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Praying for Dry Land in Panama
For thousands of years on the Kuna Yala islands, water and prayer were intertwined with daily rituals.
The Kuna — a group of roughly 40,000 indigenous people living on dozens of islands off Panama’s Caribbean coast — were isolated, relying on the land and one another to sustain their communities. Most of the local fishermen spend their days coasting the sun-drenched waters in hand-carved dugout canoes, looking for lobsters and fish to sell at the local market.
In the evenings, they gather for several hours in “congreso,” a nightly meeting led by the community spiritual leader, where they worship and recite traditional songs. The lyrics are steeped in myths and metaphors acknowledging their ancestors and giving praise to their land.
But for the past several years, the congresos have taken a dark tone. After abnormally high tides hit the coast in 2008, hundreds of the Kuna were forced to move inland when their homes were destroyed by knee-deep floodwaters. According to studies by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, since 1910 the average sea level in Kuna Yala has risen by almost six inches, and is continuing to increase by roughly three-quarters of an inch annually. Many of the Kuna are beginning to fear that in the near future, their land will be completely submerged.
...
“The majority of the people think the island is disappearing, they speak about it a lot,” he said. “So they are putting these blockers up by the sea. They don’t have engineers. They don’t have concrete or cement. Instead they use garbage. Without proper understanding on how to build bags, they do whatever they think will work.”
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/the-eroding-culture-of-kuna-yala/
The Kuna — a group of roughly 40,000 indigenous people living on dozens of islands off Panama’s Caribbean coast — were isolated, relying on the land and one another to sustain their communities. Most of the local fishermen spend their days coasting the sun-drenched waters in hand-carved dugout canoes, looking for lobsters and fish to sell at the local market.
In the evenings, they gather for several hours in “congreso,” a nightly meeting led by the community spiritual leader, where they worship and recite traditional songs. The lyrics are steeped in myths and metaphors acknowledging their ancestors and giving praise to their land.
But for the past several years, the congresos have taken a dark tone. After abnormally high tides hit the coast in 2008, hundreds of the Kuna were forced to move inland when their homes were destroyed by knee-deep floodwaters. According to studies by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, since 1910 the average sea level in Kuna Yala has risen by almost six inches, and is continuing to increase by roughly three-quarters of an inch annually. Many of the Kuna are beginning to fear that in the near future, their land will be completely submerged.
...
“The majority of the people think the island is disappearing, they speak about it a lot,” he said. “So they are putting these blockers up by the sea. They don’t have engineers. They don’t have concrete or cement. Instead they use garbage. Without proper understanding on how to build bags, they do whatever they think will work.”
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/the-eroding-culture-of-kuna-yala/
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