Linda's Panama Pilgrim Page

My first trip to Panama was in 1960 while sailing with my father from the Virgin Islands where we had just purchased the 45 ft. ketch - Sari Marais.
At that time I saw my first molas from Kuna Yala and a life long interest began.
More than 20 years later after marrying and starting a family I also began collecting and selling molas on a very small scale.
Finally in the early '90's after my family had grown I began a more serious effort to buy and sell molas and other ethnic art from Central and South America.
Then I entered the world of the internet and eBay and PanamaPilgrim was launched, turning a hobby into a wonderful part time business.

Kuna girls begin learning their craft at a very young age. As with any other art, some are more talented and dedicated than others. The best molas are cut and stitched entirely by hand in intricate designs and are worn as blouses by the women as part of their everyday attire. Part of their charm is the artistic impression of familiar and sometimes completely unknown animal life and objects that each artist represents in her work. Making a mola is a slow and tedious job that the women (and once in awhile a man) carry with them to work on wherever they are, much as we might carry a knitting project. Even the most simple molas require many hours to complete. The more complex molas require days or even weeks of sewing to finish. In recent years molas have become sought after as the fine, ethnic art form that they are.