I’ve just discovered that it’s possible to buy Molas from Amaitule and Asoimola in http://www.colombianoz.com.

big kiss!

cristina

And this is from wikipedia:
Kuna or Cuna is the name of an indigenous people of Panama and Colombia. The spelling Kuna is currently preferred. In the Kuna language, the name is Dule or Tule, meaning “people.” The name of the language in Kuna is Dulegaya, meaning “people’s language.”

I had to look this info up because it was driving me nuts. I’m from Panama and I had no idea that there were Kunas (Tule) in Colombia.

BTW, those mola garments and accessories are much like a clothing line called My Name is Panama that started in the late 80’s (I think) and is still around at http://www.mynameispanama.com/

She says, “Technically, she is right, as far as I ever knew. I had the same definition that Sarah did.” She also bought a hat with the reverse applique but did not post pictures of it.

The people who are doing this (the girl above, for example) are calling all of these “molas”, and who would know better than they? Maybe they’re simplifying it for us. This is the danger of importing words from other languages: sometimes we lose the nuance, or we add new meanings, and then are surprised when the native users “misuse” the term. (see for example Teijo’s comment about using Japanese terms in the “poka yoke pattern making” post)

I once heard an Englishwoman, who had spent a whole week or month or year in Texas near the border, insist that “tortilla” was something that Mexicans only brought out on special occasions and not, as I thought, a staple. Goodness knows how she got this idea, but I suspect it had to do with the fact that the name sounds so much more exotic than “flat bread” (and now that I am thinking about her, I am reminded of Linda in the Malpais in Huxley’s Brave New World). Incidentally, there are more brands of tortilla in the local Wal-Mart than there are of bread, and probably more sold by weight, so if she is right, there are a lot of special occasions going on here every day that I don’t know about.

* I see … the future … it’s a trip, any trip — no, ALL trips! — to Latin America … and there is a jar being packed … it looks like … Nescafe Clasico? … Yes, yes it is. You’d never know they grow the stuff there. But they do seem to have milk cows.

Molas are charms, icons, talisman, totem. They come in a variety of mediums (i.e. wood carvings, fabric, sand paintings, jewelry, etc.).

But, as far as fabric and cutwork go, each tribe could, potentially, perform the task, differently.

The Quechuan are known for heavy hand-knit (knit-in-the-round) sweaters. Mola motifs appear in the yokes of those sweaters – it’s an example of preserving tribal heritage and identifying who did the work.

Don’t get me wrong; these is gorgeous handiwork. I would love to get hold of some of it for myself, and maybe for use in something to sell.

Sarah@dosfashionistas