More Kuna

Kuna Beads 411

Inquiring minds wanted to know the low down on the beads that the Kuna women wear on their forearms and calves. The nice Kuna lady seated next to me on the bus today explained: Each row is a separate "bracelet", that is tied with some string left over. The next row is tied all the way down. Then, the loose ends are tied/woven together to form the whole thing. They do untie and remove them about every other month, sometimes changing the pattern. Kinda like US women might redo their hair or nails. If weight is gained, they just add a few more beads to each row. As far as this lady is concerned, they serve no useful purpose - just tradition. 

There was LOTS of color at the "Kuna Junction" bus stop today.
Including the bougainvillea backdrop.

Then, when I asked her if they made the arms/legs warm, she explained that if you dip them in water, they actually cool the arms and legs for some time. That sounds useful to me.
Since the tying and untying is difficult to do on yourself, helping a friend is a sort of female bonding.
In any case they certainly add color to the Kuna wardrobe.

That was all the info I could get before she fell asleep on my shoulder. She had been up since 3am, taking a boat from her village to the Junction.

More Kuna trivia

The Kuna language was strictly a verbal tradition, with no recorded writings until two Spanish linguists (Batista & Wallin) studied the language and produced an alphabet and spelling guide in 1974.
The Kuna now feel that the cunning linguists were mistaken in their spelling of their tribal name. They say it should be Guna and not Kuna. 

Understandable, since the k and g sounds are virtually identical. Kind of the same as how the number 20 is spelled "vente", but sounds like "bente", in Spanish.

Anyway there is a movement afoot to get the tribal name officially changed to Guna.

Another interesting Kuna/Guna language tidbit is that they use only 5 vowel and 7 consonant sounds, compared to English with 20 vowel and 24 consonant sounds.

Here is a classic example of the Kuna (or Guna) "mola" - an intricately layered and sewn patch that is worn by the women front and back of their very thin blouses that they wear when outside the villages.