Celebration of the Kuna Revolution and Independence
25 February 2013 | Isla Tigre, San Blas, Panama
Liz
We sailed to the east beyond the "big city" of Nargana to the more traditional island of Isla Tigre on Saturday, 23 FEB. Our arrival here was timed to allow us a couple of days to explore the island and surrounding area before the large celebration of Kuna independence taking place on Monday, 25 FEB. The anchorage began to get crowded as more and more "yachties" arrived to witness the event. In Kuna Yala, the anchorages are typically large, there are many to choose from, and there are very few boats. Being in a relatively small, tight anchorage is extremely rare and a few boats began to get anxious as more vessels arrived! Guess they have never anchored in Georgetown, Bahamas or they have been so spoiled here that they have forgotten what it's like to "pass the Grey Poupon" to boats anchored near you!!! The island is extremely well organized, with all of the "houses" (made from bamboo or sugar cane reeds for walls with a palm thatched roof) are neat and tidy and lined up the length of the island along the sand "streets". There is a restaurant that is owned by the community that serves meals of fish, chicken, lobster or octopus with a salad and either rice or french fries for $6-8 per meal (except for lobster--which was way more expensive!). They had cold sodas and beers (which were expensive at $2 each) or would prepare a "jelly coconut" to drink the coconut water and then split it to eat the jellied meat for $1. There are a few small tiendas (stores) where you can get other supplies such as flour, canned meat, eggs and other staples. While we were there, two different Columbian trading vessels came in and we were able to get some fresh vegetables--tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, peppers--everything priced at $1 per pound--weighed on a small hand held scale. Since we arrived on Saturday, the theory was that we could witness the "rehearsals" for the big event over the next two days. Each day we were told that the practice would be at about 4pm in a certain location on the island. The island is not that big, so even if it was elsewhere, you'd be able to hear it and find it. Well--that was the theory, but in reality we never saw a practice. We did sit in the Congresso hut (a "big" central structure--made from the same materials--bamboo walls/thatched roof) and listen to a few "talks" from the Silah (chief). Of course, since these occurred in the Kuna language, we understood nothing, but just sat and listened politely in the cool, dark shade (no lights, of course!). We did take some time to head to the mainland nearby and take a dinghy trip up the river where the Kuna farms are and where they run a water pipe from to provide water to the village. It was very peaceful with lots of birds in the surrounding trees and shallows. Even an iguana was startled in the trees overhead! We went in late afternoon after all of the Kuna had gone "home" to the island for the day.
On the morning of Monday, 25 FEB, we were told to plan to be in at 7 am. We set the alarm for 6:30 and after my morning coffee, we headed in a bit late at 7:15. No other boats were stirring and no other dinghies were racing to shore. We got in to observe the sleepy island waking up. All of the "streets" were being or had been swept with the makeshift brooms made of palm frond--not a bare foot print in sight! We observed only the children coming out of the sleeping hut carrying a pail of some variety--some metal, some like a sand castle pail, others just any kind of plastic tub. They were all heading to a certain spot on the island. Then we spotted some making their way back toward the huts. The pail was now filled with milk and in their hands were the small Kuna bread rolls that had been spread with a cheese spread. Many brought a small plastic bag to carry the rolls. We arrived at the spot they were all heading to and from and found the line where the children were receiving their special Independence Day breakfast. One Kuna man was cutting the small rolls in half and then spreading a "Cheez Whiz" type spread onto them. A Kuna woman was scooping out the milk into the pails and distributing the rolls. She seemed to know exactly how many to give each child (we assume it was based upon the size of the family). Still no one else had a arrived. So, we walked around the town and said "hola" and waved to all the children and families. The children love to say hello and smile at us--with our lighter skin and hair, we are a curiosity to them. Babies simply STARE. Finally around 9 am, the festivities began in a central square area. A series of dances were performed by a small group of men and women. The men played a type of "pan flute" made of differing lengths of bamboo while the women shook maracas. After a bit of dancing, the parade began--this required the visitantes (visitors) to be given a bandera (flag) to precede each group. The dancers lead the parade and each group from visiting islands carried their bandera followed by the next group, etc. Of course, the "yachties" were all in a single group and the children from the "kid boats" carried our bandera. We walked around the streets of the island a couple of times, with the normal resident population standing in the shade of the doorways of their huts watching us go by. Little children waved at us as the procession went by--Kuna parents would hold the arm of the babies in their arms and have them wave--just like parents do in the USA. After this procession led back to the Congress Hut, we all went inside for a lesson in the Kuna history and the revolution. This time, there was a Kuna priest who was able to tell us the story in reasonable English about the revolution. Then, of course, the story was told in Kuna as well. We listened for about 1 hour and then it was time for a "break" for lunch. As has happened in so many country's histories, suddenly a new "governor" appears and is assigned to govern a place. These "soldiers" or "police" began controlling when the Kuna could fish or farm or what they could bring back from the mainland farm--if they went for water, they could only bring back water--they didn't have PERMISSION to bring a pineapple, for example. They also attempted to force the Kuna to give up their traditional ways and dress. The men were often beaten and the women often had their beads and nose rings ripped off and were forced to "service" the soldiers. Men were imprisoned. Eventually the normally peaceful Kuna rebelled. With an organized group of 11 islands, the Kuna rebelled and were able to resist the Panamanians and eventually re-establish their way of life. The yachties when back to the boats, while the Kunas were fed in the same manner as breakfast--with a central station from which the rice was distributed to members of the village and visiting islanders. We came back in a little bit early to ensure we wouldn't miss anything (no other dinghies in sight again this time) and were told to call in our friends as the celebration was about to begin! We headed out to the dock where the trading boats tie up and called to some of the boats anchored near by. Soon there was a flotilla of dinghies racing to shore! Everyone arrived in time to witness the two hour re-enactment performed each year on Independence Day. We sat on a bench in the hot sun watching as one group of Kuna represented the Panamanian soldiers and police and the others represented the Kuna villagers. Makeshift huts had been set up around the central square area depicting aspects of traditional life--some were cooking, others were sewing molas, others repairing nets or grinding grains, one for the medicine men, etc. One by one, the police would arrive at a hut and they would scream in Kuna and drag the Kuna men out of the huts and beat them with foam clubs while the Kuna women would grab at them and wail. The acting was quite good and often the smaller children would cry real tears as the actors were beaten. It was quite graphic and they had packets of red juice that they would bite down on for blood which would spurt everywhere! Eventually, the depiction of the meeting of the 11 islands was shown and the Kuna rebelled and "beat" the soldiers. As the last soldier lay "dead" in the sand, the re- enactment was over and that was it! The Kuna children again lined up and were give a cookie and juice and the festivities were over. A very, very interesting experience!!