Kuakas and Restrooms

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Kuakas are hand carved and hulled out of large trees found in the jungles. They are then smoothed of the splinters and hand painted with bright colors. The Kunas either use ores to row the boats or attach sails. It they have enough money, then they affix a motor to the back.


Behind the kuakas in the back of the photo there is a picture of a restrrom. The facilities are buit over the water, son the waster can fall into the ocean. Very few islands have electricity or running water, but the ones that do sometimes have flushing commodes. Some families even build concrete restrooms and bathing facilities.

Picture for Kuna

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Children the Churches

Food

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The women own property in the jungle for growing food, but the men work the land,
The typically grow pineapple, coconuts, breadfruit plantains and other fruit. The Kuna´ diet consists mostly of nice and seafood. Their classic drink is chicha; these are made by boiling
water and corn.

Kuakas are hand carved and hulled out of large trees found in the jungle. They are then smoothed of all the splinters and hand painted with brigh colors. The Kuna either use ores to row the boats or attach sails. If they have enough money, then they affix a motor to the back.

Behing the Kuakas in the back of the photo there is a picture of a restroom. The facilities are built over the water, so the waste can into the ocean. Very Few islands have electricity or running water, but the ones that do sometimes have fluship commodes. Some families even build concrete restrooms and bathing facilities.

Political System

The Kuna have the most sophisticated organization of any tribal group in Latin America. They elect chiefs that manage the village´ politics and govern the community. The elected officials conduct meeting called "congresos" and during this time they make decisions for the village. Each village has at leat two chiefs and all San Blas is managed by an elected head chief and subordinate chieft.

Family of Eliseo Iglesias

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Rosana Iglesias

School

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Most of the villages have elementary schools for the childre. Teachers from Panamà are required to instruct for two years on the Islands before they are able to teach in Panamà City.
The children are divided into groups to either attend school in the morning or the afternoon. Very few villages have Junior High Schools, son if a parent wants their child have further education, then they must boat them to the nearest island wint a Junior High. No villages offer High School. It the familiy wants to send their child to High School, then the youth must move to Panamà

Houses

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The Kuna reside in bamboo huts. The men go to the jungle to gather various sizes of banana leaves and bamboo sticks to build the shelter. Them tightly together with twine. The roofs are very sturdy and usually last up to twenty years before they need to be replaced. There are small slits between the bamboo in order for the light to shine through during the day. Because most islands do not have electricity, they burn gas lamps at night. Even though the streets are dirt, the women get up early in the morning when the sun is barely shining to sweep trash off the paths.

Kuna Wear

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Kuna Wear

The Kuna women still wear the traditional dress of their ancestors. This includes brightly colored scarves, gold jewelrym and mola dresses. Most of the older women have nose rings made of gold. Their noses are pierced as young childre, and a small piece of wood is inserted in the hole. When the wood gets wet it expands; this process continues until the hole is big enough for the ring to be inserted. The women stitch molas on the front and back of their shirts for added color and personalization. They also wear beads around their arms and legs that have intricate designs woven throughout. For rouge, the women paint their faces with mashed achiote seeds. They also paint a black line dows their nose for added beauty.

The kuna men, on the other hand, wear much les traditional clothing. Their way of dressing resembles that of American men. The chiefs of the islands usually wear dress pants and button down dress shirts. Many of them also wear ties and hats; this way of dressing distinguishes them from the other citizens.

Nana e Ismael leyendo la Biblia.

Porque yo Jehovà soy tu Dios, quien te sostiene de tu mano derecha,
y te dice: No temas, yo te ayudo.
Isaìas 41,13