Woman uses scissors to create a mola

Dulemola and Innovation

Guna women used tools introduced by missionaries to create their own art form. We've created a puzzle from an image of a self-referential dulemola featuring the scissors that made its creation possible.

Complete the puzzle

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Dulemola (Blouse Panel) with Spiny Lobster
Story

Dulemola and the Natural World

Tue, 05/12/2020 - 14:08

Guna women artists are inspired by the natural world in which they live, a paradise of hundreds of small islands surrounded by turquoise waters known as the “San Blas” islands. The northern coast of mainland Panama adds a long strip of verdant land to Guna Yala, or Gunaland. These two areas include a remarkable array of land and water animal and plant life, much of which is reflected in the imagery of their artwork. We've created a puzzle from an image of a dulemola that depicts a spiny lobster.
Mola with spiral designs
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Dulemola Traditions

Tue, 05/12/2020 - 13:13

When the Spanish colonized the region, missionaries required that Guna women adopt European standards of modesty by wearing blouses. The women responded by creating an entirely new type of blouse that combined the gathered sleeves and yokes of European blouses with colorful “cut-work” panels forming the fronts and backs. We've created a puzzle from a dulemola created from the "grandmother pattern." Though made in this century, its geometric design is deeply traditional.
Woman uses scissors to create a mola
Story

Dulemola and innovation

Tue, 05/12/2020 - 12:23

Dulemola, commonly known as a mola, can be understood as artistic testaments to resiliency and adaptation. Created by Guna women on the northern coast of Panama, these colorful cutwork pieces embody both tradition and innovation. With their standards of modesty, Spanish missionaries also introduced brightly colored machine cloth, commercial thread, and scissors to the Guna. They may have expected Guna women to adopt the European tradition of quilting, but the tropical climate made such heavy coverings unnecessary and, instead, the Guna used the tools to create a wholly new textile art form.