NEW PRICE Kuna Ind.Bird Bone & Trade Bead Necklace w/Alligator Nuchu Mola Panama

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NEW PRICE Kuna Ind.Bird Bone & Trade Bead Necklace w/Alligator Nuchu Mola Panama:
$35.95

Kuna Ind. bird bone and trade-bead necklace with alligator nuchu (Kuna medicine animal fetish.) Nuchus of animals are much rarer than the human forms, with the belief that by carving the wood in the animal form the belief is that the spirit of the animal will be evoked. Collected by me in Kuna-Yala, in the early 1980\'s. Kuna boys wear animal-tooth necklaces to ensure virility. The teeth of the tapir and alligator are prized over those of the peccary and monkey. Girls and women may wear necklaces of sea shells, fish scales, toucan beaks, bones, coins, and trade beads. In 1699, Lionel Wafer (a 17th cent. buccaneer doctor who lived with the native people) in his description described the men wearing heavy necklaces of shells and animal teeth, but this had nearly disappeared by the 1850\'s, though a few strands of these are still worn by young boys.By the late 1990\'s this too had mostly disappeared except on rare occasions. The Kuna are best known for their colorful, hand-sewn intricate molas. Please email me with any questions. Thank you! (all photos are by Prudence Heffron Grissom & are copyrighted)
The molas, nuchus and all Kunamaterialwere collected by myself and partner in the mid 1970\'s, 80\'s, 90\'s- 2012, all in one of over a hundred collecting expeditions to Kuna-Yala, the San Blas islands of Panama, that we made from 1973-2002. Recently my daughter emptied a storage unit of mine that I had in Santa Fe and which had not been open since 2003. This was among the treasures inside.
This would make a great addition to a collection of molas and/or nuchus, artifacts of traditionalKuna life.
* Please email me if you have any questions, I\'m always happy to answer any and all! Always love hearing from you! Thank you, Prudence
I\'m always happy to combine shipping, so if offerding on more than one item, just let me know. Most of the time (unless extremely bulky or heavy) I can add the 2nd or 3rd item for no additional shipping costs to you! Please just email me if you have any questions or concerns or if you just want to know more about molas!