Open Collections

Droe, Anj

Database of Religious History (DRH)

The Kuna, whose name for themselves is “Tule,” are an indigenous Central American group living along the northern coast of Panama. Originally from the Gulf of Urabá in present-day Colombia, the Kuna fled Spanish occupation in the 17th century and settled in what is now the Darién Province of Panama, eventually relocating to their current location on the San Blas Islands and northern coast. Through a combination of strategic alliances, negotiation, and rebellion, the Kuna have managed to maintain much of their cultural and political identity in the face of colonial pressure to assimilate. This entry focuses on ethnographic evidence collected during fieldwork with the Kuna shortly after 1925, when La Revolución Tule (the Kuna Revolution), in response to assimilation pressure, won the Kuna semi-autonomous status for their land. During this time, traditional Kuna religion was still practiced, although syncretism with Christianity, and in particular Protestantism, was present. Living a righteous life, so as to avoid angering the supreme high god Pab Dummat, was of central importance in Kuna religion. The righteous were rewarded in the afterlife and wrongdoers were punished. Considerable political and religious overlap appears to have been present both in community leaders and in ceremonies. For example, large religious singing or chanting ceremonies took place in the same community meeting houses used for political purposes. Because religious beliefs were inseparable from almost all aspects of social and political life, this entry considers the religious group to be coterminous with the society at large.

Other

eng

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0423123

Non UBC

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/