Kuna
Indians |
| December 12, 2000
- San Blas Islands, Panama |
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An
eighty-year-old woman wearing day-glo colors,
literally thousands of beads adorning her tiny ankles
and wrists AND sporting a monstrous gold nose ring!
The diversity of this small country continues to amaze
me.
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Fiercely independent fighters for their freedom, yet physically
very small individuals. At five feet two inches, Co-pilot
Lupe towered above them! They are proud of the four "revolutions"
they have survived. They call attempts to subdue or otherwise
destroy their nation, revolutions. Other Indians, the Spanish,
and the Panamanians have all made their unsuccessful attempts.
They exist almost as a separate nation from Panama,
with their own ways and even their own laws. They
welcome tourism but on their own terms. There are
about 360 islands in the region with only forty inhabited.
Most are very small with the highest altitude a few
short feet above sea level!
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The hotel we stayed at was on one such island. You could
just about spit from one side to the other yet it was home
to a village of over one hundred. A stay at the tiny Hotel
San Blas included all meals and daily tours to other islands.
I will describe a few of the many stops we made on our tours.
Pelican Island, Robinson Carusoe for a Day
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Thirty-seven
palm trees, three huts, about twenty paces across and perhaps
sixty long. A ring of white sand and patch of green grass
shaded by the palm trees! Four permanent residents and four
tourists for the day!
Every romantic clich about a tropical desert isle applies
here. We were in awe for the first ten minutes after we
were dropped off.
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The Mini-Titanic experience on Achudag?
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Or
Isla Perro, or the Dog Island depending on your particular
persuasion for language. This little island was similar
to Pelican with the added attraction of a sunken Colombian
contraband boat just a few yards off shore. |
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The
only residents were two friendly brothers who collected
a dollar from every visitor and told the forty-year-old
story of the shipwreck. When I ask about the lack
of women on the island, Ramon replied that they had
every thing they needed on the island and that "women
are just very expensive." |
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| A
Trek to a Mainland Village |
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A
one hour boat ride and a two-hour hike got us to a
small village situated on a river. This village was
not accustomed to visitors. The original intent of
the outing was a search for frogs but the isolated
little village became the main event.
red make up |
The villagers cultivated bananas and sugar cane. The raw
material for their traditional makeup also grew in the area.
Red for their cheeks like rouge and black lines like on
their noses that resembled tattoos.
| The
Kuna Museum and "Aquarium" |
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A
neighboring island with a much larger village was
the home of the Kuna Museum and Aquarium. The aquarium
was actually a small pen built at the waters edge
that held about seven sea turtles. (Not quite up to
the standards of the Monterrey Aquarium?) They did
allow close up photography! |
The
museum was one room many Kuna artifacts, posters and
drawings. The guide spoke some English and Spanish
and was very passionate about the history and rituals
of his people. Our guide was also the artist who created
most of the exhibits. |
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The modest little
museum experience communicated the independent spirit of
the people. Their mythology is very connected to Mother
Earth and her gifts. If you mess with the Kunas' relationship
to her, you better watch out! |
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