The Cunana Muñecas
RFB Woven Art · One of a Kind
The Cunana Muñecas
Six Emberá figures, woven by hand from chunga and nahuala palm in Panama's Darién. Each stands about thirteen inches tall on a fitted black stand, each marked the old way with jagua, and no two are the same. There is no reordering them, and no next set until the Cunanas weave again.
Rosamelia Cunana and her mother, Señora de Cunana, are the only family still making these. One figure takes them about two months, most of the day, every day, splitting palm into thin strands, coloring it with forest dyes, and coiling the whole thing by hand. We have never had six at one time.
One has found its home · two couples and the lone Hunter remainOne sold, one remains
She Who Gathers & The Hunter
Among the Emberá the woman is the provider and the man is survival. She carries the basket that feeds the house; he carries the bow that keeps the village safe. She Who Gathers has already found her home. The Hunter stands alone now, and he can be yours.
The Hunter, on his own · $685
Acquire The Hunter →
♀ Female · The Provider
She Who Gathers
She Carries the Harvest Home
A feathered crown, woven earrings, a bright paruma at her waist and a gathering basket on her back. The basket is how you know her, carrying the vegetables, the utensils, whatever the house needs.
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♂ Male · Survival & Defense
The Hunter
Drawn Bow, Steady Hand
Dark palm browns laced with cream, a red loincloth, a bow looped over one arm and a long arrow in his hand. The bow is for the hunt, and for keeping the village safe. With She Who Gathers gone, he is the one figure here you can still take on his own.
View & AcquireWoven as a couple
The Provider & The Spearman
Hands that feed the house, and a guard at the forest's edge. She holds the household together; he holds the spear for the hunt and the defense of the village. These two are sold together, the way they were woven.
Sold together as a couple · $1,225
Acquire the couple →
♀ Female · The Provider
The Provider
Hands That Feed the House
A feathered crown and woven earrings, a colorful paruma at her waist, a gathering basket on her back. The basket says it plainly: it holds the vegetables, the utensils, the goods of the house.
See the couple →
♂ Male · Survival & Defense
The Spearman
A Guard at the Forest's Edge
Deep, almost-black palm fiber striped with cream, braided earrings, a yellow loincloth and a tall spear standing in his hand. He keeps the spear for the hunt, and for defending the village.
See the couple →Woven as a couple
The Keeper & The Flute Player
A song woven in palm, and the keeper of the black-and-white basket. One makes the music of the village, the other keeps what the household needs. These two are sold together, the way they were woven.
Sold together as a couple · $1,225
Acquire the couple →
♀ Female · The Provider
The Keeper
Keeper of the Black-and-White Basket
Dark palm browns with cream banding, a woven feather headdress, a bright paruma, and a black-and-white basket tucked under her arm. She is known, as the Emberá woman is, by the basket she carries for the household.
See the couple →
♂ Male · Survival & Defense
The Flute Player
A Song Woven in Palm
Dark brown banded with cream, a woven loincloth and small earrings, a basket slung at his back and a long, flute-like instrument held in both hands. It is the rare one: a hunter and a guard who also carries the music of his people.
See the couple →Every figure is woven from the same chunga and nahuala palm, the same forest dyes, and the same coiling by hand that goes into our Emberá masks and baskets. Each comes on a fitted black metal stand. Bought straight from the Cunana family in Panama's Darién, picked out in person by Jen, at fair prices with no one in between.
When one sells, she is gone, and there is no next set until the Cunanas weave again.
Learn about the Cunana family →