Major
Anthropology
Anticipated Graduation Year
2026
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
From 1961-1962, Captain Kitt S. Kapp travelled throughout Panama on his Kapp-Darien Expedition. While his academic interests mainly pertained to fabrics from the Guna people, he also obtained many Nuchukana figurines, which are carved wooden figures created to ward off spirits that cause illnesses. Later in his life, Kapp donated his collection to places like the Smithsonian and British Museum. At some point, eleven Nuchukana figurines found their way into the hands of Father Francis Grollig, who founded the Department of Anthropology at Loyola and collected many artifacts from around the world. Upon Grollig’s death, a part of his collection remained in the Department of Anthropology and became the Father Grollig Legacy Collection. My research examines the history of the Nuchukana figurines, focusing on Figure #0036. This work includes the history of the specific figurine in the collection, as well as the overall meaning and importance of the figurine to the Guna people.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Christopher Hernandez, Ph.D, Department of Anthropology
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Guna Nuchukana Figurines in the Father Grollig Legacy Collection
From 1961-1962, Captain Kitt S. Kapp travelled throughout Panama on his Kapp-Darien Expedition. While his academic interests mainly pertained to fabrics from the Guna people, he also obtained many Nuchukana figurines, which are carved wooden figures created to ward off spirits that cause illnesses. Later in his life, Kapp donated his collection to places like the Smithsonian and British Museum. At some point, eleven Nuchukana figurines found their way into the hands of Father Francis Grollig, who founded the Department of Anthropology at Loyola and collected many artifacts from around the world. Upon Grollig’s death, a part of his collection remained in the Department of Anthropology and became the Father Grollig Legacy Collection. My research examines the history of the Nuchukana figurines, focusing on Figure #0036. This work includes the history of the specific figurine in the collection, as well as the overall meaning and importance of the figurine to the Guna people.