劉丁睿

Celebrating 5 Years of China-Panama Diplomatic Ties

Molas of Panama Art Exhibition in Chongqing

By Liu Dingrui/The World and Chongqing? ?Photo by Tang Anbing/The World and Chongqing

Crosses and spirals， symmetry and unevenness， straight lines and curves， orders and changes…… The exhibition of traditional Mola textiles with vivid colors and different shapes presents a great visual impact that tells the story of the indigenous Guna people of Panama to the visitors.

On April 18， Threads and Scraps that Tell Stories - Molas of Panama Art Exhibition in Chongqing， jointly hosted by the Embassy of Panama in China， the Foreign Affairs Office of Chongqing Municipal Government， and the Peoples Government of Chongqing Yuzhong District， opened at the T2 International Contemporary Art Center of the Eling Testbed Cultural and Creative Park.

Panamas ambassador to China， Leonado Kam， attended the event online. The former permanent representative of the Chinese Trade Development Office in Panama and the first chargé daffaires of the Chinese Embassy in Panama， Wang Weihua， delivered a video message. Zhou Yi， Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Chongqing Municipal Government， Zhang Yuanhong， Deputy Secretary of the CPC Yuzhong District Committee， and Chen Shili， Deputy Inspector of the International Cultural Exchange Center attended the opening ceremony.

June 2022 marks the 5th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Panama. This art exhibition is also an important part of the celebration， which is conducive to enhancing the level of international cultural exchange in Chongqing and promoting friendly cooperation and cultural exchanges between Chongqing and Panama.

The exhibition includes three sections： Guna People， Origin of Molas， and Symbols and Totems， reflecting the natural landscape and humanistic heritage of Panama by presenting 40 pieces of Panamanian Mora works.

Guna People were one of the first indigenous tribes of the Americas to acquire their territorial rights through the Constitution. Guna People live in villages located on 360 islands and cays in northeastern Panama， mainly in three comarcas： Guna Yala， Madugandí， and Wargandí.

Representing 11% of the total population， there are 400，000 indigenous people in Panama， which includes seven ethnic groups： Emberá， Wounaan， Guna， Ng?be， Buglé， Naso Tjerdi， and Bri Bri. Most of them live in the five legally recognized autonomous indigenous comarcas： Emberá-Wounaan， Guna Yala， Ng?be-Buglé， Madugandí， and Wargandí.

Mola is a famous Panamanian patchwork and embroidery handicraft， also known as the “Panama Embroidery”. Mola means “clothing” in the Guna language. It is said to have originated from a colorful dream of a Nele woman named Nagegiryai. At first， mola was body painting， later it evolved into the graphics seen on Guna womens clothing today.

Guna people use unique stitching techniques such as openwork stitching and three-thread stitching， as well as bold colors and special geometric patterns to show the natural beauty and humanistic heritage of Panama. They use fabric collages to outline the natural scenes and wild animals in tropical areas， conveying the sheer vitality of the nation and creating a unique atmosphere of spirited and enthusiastic national art.

Like all ancient ethnic groups， Guna people believe in animism and desire to connect with the universe in a primal way. Thus animals， stars， flowers， and plants have become the most important subjects in mola design. Guna women wear molas designed to represent animals， stars， and trees， expressing their respect and belief in the animistic nature of all things. In this way they approach the sky， flocks of birds， animals that perch on trees， walk， and climb on the ground.

In addition to figurative representation， lines are also an important part of molas. Using parallel， straight， or curved lines， the Guna people created a maze of complex shapes to confuse or distract the evil spirits in legend and help women escape danger and threat.

十字與螺旋、對稱與參差、直線與曲線、秩序與變化，一幅幅色彩斑斕、形狀各異，極具視覺沖擊力的“莫拉”向觀眾述說著巴拿馬庫那族的故事……

4月18日，由巴拿馬駐華大使館，重慶市政府外辦、渝中區(qū)人民政府聯(lián)合主辦的“拼縫故事—巴拿馬莫拉藝術(shù)重慶展”在鵝嶺貳廠文創(chuàng)公園T2國際當(dāng)代藝術(shù)中心開幕。

巴拿馬駐華大使甘林線上參加，原中國駐巴拿馬貿(mào)易發(fā)展辦事處常駐代表、中國駐巴拿馬大使館首任代辦王衛(wèi)華視頻致辭，市政府外辦副主任周毅、渝中區(qū)委副書記張遠(yuǎn)洪、國際文化交流中心副巡視員陳世立等出席開幕式。

今年6月，將迎來中巴建交5周年。此次藝術(shù)展也是慶?；顒?dòng)的重要組成部分，有利于提升重慶國際文化交流水平，促進(jìn)重慶市與巴拿馬省友好合作與人文交流。

本次展覽包括“庫那族人”“莫拉之源”“符號(hào)與圖騰”3個(gè)版塊，通過呈現(xiàn)40件巴拿馬莫拉作品，反映巴拿馬的自然風(fēng)貌和人文底蘊(yùn)。

庫那族是最早通過憲法獲得其領(lǐng)土權(quán)利的美洲原著部族之一。庫那族人主要居住在分布于巴拿馬東北部360個(gè)島嶼和珊瑚礁的村落中，分為三個(gè)區(qū)：庫那亞拉、馬杜甘迪和瓦爾甘迪。

在巴拿馬共有40萬原著民，占總?cè)丝诘?1%，共分為7大族群：安巴拉、吳南、庫那、恩加貝、布格雷、納索和布里布里。其中大部分人居住在獲得法律承認(rèn)的五大原住民自治區(qū)：安巴拉—吳南區(qū)、庫那亞拉區(qū)、恩加貝—布格雷、馬杜甘迪和瓦爾甘迪。

莫拉是巴拿馬有名的拼布刺繡手工藝術(shù)品，又稱為“巴繡”。莫拉在庫那語中意為“衣服”。相傳它的起源來自于一位名叫Nagegiryai的奈勒女性的一場色彩斑斕的夢。起初，莫拉是繪制在皮膚上的圖像，之后才演變?yōu)槿缃裨趲炷亲迮苑椛峡吹降膱D形。

庫那人采用融合“鏤空縫”“三線縫”等獨(dú)特的縫制技藝，用大膽的色彩、別致的幾何圖形，展現(xiàn)出巴拿馬的自然風(fēng)貌和人文底蘊(yùn);用布面拼貼勾勒熱帶地區(qū)的大自然景象和野生動(dòng)物，傳遞出民族旺盛蓬勃的生命力，營造奔放熱情的獨(dú)特民族藝術(shù)氛圍。

與所有的古老民族一樣，庫那族相信萬物有靈，渴望以原始的方式與宇宙鏈接。因而動(dòng)物、星象、花卉植物成為了莫拉設(shè)計(jì)中最為重要的主體。庫那族女性穿著代表動(dòng)物、星星和樹木設(shè)計(jì)的莫拉，表達(dá)了她們對萬物有靈的敬重和信仰。她們以此接近天空、鳥群、在樹上棲息或在地上行走攀爬的動(dòng)物。

除了具象的表現(xiàn)，線條亦為莫拉的重要組成部分。庫那族人利用或直或曲的平行線，創(chuàng)造出如迷宮般的復(fù)雜圖形以迷惑或分散傳說中惡靈的注意力，幫助婦女們逃脫危險(xiǎn)與威脅。