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Misto - Days 16-17: Molas and the Chicha on Soledad Miria



On the evening of January 22 Vinancio Restepo, Master Mola Maker, came to Misto and shared his wonderful Molas with us.  He must have brought out over a hundred beautifully worked Molas – two huge plastic buckets full.  He went through them all and then we said “yes, no, maybe” to whittle them down.  The choice was overwhelming – beautiful birds, flowers, fish and wildlife, geometric designs or traditional scenes from his culture.  Eventually between Sharon and I we bought a total of 10!

January 23 was an amazing day.  Idelfonso collected us at 11 am took us on a boat tour of the surrounding islands and ashore on Isla Maquina, where his family live.  Here we saw a traditional Kuna village and walked through his own home where, in the kitchen, on an open, fire fish were being smoked.  The Kuna use the mangrove wood for firewood as it burns slowly and is almost smokeless.  The Kuna go out in their dug-out canoes every 15 days to collect the wood.

After a brief return to Misto for lunch we picked up the crew from Cesarina and then some of Idelfonso’s family also joined us in the boat for the ride to Soledad Miria.  Here in the huge Congresso hut the Chicha was taking place with the mean seated in a square at one end and the women similarly seated at the other.  We later understood that this was a celebration for the coming of age of girls.  The women were traditionally attired in Mola blouses, printed cloth skirts and with beads on their arms and legs and pink rouge on their faces. The male elders of the group collected fermented red wine in gourds, danced in a small circle and then downed the wine all at once.  They then collected more wine in the gourds and offered it to the men and women, who stood to drink it.  We were all included – I am afraid that Sharon and I took a sip and did not finish it – but our men did!  Unfortunately photos of the actual ceremony were not allowed, although we did get pictures of the village and of some women.

We enjoyed a beer in the village bar and saw some young boys playing on bamboo flutes.  The ceremony was going on until midnight and it appeared that dancing would only take place much later in the night.  Reluctantly we departed in the late afternoon, after an incredible experience of the local culture of the Kuna Yala (San Blas) islands.  We ended the day with a boat ride up the natural, un-spoilt river.



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