Kuna or Cuna are the indigenous people of Panama and Columbia who have the estimated population of 55,000 majority of which is living in Panama. Most of them are located in the San Blas Archipelago (Kuna Yala) which is situated along Panama’s northeast coast. Rest of Kuna folks are settled in Darien province of Panama and a little number is in Colombia. The Kuna speak their own language known as ‘Tule‘ or ‘Dulegaya‘. Some of the Kuna people are also familiar with Spanish and even some with English.
Even though the western influence and modernism has impacted in the lives of Kuna people but the great aspect is that they have maintained and continued their classic living style and cultural values within their own autonomous territory.
Just before the Spanish invasion the Kunas had been living in Colombian area of Uraba and close to the borders of Antioquia and Caldas. Right after the Spanish subjugation they started to move to the area where they are now settled Kuna Yala. At that time Panama was beneath the occupation of Spain and when Panama got freedom from Spain , the Kunas also started their struggle for their own autonomy. At last in 1925 they had been granted Comarca a semi-autonomous territory status comprising of 365 tiny coral islands of the Archipelago (San Blas) and two,357 km2 of coastal area in Darien. They had been offered the rights to forego with their standard living style below the jurisdiction of the federal Panama government.
The classic dressing of Kuna females consists of hand-made blouses identified as “molas” with skirts. Their dresses are sewn with a reverse appliqué technique. The women also colorize their faces and noses with a specific paint which they prepare from achiote seeds. The Kuna males wear a conventional Kuna shirt with pants, jeans, or shorts. The Kunas cultivate in their lands plantain, bananas, and avocados, among other fruits and some tuber plants like manioc and ñame. Their eating habits are also exclusive as they really like to consume hunted food , a specific fish (Tilapia) and plantain.
Tourism has remained the main economic supply for Kuna men and women but for the considerable financial development of Kunas the want of the day is to preserve their endangered heritage. Kuna Yala has a fantastic tourism potential not only for the exclusive cultural habits of Kunas but also for the strategic place of San Blas islands. With tiny more efforts the lovely territory of Kunas can be a travel destination of international magnitude.
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