Guna Yala

Guna Yala
Location of Guna Yala* in Panamá*
Data
Capital	El Porvenir
population	36,000
surface	2340.7 km²
Population density	15.3 inhabitants / km²
structure	4 Corregimientos 51 municipalities
ISO 3166-2	PA-KY
Website	http://www.gunayala.org.pa/
Guna Yala
Members of the Kuna Yala tribe with Mola embroidery

The Comarca Guna Yala (former name: San Blas , afterwards Kuna Yala ) is an autonomous area on the north coast of Panama on the Atlantic Ocean .

A chain of around 365 islands in the Caribbean Sea off the northern coast of Panama, which extends around 180 km to the Colombian border, forms the San Blas archipelago . It and the coastal region between Puerto Obaldía in the east on the Colombian border and the island of El Porvenir in the west are inhabited by around 33,000 members of the Kuna people, only around 50 of the islands are permanently inhabited. In the north, the area is a large number of Caribbean coast upstream coral islands bounded on the south by the hills of the Cordillera de Kuna Yala .

History of the region

The Kuna have defied submission by the central government in bloody clashes that finally culminated in an uprising in 1925, the Dule Revolution. Although a political settlement was reached in 1930, the Indians had to fight for decades until the semi-autonomous area of Kuna Yala was finally established.

Culture

The molas , products of a unique handicraft in Mesoamerica , are manufactured in home-made fashion . This is an application embroidery that originally and still today adorns women's blouses. This traditional costume in its current colorful form did not come into being until 1950. The forerunners at the beginning of the 20th century probably developed from the body painting instead of clothing that had been customary until then, which the first missionaries promoted. There are not only traditional motifs, but also redesigned industrial labels, comments on political events, and they are even used as an information and teaching medium (e.g. motif of a caiman attacking a child). In the dispute with the USA in the 1990s, the molas received a status as a Panamanian identity symbol and have since then also established themselves in the upper class of western-oriented Panama. Many molas are exhibited in museums around the world. In everyday life they belong to the normal jewelry of the Kuna women, in addition to the equally colorful ribbons that cover the lower legs and forearms. You can meet them during the day in the pedestrian zone of Panama City selling, two days later in their huts in the archipelago. You use the plane for the trip.

The best known is the Isla El Porvenir, on which group tourism is already massing. There are also first tourist structures on the islands of Isla Sapibenega, Isla Wichubualá (alias Wichub Wala or Huala) and Isla Okuptupu. Further south lying islands of the Kunas, such as z. B. Playón Chico (Ukupseni), are very difficult and only accessible with simple fan guns. An invitation from a local is required, including the approval of the tribal chiefs (caciks). The Kuna language is predominant, English is hardly ever spoken there, and Spanish is only spoken by a few.

Flag of Guna Yala

Flag of the Dule Revolution of 1925

The comarca is between 8 ° 25 'and 9 ° 32' north latitude and 79 ° 20 'and 77 ° 8' west longitude and has a length of 181 kilometers.

The flag that San Blas and Kuna Yala waged from 1925 to 2010 shows a swastika (swastika) with hooks pointing to the left. This represents a symbolized octopus that, according to local tradition, created the world. Since 2010, the area, which has now been renamed Guna Yala, has had a new flag on which two crossed arms are shown with a bow and arrow . The previous flag is retained for purposes depicting the resistance and the Dule Revolution of 1925.

Political division

Politically, the region is divided into four corregimientos, which are further divided into 51 communities (Spanish comunidad , Kuna language Neggwebur ):

1. Corregimiento de Narganá: This area with an area of 965.1 km² had exactly 14,060 inhabitants in 28 communities in 2000, most of them on islands. One can distinguish between three different socio-cultural factors: a) the Cartí sector, which is rich in culture and where there is the most tourism ; b) the sector of the municipalities of Río Azúcar, Narganá and Corazón de Jesús, which has the greatest western influence. There are also some state institutions and infrastructures here; and c) the area comprising the municipalities of Tigre and Ticantiqui, which are still in a natural state in terms of cultural aspects.
2. Corregimiento de Ailigandí: The Corregimiento with an area of 631.7 km² includes 10 municipalities with a total population (2000) of 11,644 people. It is the region with the greatest population density (20.8 inhabitants per km²). The socio-cultural characteristics are very homogeneous and, due to increased Western influence, are in transition. Like the Corregimiento de Narganá, it has infrastructures such as a health center, hospital, aqueduct , airstrips and schools.
3. Corregimiento de Tubualá: Covers 11 municipalities on an area of 613.1 km² with a population (2000) of 6,733 people. These communities have less infrastructure and are less influenced by the western world.
4. Corregimiento de Puerto Obaldia: The hard-to-reach Corregimiento in the east on the border with Colombia with an area of 130.9 km² covers only a coastal strip without islands and in 2000 had only 672 inhabitants in the two communities Puerto Obaldia and La Miel, and the lowest population density with 7, 0 inhabitants per km².

Trivia

In the Spanish Netflix series House of Money , the two protagonists Rio and Tokyo live on an island in the region for two years after the attack on the Spanish banknote printing plant.

literature

Torge Löding: Oh, how beautiful it is before Panama! In: The world . October 10, 2010 ( welt.de ).
Cuna Indios - The thick skulls of San Blas . In: Geo , 11/1977, pp. 140-156.