Unusual Gourd Kuna Rattle, Belonged to a \"Nele\" Clairvoyant, Caul. Nuchu, Mola
![Unusual Gourd Kuna Rattle, Belonged to a \](img-large/g/EccAAOSweW5VZOWu/s-l1600/Unusual-Gourd-Kuna-Rattle-Belonged-to-a-Nele-Clair.jpg "Unusual Gourd Kuna Rattle, Belonged to a \")
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Unusual Gourd Kuna Rattle, Belonged to a \"Nele\" Clairvoyant, Caul. Nuchu, Mola :
$48.99
\"This Kuna rattle \"nasis\" in Kuna belonged to a \"Nele\" a very special medicine man (\"neles\" can be either man or woman) who is also a clairvoyant or diviner. \"Neles\" are different than other types of Kuna medicine men \"Inatuledi\" as they are born with a \"caul\" a veil like piece of skin covering the face or the head of a new born baby (a very rare occurrence.) A \"nele\" is born with the \"caul\" it being the telltale mark of a psychic, seer or diviner. They are born this way and have many special healing powers and are typically intellectually and spiritually advanced, said to be able to navigate between \"worlds\", diagnose diseases, they are natural or born healers. Seeing the unusual shape of the gourd for which this rattle was made and how it droops over, rather like a newborn born with a caul. Rattle would be used with sacred chants, the burning of cacao (chocolate) bean smoke and with the use of Kuna medicinal dolls, \"nuchus\" intermediaries into the spiritual world used for communicating with the spirits. ....
*The Kuna Nasis, gourd rattle shown on p. 300 of the book and exhibit of the same name \"The Art of Being Kuna\" by Mari Lynn Salvador) was collected by myself and was purchased by gift for the FowlerMuseum of UCLA to be used in the book andexhibit.~ Prudence
This Kuna Indian \"Nasis\" belonged to a \"Nele\" a very special type of medicine man, said to have special powers and the ability todiagnoseand heal disease.Collected by myself and partner in the mid-to late 1970\'s on one of over a hundred collecting expeditions to Kuna-Yala, the San BlasIslandsof Panama, that we made from 1973-2002. And for over two decades (actually 27 years, 1975-2003)I had a gallery of art devoted to molas and the arts of the Kuna.
*Please ask questions, I\'m always more than happy to answer and will get back with you as soon as possible. Sincerely, Prudence
-In the photos you will see pages from the book and museum exhibit \"The Art of Being Kuna\" curator Mari Lynn Salvador. All of the Nuchus shown and that were in the exhibit, were collected by myself in Kuna-Yala, and were purchased from me for the themuseum from abenefactor\'s gift for the exhibit, \"The Art of Being Kuna\"
(***Photo of dwarf red brocket deer is byNiall Corbet, and is used by permission. All other photos are by, Prudence Grissom.)
\" ~ Since, 1973 when I saw my first molas I was so \"taken off my feet\" and moved by what I saw that I couldn\'t help myself and made immediate plans to travel to the homeland of the Kuna, the indigenous people of Kuna-Yala. And, thus began my lifelong quest for discovering all I could about the art form of mola making and the people who make them. Before and sense I have always recognized the importance of actively supporting women\'s arts, of which molas are an extraordinary example, and the more I learned about the respected role of women in the Kuna culture, the more I was driven to support this alive and vibrant culture that honored and celebrated the vision of women through mola-making.\"
\" As in my decades longcareer as anethnographer of Kuna culture and on my many collecting expeditions for Kunas\' arts, I have been called upon to lecture on molas, taught mola making and have acted as a mola consultant for museums worldwide, and for some 27 years had a art gallery that was unique in the world in that it was devoted solely to molas and the arts of the Kuna. Over those years I have worked tirelessly to keep molas from being undermined in quality andinspiration by theinevitablecommercial pressures, doing this by my buying directly from the Kuna mola makers whenever possible and supporting prices which reflected the complex skills involved; as well as never dictating subject matter nor design,believingthe Kuna artists themselves areinfinitelymore creative than I ever could be. I have and always will be stronglycommittedto cultural preservation, and have personally and professionally been loyal and dedicated to the Kuna people, never believing that the art form of great mola making suddenly ended in the 1960\'s or 70\'s. It just happens that some of the greatest molas ever madeoccurred during a flowering of the art form in the 1990\'s. In each decade of the art form since its infancy, beginning in the late 20th century there have been times with each period having its own virtuoso\'s and masters of the craft.Mola making, like the Kuna peoplethemselvesare not static, they areevolving,adapting with some changeinevitable, butmy greatest wish is to do whatever I can do toaid them in surviving with as much of theirculture, arts and language intact. I believe it is so important to support the Kuna and their art who are living now, as well as preserving their history, we do this by not just buying pieces of a bygone day, but also the art of living artists, too. While it is important to collect for that which we love and honor of the past, it is so also important to include in our support those artists who are living with us now and who continue in their traditionallife. It isduplicitous of us to say we only like things or buy that of a certain age, as if it might be better-it might be and it might not....... So my advice is that if a great mola comes along don\'t be held down by a statementattestingit is of a certain age or not, and or collected by acertainperson, trust your gut, explore, learn, look at lots of molas, anddiscoverwhat it is that you love about them. Then embrace your passion, and don\'t look back! \" \"I have been very blessed and thank my lucky stars that I have had this amazing adventure of a life with the Kuna, and have been so incredibly fortunate that in allthesesyears of traveling to the villages of the San Blas Islands, home of the Kuna, the door was always open for me and I was invited in as a trusted friend and as a respected business partner; secrets told, hearts and hands held, and always was invited in, sharing their lives with me and mine with them, teaching me the ways of life and molas in Kuna-Yala. And it was with every visit and collecting expedition that I always returned with a renewed respect and admiration for the Kuna culture and our friendship deepened. \"
\" Presently I am working toward my goal of returning to Kuna-Yala, to buy and support mola makers and my friends the Kuna; and of course finish my research, and complete my forth coming book on molas and nuchus, \"Molas and Nuchus: Folk Art of the Kuna Indians.\" P.G.
(All words, writing and photos in this description are the property of the author. Requests for permission to use any material, including quoting from this work should be sent to the author.The photos of the molas and nuchus that you see listed maybe used in my forthcoming book presently being written :\"Molas&Nuchus:Folk Art of the Kuna Indians\" by Prudence Heffron Grissom)
PLEASE LOOK AT ALL THE PHOTOS AS THEY SAY MUCH MORE THAN MY WORDS EVER COULD SAY! .....AND PLEASE just email me, I\'m always more than happy to answer any questions. ~Prudence
~LUCKYTREEHOUSE
Unusual Gourd Kuna Rattle, Belonged to a \"Nele\" Clairvoyant, Caul. Nuchu, Mola :
$48.99