Photo of the Week – April 11, 2010 – Cuna lady

So this is the photo I “owe.” I was summarily upbraided (in the Cuna language to boot) by this woman for attempting to take her photo without asking. I admit felt guilty even doing it, but I thought she might refuse, and I just couldn’t resist. She was much friendlier and more ammenable to the portrait after I purchased a few precious molas. My subject is a Cuna woman, vending in Panama City, Panama. This was taken in February 2010.

The Cuna are an indigenous people of Panama, primarily from the San Blas islands. Like so many other indigenous peoples in the world, their population has diminished and many of them come into the cities, leaving elements of their traditional lifestyle, to live and work among non-indigenous city dwellers and survive. Many Cuna women vend in the tourist areas of Panama. They are well-known for their beautiful hand crafted molas – hand-stitched squares usually with intricate designs mapped out on two or more layers of fabric. I couldn’t help myself, I just couldn’t get enough of the molas. And my two guides, Francisco “Cholo” and Hannibal – both gracious gentlmen – were quite amused at my fascination with them.

Cuna women are typically seen wearing traditional wear which consists of beaded chains on the calves and lower arms, face piercings and skirts and tops comprised of molas. I suspect the “western” type blouses worn underneath the molas came in more recent decades. The men typically wear westernized street clothing and it seems they work in the general labour force, whereas the women I saw were all vending their wares. Here’s a link I’ve found with some historical information. I cannot attest to the validity of it, it’s simply something I came upon. I’m curious to know more about them. http://countrystudies.us/panama/29.htm