Page 248 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

246 Guna Yala
Guna Yala

A Guna woman in traditional attire – hair bound in a scarlet headscarf
(muswe), embroidered blouse (mola) tucked into a sarong-like patterned
skirt, her forearms and calves bound with intricate beadwork (wini) and her
nose pierced with a golden ring – is a sight that has launched a thousand
travel brochures. Yet the Guna’s relationship with tourism remains
ambivalent, and their suspicion of outsiders (uagmala) and determination
to ensure that tourism is conducted on their terms has been born of bitter
experience. This can make a trip to Guna Yala fairly challenging, though
the benefits far outweigh any frustrations or inconveniences. A visit is an
7 opportunity to engage with an evolving, unique, indigenous culture, to
experience village life first-hand, to loll on heavenly white-sand islands
and to explore the little-visited, rainforested mainland.
The Guna (pronounced “Guna” or “Kuna” depending upon the dialect) – or the Dule
(pronounced “Dule” or “Tule”), as they call themselves – are Panama’s highest-profile
indigenous people. They inhabit a vast semiautonomous region (or comarca) along the
eastern Caribbean coast, which stretches some 375km from the Golfo de San Blas to
Puerto Obaldía and comprises almost four hundred islands and a swathe of land whose
limits extend to the peaks of the serranías de San Blas and the Darién. Around 33,000
Guna live within the Comarca de Guna Yala, with a further 47,000 predominantly
spread among two smaller inland comarcas in eastern Panama (see p.277) and Panama
City, though populations are fluid given the constant toing and froing between the
capital and the comarcas.
In Guna Yala, for the most part, people are packed onto a chain of 36 low-lying coral
outcrops close to the shore, with eleven communities established on the coast and two
further inland. Recently, frequent flooding caused by rising sea levels has encouraged
some island-based families to relocate to the mainland. Plans are afoot for entire
communities to join them over the coming years, as it becomes increasingly likely
that their homes will become permanently submerged.
The waters of the western archipelago, in particular, are sprinkled with near-deserted
cays covered in coconut palms, surrounded by dazzling beaches that shelve into
turquoise waters, whose coral reefs provide great opportunities for snorkelling (diving
is prohibited across the comarca). Trips to the luxuriantly rainforested mainland are
equally magical, whether gliding upriver in a dugout, visiting a Guna burial ground or
seeking out the spectacular birdlife. These attributes make Guna Yala a wonderfully
idyllic location for a holiday, but to appreciate its unique nature, engaging with Guna
culture in all its variations, complexities and contradictions is essential.
There are basically two types of islands of interest to tourists. The palm-topped
deserted islands, surrounded by white-sand beaches, are predominantly distinguished
by their accommodation, ranging from simple cane cabañas to more comfortable

Guna Yala essentials p.250 Guna Yala festivals p.261
Package stays in Guna Yala p.252 Guna cemeteries p.262
Etiquette when visiting Guna Yala p.255 The traditional Guna way of life p.264
Guna names and language p.256 Puberty rituals p.266
Lobster and the closed season p.259 Security in the frontier zone p.268

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