitch molas at night by kerosene lamp. A few islands have a small generator to produce electricity. Molas have become a major source of revenue and so women are busy stitching up new ones in any spare moment.
Mola Wealth
In this matriarchal society where all property is passed down through the maternal side of the family, and where money is handled by women, girls learn to sew molas at six or seven years old. They continue stitching molas for a wedding trousseau and by the time they are of marriageable age, they have accumulated a dozen or more.
Closed Society
Traditionally, the Kuna forbid marriage outside their group. A xenophobic society ever since the visits of the Spanish conquistadores who treated them poorly, the Kuna only recently have allowed overnight stays on the islands. If ones does not mind a “no frills” approach to travel, there are now a few “hotels” on a few of the larger islands.
Due to poor economic times, a recent phenomenon has been the number of Kuna who have migrated to the mainland to find wage labor. They always return, though, often within a few months time. The group known as the Mountain Kuna are an even more reclusive tribe. These Kuna live on the mainland and are not receptive to outside contact.
Occupations of Kuna Men
Fishing is becoming a very strong industry for Kuna men who have found a good market with mainlanders for lobster and other seafood delights. Agriculture also plays a significant role in the economy. On the mainland, a slash and burn method is used to clear the jungle to create garden areas where avocados, yucca, plantains, and bananas are grown. Until recently, coconuts were grown on all of the uninhabited islands to sell to traders. Lately, this effort has become less lucrative due to a natural blight on the crop, and to diminished demand due to economic factors.
Both Men and Women Stitch Molas
One percent of the Kuna population is albino, the highest rate of albinism in the world. Albino men stitch molas as a means of income inasmuch as they must stay out of the sun. Reportedly, homosexual men also create molas for sale. Women usually sell their used or old molas which have been previously sewn into a blouse and may be faded or may have the usual bottom band still attached. Most collectors do not worry about this factor because it indicates authenticity. Special molas, reserved for personal use, are never sold. The tourist trade has encouraged many to engage in mola-making. Keep in mind that each mola panel takes approximately two months to stitch.
Unalike Pairs
Mola panels are made in pairs, although they are purposely not exactly alike. The Kuna believe that everything in the universe comes in pairs, but like man and woman, each is dissimilar. Molas themselves, which possess numerous layers of cloth, seem to be symbolically representative of the Kuna legends about how the earth was created in various colored layers. An example of two similar yet incongruent molas are shown here in this pair that feature geometric patterns.
How is a Mola Made?
The panels consist of layers of cotton fabric (usually solid colors). A mola begins life with two or three layers. Often, when the top layer of the fabric is slit, a small piece of colored cloth can be inserted. The edges on either side of the open space are turned under (call this reverse appliqué, if you wish), and they are tacked down with small, close, hand stitches. Contrary to popular belief, not every color seen in a mola represents a full layer of cloth. The channels formed by this type of work form the overall design shape. With the channel appliqué complete, conventional appliqué motifs and embroidery are very often added to the top layer.
Over time, the outside shape of molas has changed from a more upright configuration to a rectangular, oblong one. According to Caren Caraway in The Mola Design Book (Stemmer House, 1981), 16“ x 19” is the average mola size.
Can’t Stop at Just One
The first mola that I had ever seen was a gift from a dear friend. She was moving away and wanted to find a new home for it. The design of the mola is that of a mythical creature. The piece is nicely framed with a heavy burlap surround and she told me that it dates from the early twentieth century and was brought back here by missionaries. This piece became the starting point for a small collection!
Mythological mola, collection of Patricia Cummings
While antique shopping one day, I found a bird mola with the black background and decided that I would take it home and attempt to reproduce it. I actually finished the first part of that process but have not returned to the project to add the conventional appliqué overlays nor the embroidery yet.
In another shop, I could not resist two mola designs, one of turtles, and one of rabbits. Red, black, or orange are the colors most often selected for the top layer of a mola. Recently, I purchased a child’s mola blouse shown here. Upon receiving it, the first thing I noticed about the blouse was its fancy fabric used for the yoke and sleeves. The seller explained that charities often donate fabrics to the Indians and they are quick to experiment and work with any fabric provided.
The most unusual mola I have ever seen is one that the seller nicknamed,
“Torment, Pity, Anguish, and Anxiety.” It depicts four black faces. There is a photo of it in the "Voces y Visiones" file. The other molas I purchased on that particular day include one which features the Escudo, the Official Shield of Panama; a “Patriotic” mola with two Panamanian flags; a mola that says “Felis Navidad” (Merry Christmas spelled wrong in Spanish), and “Prospero Año” (prosperous year). In addition, I bought a Blue Toucan
mola, and a Sailfish mola.
