The meaning of the kaanas

Hold a Wayuu mochila for the first time and you see colour and form. Look more closely and a system appears: the kaanas, geometric figures passed down across generations.

A kaana is not mere decoration. It is a sign — drawn from the nature and daily life of La Guajira. The Siwottouya, for instance, traces the tracks a horse leaves in the desert sand. The Kaaraiuya recalls the cardón cactus that outlasts the dry season.

Weavers learn these patterns not from a template but from their mothers and grandmothers. They hold them in memory and work them row by row, without a stencil. That is exactly why no two mochilas are alike.

For us, that's reason enough to name every pattern rather than sell it as a 'boho print'. To know the kaana is to carry not just a bag — but a story you can pass on.