About Arte Indigena
The remarkable creations of a Central American indigenous culture from Panama and Columbia
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The Guna (or Kuna) people, many of whom live Guna Yala (the San Blas Islands east of Panama), have been remarkably successful at preserving their ancient culture despite hundreds of years of intervention by Europeans and Americans. Never colonized, they live on the islands, in the Darien jungle, in parts of northern Colombia, as well as in Panama’s larger cities. They are known for a low rate of hypertension, a high rate of albinism, and for their art – mola textiles, carved wooden figures, authority staffs, bead work and pictograph drawings.
Our Story
Preserving a Culture
A Dedication to the Guna Artistic Legacy
Over the past 25 years, Tom Hannaher gathered a comprehensive collection of Guna art and artifacts that is astonishing. To do so he tracked down a number of early collections assembled by Kit and Valerie Kapp,
Avon Neal and Ann Parker and many others. He traveled to Guna Yala and met with elder textile artists and carvers. Last year Tom made the decision to work with Geoversity on donating the majority of the collection to Panama for the benefit of the Guna people. This represents one of the most generous and culturally sensitive contributions to the preservation and sharing of indigenous knowledge we have ever witnessed.
With the support of a seed funding grant from Marion Rockefeller Weber, we have taken the first steps toward our ultimate goal of repatriation. This work has been led by Geoversity’s Director Indigenous Learning and Culture, Agar Tejada, and anthropologist Cebaldo Inawinapi de Leon, who secured the informed participation of Guna authorities and sages. Agar conducted over 40 video interviews – documenting oral histories and cultural commentary by revered Guna knowledge keepers, young and old. Key contributors to this project include Briseida
Iglesias, honorary member of the General Congress of the Guna Culture, Gunayala; Inawigniguina López, Sagla Dummand (chief) of the General Congress of the Guna Culture; the artist Oswaldo Achu de Leon Kantule; and the young Guna cultural historian Charles Arias. We are also deeply grateful for the enthusiastic support of the General Congress of the Guna Culture, and the General Congress of the Guna Comarca Madungandi.