The "Comarca de San Blas" (Comarca=district) is an autonomous region that consists of the Archipelago de San Blas and a 226km strip of Caribbean coast from Punta San Blas in the northeast of Panama, to Puerto Obaldia, near the Colombian border, in the southeast. The island of Porvenir is the administrative center of the San Blas Comarca, or Kuna Yala, the land of the Kuna.
The San Blas Archipelago is a series of 378 islands of which only 49 (depending on wh
o you ask) are inhabited by the Kuna Indians . The rest of the islands are mostly left to coconut trees, sea turtles and iguanas. On the inhabited islands, so many traditional bamboo-sided, thatch-roofed houses are clustered together that there is hardly any room to maneuver between them. Most of the inhabited islands are close to the mainland as all natural resources for the Kuna's are there. Water, firewood, construction materials as well as the giant trees from which the Indians make their dugout canoes. They burn the inside and then hollow out the trunk of the trees.
o you ask) are inhabited by the Kuna Indians . The rest of the islands are mostly left to coconut trees, sea turtles and iguanas. On the inhabited islands, so many traditional bamboo-sided, thatch-roofed houses are clustered together that there is hardly any room to maneuver between them. Most of the inhabited islands are close to the mainland as all natural resources for the Kuna's are there. Water, firewood, construction materials as well as the giant trees from which the Indians make their dugout canoes. They burn the inside and then hollow out the trunk of the trees.The Kuna Indians have governed the region since 1920s, when the Panamanian government granted the tribe the right of self-rule following a Kuna uprising. Today the Kuna not only govern themselves (each inhabited island has its own chief) but have two representatives in the Panamanian legislature, as well as the right to vote in Panamanian elections.
The Kuna are a fiercely in
dependent people who try to maintain their traditions in a changing world. In a protectionist move, the chiefs of the islands passed a law several years ago that prohibited outsiders from owning property in Kuna Yala. This forced out the handful of foreigners living on the islands and is a direct result why there are only few very basic places for visitors to stay can be found on the islands.
dependent people who try to maintain their traditions in a changing world. In a protectionist move, the chiefs of the islands passed a law several years ago that prohibited outsiders from owning property in Kuna Yala. This forced out the handful of foreigners living on the islands and is a direct result why there are only few very basic places for visitors to stay can be found on the islands.Although the Kuna are increasingly being paid in Dollars for their goods and services, the district's principal currency for the longest time was the coconut. The Kuna grow coconut like crazy. Most of the nuts are exported to Columbia and with the sale of molas, coconut trade is the most common source of cash income for the tribe.
Visitors coming to the islands are enchanted by the beauty of their surroundings and the Kuna's way of life, but reality is that behind the scenes the Kunas are struggling to maintain this way of living and the ownership of their land. The coconut trade is in decline, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Kunas to earn a living. Tourism is therefore seen by many as the answer.
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