Julia Jinguimia: Wounaan Weaver of Majé

Julia Jinguimia, Majé, Panama, with a basket in progress, 2026.

Julia Jinguimia learned to weave from her sister when she was 17. She is 54 now, which makes 37 years of weaving. She lives in Majé, close to the river, and that is what she likes most about home: "the river is close to my house, and it's very beautiful."

She does her own dyeing

Julia buys her palm and makes her own colors, from wood, black earth, pucham kér leaf and other natural sources. She weaves alone.

Her favorite design is saak bipir, the dog's footprint. "It's the only design I like," she says. It is also where the work gets hardest, about halfway up, when she has to shape the basket to the size it will finish at.

From one design to many

She has taught her daughter. She has not made up a design of her own yet, but her range has grown, and so has her quality.

A basket takes her about six months, sometimes longer, because she can't always weave full time.

Tropical Orchid

Orchids and hummingbirds circle this basket together, in warm earth tones with the flowers in soft pink. About 7 by 9 inches. One of one.

See Tropical Orchid →

Asked what she wants the person who owns her basket to know, Julia said: "I'd like people to value my basket for being woven by hand."

Julia's answers were gathered in Majé in fall 2026 and translated from Spanish.

Jen