San Blas Islands

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Islands entirely covered with dwellings.

Cayuko "dug-out canoe".

The San Blas Islands of Panama is an archipelago of 365 islands off the north coast of the Isthmus, east of the Panama Canal. Home to the Kuna Indians, they are a part of the comarca Kuna Yala along the Caribbean coast of Panama.

Tradition and legacy

The Kuna Indians are known for their decorative art, known as molas. Molas are usually very bright and colorful and are often worn as clothing. Before the missionaries converted the natives to Christianity, they wore few clothes but decorated their bodies with colorful designs. When encouraged to wear clothes by the missionaries, they followed their body painting designs in their Molas, which they wore as clothing.

The Kuna Indians worship a god named Erragon. They believe that this god came and died just for the Kuna people. The Kuna Indians were driven off Panama during the Spanish invasion and they fled in their boats to the 365 islands around. The chief of all the islands lives on an island called Acuadup, which means rock island. The Kuna are hunters and fishers, they are a very clean people and on some of the islands have opportunities to attend school. Most of the men now speak Spanish, though the women carry on older traditions.

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9°34′N 78°49′W / 9.57°N 78.82°W / 9.57; -78.82Coordinates: 9°34′N 78°49′W / 9.57°N 78.82°W / 9.57; -78.82