(H)Abitus. Identity and culture in the mola of the Guna women in Panama

(H)Abitus. Identity and culture in the mola of the Guna women in Panama

April 16 - June 10, 2025

Opening and conference April 16, 2025 at 5pm

Curated by Veronica Caciolli with Simonetta Lori and the scientific advice of Massimo Squillacciotti

Setting up Alice Giovannetti

The exhibition (H)Abitus. Identity and culture in the mola of the Guna women of Panama intends to show some of the most significant objects of the material and pre-Columbian culture of the Guna people, resident in the Guna Yala district of Panama.

Consisting of land and islands, this territory, despite the progressive increase in tourism and the negative effects of climate change, attempts to keep its traditions intact. The main one of these, that of the mola, a peculiar layering of coloured and cut out fabrics, is sewn with skill and experience and worn daily and for centuries, by the Guna women.

The exhibition aims to show a synthetic but broad phenomenology of images represented in the mola: from geometric abstractions to everyday objects, from ceremonies to metaphysical paths, from ritual objects to musical instruments, from animals to sacred plants.

In addition to the refined workmanship and aesthetic value of these artefacts, the most interesting aspect concerns their use: sewn on the occasion of the main celebrations in each village, the mola also perpetuate, retain and pass on the intangible culture of the Guna people, i.e. their belief and value system.

The mola, sewn on blouses, are also accompanied by a sarong (saburet), a headdress (muswe), jewellery and beaded threads (wini) that wrap around forearms and legs in complex geometric patterns. The mannequin exhibited illustrates the traditional Guna female dress.

The title of the exhibition is intended to allude to a double meaning: to the dress worn, which structurally, represents a cultural habit.

The exhibition is enriched by a series of objects for daily and ritual use, which are illustrated in the mola on display: from sianar (brazier) to musical instruments used during each ceremony, from ladles and bowls to amulets and talismans, such as aggebandur and nuchu.

The more than fifty objects on display were collected in the villages of Alitupu Dumat, Alitupu Pipigua, Aridup, Carti Sugtupu, Carti Tupile, Carti Yandup, Isla Tigre, Mamitupu, Mandiyala, Naranjo Grande, Nugnudub, Rio Sidra, Soledad Mandinga, Soledad Miria and Tuvalà of the San Blas Islands, from the 1980s to the present day.

The exhibition takes on added significance as this year (2025) marks the centenary of the revolution that brought about the independence of the Guna people, who are currently engaged in celebrations; and because of the organisers' decades-long relationship with this people, the Guna women of Alitupu Dumat wish to express their pride and gratitude towards this initiative. Among them, Darilys Ingidili Lopez shares her contribution around the meaning of the mola:  

“The mola is a reflection of mother earth. God sent the first Guna woman on a mission to the eighth level of the earth Galu Dugbis to bring back the sacred designs of the mola. Each geometric figure signified a power, namely protection from the diseases of the world: the wini signifies strength, the golden shield against the sun's rays, because the sun brings disease. That is why the mola is important to the indigenous Guna women”.

On 16 April at 5pm, Veronica Caciolli, Massimo Squillacciotti and Simonetta Lori will explain the history of the Guna people to the public at the opening of the exhibition, focusing in particular on the genesis, production and uses of the mola.

Conceived and curated by Veronica Caciolli, an art historian with an interest in the relationship between art and anthropology who has carried out field work at the San Blas, the exhibition benefits from the invaluable collaboration of Simonetta Lori, a resident of Guna Yala for over twenty years and the lender of most of the pieces, Professor Massimo Squillacciotti, an anthropologist, who has devoted numerous studies and publications to the Guna culture, Alice Giovannetti, a young designer who created the exhibition layout, Leonardo Battiato for the photographs, and the staff of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology in Florence, in particular Monica Zavattaro and Giulia Dionisio.