Mola reproduction by Patricia Cummings, in progress.
Next, the piece needs embroidery
Far Reaching Design Sources
The design motifs on the surface of molas are varied and many. The abundant bird life of the islands inspires many abstract depictions of birds in molas. Turkeys, doves, hawks, and storks are common. In addition, sea life is represented in many forms: lobster, crab, fish, turtles, and frogs. In this tropical climate, snakes and lizards abound and their images find their way onto molas. Butterflies are favored motifs and one has found his way onto the center of one of my geometric molas. Domestic animals are sometimes seen, and puppies in a basket seems to be one of the favored design motifs.
Company logos are borrowed from magazines left behind by tourists. Any topic is fair game. Common everyday objects such as arrows, gourds (calabashes), boats, anchors, plates, and jars are used as designs. Official seals, coats of arms, or warriors find their way onto the surface of some molas, as do Biblical depictions, and portrayals of sporting events, especially basketball and boxing. Geometric style molas and maze-like designs are considered to have been made at an earlier time and so are considered to be the most desirable by some collectors.
Celebrities or important people are sometimes the focal point. Among these have been such well known individuals as Christ on the Cross, Elvis, and John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline.
Highly Collectible Art
n their tropical island environment of origin, molas do not last very long. They are stored by hanging them around the interior perimeter of the hut and the salty sea air eventually destroys them. For that reason, there are no very old “antique” molas in existence that are still located on the islands.
In recent years, molas have become highly collectible items for art connoisseurs the world over. Molas can be seen in some of the finest museums throughout the United States and Europe. The Smithsonian collection includes the thirty mola blouses that were collected between 1904-1908 by Eleanor Yorke Bell, the first person known to have photographed molas. (These can be seen online.) A photo of the oldest mola known to exist, one that Eleanor photographed, appears in the book Magnificent Molas, page 22.
Another early collector, Lady Richmond Brown, bought two hundred molas on the islands in 1922. Three-fourths of them are located in Great Britain’s Museum of Mankind. Museums in Germany, Sweden, and elsewhere in Europe have notable collections.
One very noteworthy collection in New England is located at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. Three hundred molas that were among the many more collected by Elisabeth Hans during her lifetime, were donated to the art department. We were lucky enough to have seen an outstanding exhibit which featured some of these works.
Catering to the Trade
The initial idea of marketing molas came from a Panamanian business owner in the 1950s. These days, mola making has been extended to include items found to be popular with tourists. These include potholders, bags, and eyeglass cases and more. Ever since the desirability of molas has increased and gained stature, there are silk screened tee shirts with mola designs available in mainland boutiques. ¡Molas! by Kate Mathews (Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 1998), introduces examples of very innovative design uses of the mola technique, rendered in both cloth and paper, by contemporary American artists.
Ever-Evolving Uses
Quilters today are finding new uses for molas. Small molas can be used as decorative patches on clothing. They can be joined vertically to create a bell pull. At a quilt show in Maine, there was an entire quilt composed of red molas. For such a quilt, one does not need to add the weight of a heavy batting. Simply add a backing after having sewn the molas together, and place the ties so that they are visible only from the back.
More often lately, American quilters are enjoying learning the techniques of mola construction. They are also using a mola as a starting point for making a wearable garment such as a vest, a jacket, the yoke of a dress, or perhaps, even a pocket. Molas are becoming more and more available in smaller sizes that are adaptable to some of the uses mentioned here.
Mola collecting is fun! Enjoy the hunt!
Resources for More Photos and Information:
An article about molas was written by Patricia L. Cummings and published in The Quilter magazine, (NJ: All-American Crafts, Inc., November 2004).
Online site: William Benton Museum, University of Connecticut offers a lot of history information and photos of molas.
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BOOKS
**Magnificent Molas: The Art of the Kuna Indians, Michel Perrin, (Flammarion). ISBN: 2-09013-674-7.
Mola Techniques for Today’s Quilters, Charlotte Patera (American
Quilter’s Society, 1995). ISBN: 0-89145-848-4.
Mola Designs, Frederick W. Shaffer (New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1982) ISBN: 0-486-24289-7
¡Molas! Patterns, Techniques, Projects for Colorful Appliqué!, Kate Mathews (Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 1998). ISBN: 1-57990-020-8.
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Copyright 2004-2008 and beyond, Patricia L. Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH. Entire article and photos under copyright. Do not reproduce images or text. Questions? Comments? Write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com