Title:

Kuna Yala (San Blas Archipelago), Panama.

Caption:

The matriarch of the family surveys the activity around her house. Kuna society is a matrilineal society in which the women choose their mates. Their power is reinforced by the fact that they earn the majority of the family income through sales of mola blouses. Their magnificent traditional dress--as opposed to the drab second-hand western clothing of the men--is a statement of their status.