Beagle Channel in the Patagonia

Beagle Channel in the Patagonia

March 14, 2013

TEXTILE ART OF THE GUNA OF PANAMA



MY PERSONAL COMMENTS ON BLOGGING

 

This post starts with the prompt for my Friday Blog Hop, FTSF.


I did something really stupid, I …..started a blog on Blogger some years ago and posted on it a couple of times. I didn’t really know what I was doing and considered it a waste of time, so I gave it up! Now I can’t even find it, maybe it doesn’t exist anymore!


If I had only persevered I would know so much more about blogging than I know now and I would be that much ahead! Still, I am now running to catch up, but it’s been hard to keep up the pace! The really stupid part is that I am now starting another Blog on practically the same topic. You can find it at http://joveron.blogspot.com/LanguageandTests. I would be happy to receive some comments and blogger-love!


That said, I will now continue with my main topic, Spanish America. Here goes my new content!




THE GUNA OF PANAMA





Panama is that narrow string of land that joins North America to South America. It is also the site of the famous Panama Canal.


RELIEF MAP OF PANAMA 









Source: US, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons


This Spanish speaking country in Central America has a very turbulent history, which I won’t be going into in this post. I’m more interested in the textile art of one of the indigenous ethnic groups that inhabit a part of the Caribbean coast of Panama. (The sector on the map that says San Blas corresponds to the Guna)

I’m referring to the Guna Yala region, and the ethnic Guna or Kuna. After a serious revolt, the Guna obtained the right to constitute an autonomous territory within the Panamanian state. They have their own legislative and administrative regulations. This has enabled them to maintain their own culture and customs.



THE MOLA, THE TEXTILE ART OF THE GUNA WOMEN.



The mola blouse is an important symbol of Guna culture. Two rectangular panels constructed with the mola techniques are sown on to the front and back of the basic blouse. The basic costume also includes a wrapped skirt, a headscarf, some arm and leg beads, earrings and maybe a nose ring.

The origins of the mola are to be found in the traditional body painting used by the Guna women. They employed natural colors and created a series of traditional geometric designs. These designs were then transferred to their cotton weaving crafts, and finally after the colonization by Europeans, the present day mola was born, about 150 years ago.

This craft uses a very sophisticated form of reverse appliqué constructed with several layers of cloth that are first joined and then cut out in successive patches and shapes. Starting with the primitive geometric shapes, the designs on the molas have evolved to incorporate abstract flowers, sea animals and birds.

This craft has become one of the principal tourist attractions of the Guna territory, and the production is really beautiful and colorful. 

Here is a small sample of these works of art! They are very intricate designs and beautifully handcrafted.


A MOLA IN CLOSE UP





Source: S/V Moonrise, CC BY SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons



A DOUBLE GEOMETRIC FIGURE





Source: Jessesamuel, CC BY SA 3.0., Wikimedia Commons 



GUNA OR KUNA WOMAN, MAKING HER HANDCRAFTED MOLA





Source: Christian Dory, CC BY 2.0. Wikimedia Commons 



A COLLECTION OF MOLAS








Source: Laktos, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons







SPANISH VERSION


(This Blog is bilingual)


MIS  COMENTARIOS PERSONALES SOBRE LOS BLOGS.



Comienzo este post con una alusión a mi grupo de entusiasta de los Blog, quienes han organizado otro Blog Hop.

Hice un comentario sobre algo muy tonto que hice años atrás: inicié un Blog en Blogger y lo abandoné. Ahora estoy muy arrepentida, por cuanto me ha tocado aprender desde cero y sobre la marcha, ¡siempre corriendo para lograr mantenerme a tono con el resto de mi grupo!

¡Esto me enseña una vez más que la perseverancia es una gran virtud!
Y ahora al contenido principal de este post sobre la América Hispana.


LOS GUNA DE PANAMA



Panamá es ese país angosto que une América del Norte con América del Sur. En él se encuentra situado el famoso Canal de Panamá.

