Figure 1.--Here we see some Cuna indians on San Blas Island in 1932. The children are with two Panamian policemen. We can see that at the time some boys wore long trousers and shirts, while most of them wore nothing.

One of the few Native American tribes to survive south of the Mayan areas are the Cuna, often called the San Blas indians. The Cuna are a matriarchial tribe inhabiting the isolated San Blas Archipelago, along the Caribbean coast of Panama. Some believe the Cuna were related to the Caribs who inhabited some of the Caribbean islands. Decisions are made by the women and family lineage follows that of the woman's family. The Cuna perhaps because of their isolated island homeland have retained much of their traditional culture and have resisted assimilation into the modern world and Panamanian society. Columbus entered the Boca del Toro area of western Panama on his fourth and last voyage (1502). He is known to have landed on some of the islands. This appears to have been before the Cuna arrived, fleeing both the Spanish and other native America tribes in what is now Colombia. The Cuna are virtualy all that are left of the Native American civilization that Columbus and Spanish conquistadores encountered in southern Central America and the Caribbean. The Cuna practice a democratic lifestyle and are largely self sufficient. The Cuna live in about 40 settlements on the about 365 islands that make up the San Blas Archipelago as well as the mainland. It cannot be said that the Cuna live just as the Spanish found them. They have accepted a variety of modern conveniences, but they have been very selective and have kept much of their ancient culture and traditions. The Cuna are noted for their Mola embroideries.

Created: 5:09 PM 12/26/2010
Last updated: 5:09 PM 12/26/2010