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The Kuna people of Costa Rica Caribbean coast and inland river ways of eastern Panama have become famous for the women’s quilting and embroidery arts tradition of creating the eye-dazzling molas. These decorative panels, which are stitched onto the front and back of a blouse, are the centre-pieces of Kuna feminine attire which Kuna women still wear and treasure today. The designs feature either geometric patterns – an older aesthetic – or they are representational images, depicting almost everything and anything in the Kuna people’s world, from highly symbolic scenes from their rich cosmology and ceremonial cycles, to everyday objects, such as lamps and canoe oars, even pop-imagery such as cereal box designs. It has been claimed that the mola art has its origins in the designs designs of the much older Kuna body painting forms.