Este país de habla hispana que corresponde a la América Central, posee una historia bastante turbulenta a la cual no me voy a referir en este post. Estoy más interesada en el arte textil de una de las etnias nativas que habitan en un sector de la costa caribeña de ese país.

Me refiero a la región de Guna Yala, donde habitan los Guna o Kuna. Después de un importante movimiento revolucionario, los Guna obtuvieron el derecho de constituirse en territorio autónomo con su propia legislación y administración, siempre al amparo del estado de Panamá. Esto les ha permitido mantener su cultura y sus costumbres.



LAS MOLAS, EL ARTE TEXTIL DE LAS MUJERES GUNA.



La blusa “mola” es un símbolo importante de la cultura Guna. Consta de dos paneles rectangulares que se construyen con la técnica mola y que se unen a la blusa en la parte delantera y trasera. También es tradicional una falda envuelta, un pañuelo de cabeza adornos con cuentas para brazos y piernas, aros y posiblemente una argolla en la nariz.

Las molas al parecer se originan en las tradicionales pinturas corporales que antiguamente usaban las mujeres Guna. Se basaban en colores producidos en forma natural e incorporaban formas geométricas tradicionales.

Posteriormente estos diseños fueron incorporados a la hilandería de algodón. Finalmente, después de la llegada de los europeos, nacieron las molas, unos 150 años atrás.

Esta artesanía utiliza una forma muy sofisticada de apliqué en reversa que se construye con varias capas de género de distintos colores que primero se unen y luego se recortan en forma sucesiva para crear formas y parches de color. A partir de las formas geométricas primitivas, los diseñados usados en las molas han evolucionado para incorporar representaciones abstractas de flores, animales marinos y aves.

La artesanía se ha transformado en uno de los principales atractivos turísticos del territorio Guna y las obras son bellas y coloridas.

¡Este post incluye una muestra de estas obras de arte con sus complejos diseños y maravilloso trabajo manual!



More about similar topics in a future post.    Más sobre temas similares en un próximo post.



LANGUAGE TIPS FOR ENGLISH



Words that go together!  *  A bottle of water  - * Dead on time   - * Come close   - * Make a loss   – * Have a problem 



LANGUAGE TIPS FOR SPANISH.



Expresiones de uso frecuente: * A otra cosa, mariposa  - * Arrimar el hombro   - * Déjame en paz 



How is your level of comprehension?    ¿Cómo está su nivel de comprensión?



© 2013  joanveronica  (Joan Robertson)


I will be very happy to receive your comments! Just click the word “comments” lower down.
 

6 comments:

  1. I loved learning a bit more here about your neck of the woods and the pictures are truly beautiful Joan. Plus I have know doubt you will learn more about blogging in the months to come and look forward to seeing your blogs grow!! :) Thanks as always for linking up with us!!

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    1. Hi Janine, so happy you liked my post! Those pictures are really something, aren´t they? I will be in to say hullo some time today, last night I was falling asleep at my computer! Thanks for the visit and the comment and have a good day!

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  2. It's frustrating to lose something as significant as a blog. You start out at one place and thinkits to such a big deal, lose track of it then decide maybe you should pick that up again. Then can't find it. I've done that with other things.

    I homeschool my kids and we're starting a unit on South America next week. We'll be studying Peru first. I started taking a look at some of your Andean posts to share some info with my kids. I think I'm going to try that potato soup you mentioned last week. I'll be looking at the rest of your posts over the next few days. So glad I know about your blog!

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    1. Hi Kate, this was such a pleasant surprise! To know that my posts will actualy be useful to a specific person is a wonderful feeling. The web is such an enormous and vast affair, you write, imagining an audience, and in my case you write with conviction, thinking that your conten tis important, but very often there's a feeling of falling into a void. This is so supportive! Thanks very much for the visit and the comment Have a good day!

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  3. Very pretty textiles :) Thanks for sharing this on The HomeAcre Hop! Hope to see you tomorrow night at:
    http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/03/the-homeacre-hop-11.html

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    1. Hi Lisa, many thsnks for the visit and the comment! I am enjoying the hops, and there are some really fantastic blogs linked up! Where to find the time to see them all? But I do try! Have a good day!

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