KUNA INDIANS IN PANAMA

THESE INDIANS ARE A STRONGLY KNIT TRIBE ON A CHAIN OF ISLANDS CALLED SAN BLASARCHIP. THEY STILL LIVE LIKE THEIR ANCESTORS. THEY LIVE A MORE BALANCED LIFE FREE FROM COMPLEXED ORGANIZED SOCIETIES.
AFTER MARRIAGE A MAN LIVES ITH HIS WIFE IN HIS MOTHER IN LAW'S HOUSE. DAUGHTERS ARE PRIZED. THE MEN HAVEA HIGH RATE OF ALBINOISM. THEY ARE ACCEPTED AND DO WORK OF THE WOMEN. THERE IS A RADITIONAL DIVISION OF LABOR WITHIN THE FAMILY. HUSBANDS GATHER COCONUTS AND CULTIVATE THE FOOD, COLLECTS AND CARVES WOOD, REPAIRS THE HOUSE, MAKES HIS CLOTHES. THE WIFE PREPARES FOOD, COLLECTS WATER, UNLOADS THE BOATS, SEWS FEMALE GARMENTS, WASHES CLOTHES, AND CLEANS THE HOUSE AND RAISES CHILDREN. DANCES AND CHANTS PASS ALONG THEIR CUSTOMS. KUNA IS SPOKEN AND SPANISH IS ALSO. SOME EVEN KNOW ENGLISH.

THE WOMEN HAVE THE BRIGHT TRADITIONAL DRESS AND WHERE A GOLD NOSE RING. WITH GLASS BEADED ARMS AND BIG BANDS. SCARVES, EARRINGS, COLORFUL SKIRTS AND DRESSES ARE WORN BY THE WOMEN. THE KUNA MEN WEAR A TYPICAL STYLE OF CLOTHING TO THE WESTERN WORLD.
ABOUT 21,000 WERE RECORDED IN 1940. SOME REMAIN IN THE MOUNTAIN AREAS, THEIR CLIMATE IS HOT AND HUMID WITH 27 DEGREES C. RAINFALL IS HEAVY. THEY LIVE IN A TROPICAL RAIN FOREST THEY LIVED USING HORTICULTURE, HUNTING FISHING AND COLLECTING. WARFARE WAS COMMON.

ONCE THE SPANISH ARRIVED THEY WERE DECIMATED BY DISEASES. THEY OFTEN ALLIED WITH THE BRITAIN AGAINST THE SPANISH. TODAY THEY HAVE A POPULATION INCREASE. THEY WORK IN MIGRATORY WORK AND HUNTING HAS DECREASED AS PEOPLE HAVE FOCVUSED ON SLASH AND BURN AGRICULTURE. THEIR MIGRATORY CUNA ECONOMY IS CASH ORIENTED.

THE HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD IS THE OLDEST MALE. THE GIRLS HAVE A PUBERTY RITUAL. KNOWLEDGE OF TRADITION AND STATUS IS IMPORTANT FOR CHIEFS. THEIR RELIGIOUS SYSTEM IS TIED UP ITH MEDICAL SYSTEM. SOME PRACTITIONERS SPECIALIZE IN EPIDEMICS. THEY DO NOT LIKE MISSIONIZATION.

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