Alina Itucama

Panama

Year(s) attended: 2008, 2011

Arte Indigena Panama

Rainforest Baskets, Tagua Nut Carvings, Cocobolo Wood Carvings

Aline Itucama, master Wounaan basket weaver, comes this year for the first time representing her community through a small company that she has started, Arte Indígena Panamá.  Alina represents the Wounaan culture of the Darién Rainforest in Panama’s Darién National Park. Wounaan women have been weaving Hösig Di utlitarian baskets for centuries, developing highly evolved skills that rank their baskets among the best in the world. Most Wounaan weavers pick up the sewing needle at an early age at their aunts’ or mothers’ knees. Only the most supple emerging fronds from the top of the sacred black palm tree are harvested for this work.  Designs are worked intuitively from the bottom up.  During the last several decades, Hösig Di baskets have become increasingly complex with basketmakers integrating geometric, floral, and faunal designs inspired by the surrounding rainforest. Alina’s integration of a wide color ranges enables her to achieve delicate shading in her flower and butterfly motifs.