title an elderPearl of Panama

Land (yala) of the Kuna (Kuna Indians, that is). Caretakers in perpetuity of the over 360 islands that make up what the Western world knows as the San Blas Islands of Panama, tucked behind reefs fronting the Caribbean dotting the sapphire waters just off the Darien Penisula.

Kuna family in uloo (canoe) A close-knit society, gracious and hospitable to visitors, yet dedicated to their own ways: the women still wear traditional dress and make molas—intricately patterned reverse applique cloth panels, bright and colorful (see the button below and the next page for a full size picture)—for their own wear and to sell. The men fish for food and harvest the coconuts, reputedly the best in the Caribbean.

Families move between hectic village life (small islands chock full of huts, people, dogs, chattering parrots, monkeys and babies: a place where something’s always doing) and the solitude of tending lonely coconut sand spits. This village has a medicine man and many youngsters. Examples of a gracious people, stong in heritage whose roots run strongly in the soil of this, their idyllic land. more Kuna Yala more Kuna Yala
medicine man kids playing sugar cane baby
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