What are Molas?

Mola sales boot in Panama City
Mola sales boot in Panama City

Molas are part of the traditional dress of Kuna Indians and are worn by the women on the front and back side of their blouse. Together with the blue print cotton skirts, the red and orange head scarves and the characteristic glass bead strings on wrists and ankles they represent the traditonal dress of the Kuna women.

 

Some Molas are of such fine quality, taht their completion takes several hundreds of hours - these pieces have the highest collector's value and are sought-after on a world-wide level. Machine-made Molas fortunately are still not widely spread.

 

Molas are now shown in museums and private collections around the world. The worldwide interest is based not only in the ethnologic meaning of the motifs, but also in the unique textile technique. Especially in the patchwork and quilting scene mola technique is well known.