Kuna Mola

April 3, 2014

This colorful textile made by the Kuna people of the San Blas Islands in Panama is known as a mola.  Molas form part of a Kuna woman’s traditional clothing with the brightly colored panels applied to the front and back of a blouse.  Molas are made of several layers of different colored cloth, which are cut away to form the intricate design, in this case a sea turtle.  The layers are then sewn together with nearly invisible stitches.  These textiles are the best-known representation of Kuna culture to outsiders, and to the Kuna people are a symbol of ethnic pride.