Seventeenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Since the times of the colonization of Americas, Kuna women have caught the attention of endless explorers, anthropologists, researchers and in recent years of the multitude of North American tourists who travel through the islands of San Blas and are captivated and mesmerized by the colorful Kuna creations. These artistic expressions of Kuna skills explored in this paper are best described as “the outlet of women’s creative capacity” as well as their “identification with culture rather than nature” (Tice 16). Kuna women have an important role in the family life: “Kuna women tend to be strong, purposeful, assertive, they enjoy considerable collective prestige, and they strongly influence household decisions” (Howe: 1981, p. 320). The Kuna have a matriarchal society in which the line of inheritance passes through the women. Females are highly prized because they bring manpower in the family. The division of labor is also quite traditional. Men cultivate the land, bring firewood and collect coconuts, construct houses, make canoes and baskets. Women, on the other hand, dedicate their time to raising children, cooking, collecting fresh water, cleaning the house and the most important of all mola-making. Mola-making has a huge bearing on Kuna women supporting their own households due to the fact that the female-supported households in San Blas are growing because many become single mothers due to divorce, separation, death of partner or his absence due to labor migration (Tice 171). Making and wearing a mola is an important “visual statement of Kuna pride” (Tice 27).