Interesting experiences
'Sarf & West mate, Sarf & West'
Pete Bernfeld
Sun 24 Jan 2010 12:43
|
We (Troutbridge & Kilkea) spent the morning
ashore, taking a few photos, having a discreet 'nose' around and in my case
distributing reading glasses (well, one pair, anyway). We were invited into a
house by a chap called Florentino, who spoke excellend English, met members of
his family and were shown many photos of family & friends. His eldest
daughter was in hospital in Panama City and when we first went in he wasn't
sure, as he put it,' if she was still living'. Fortunately, whilst we were
there, word came via the village telephone (a solar-powered affair) that she was
now OK. His relief and joy were obvious and we shared an emotional moment with
him. We are learning that Kunas have become a 'far-flung' people. many now work
and live in Panama City, or go to college there or even further
afield.Florentino also needed reading glasses (I may contact the Yottie
newspaper 'Compass' and see if I can promote a bit of a charitable effort here.
If I was staying in the Caribbean I'd do it myself, but at the momernt I'm not
sure how to proceed. Kikea volunteered to donate a pair this time and Florentio
came out to the boat to pick them up and have a chat.
We met up with Mr Green again in the afternoon. We
were supposed to entertain him and his wife on troutbridge at 3pm and then go to
his house for a meal, but there was a big meeting of the 'Congreso' which put a
bit of a spanner in the works, so word came out that we should meet him ashore
at 3.30pm, then go to his house. It turns out his Father is the 'number 1 chief'
of the town and there was a big meeting of the Congreso that morning because the
Panamanian Authorities want to run power cables through the Kuna farms at Puerto
Ecosses. The sweetener for this was free electricity for the Kunas, but in this
area at least, they don't want electricity so unlikely to be a deal. The
Congreso was being briefed by Kunas who came from Panama City for the meeting.We
also discovered that it's now acceptable for Kunas to marry out of the tribe,
previously (apparently) they would have to leave the tribal area if they did so.
Many Kunas study overseas, Mr Green is the only son who returned to Mulatapu for
example, his brothers work in Panama City, an accountant and the other not too
sure. He also told us he'd been 'selected' to be secretary to one of the three
chiefs (didn't seem too happy, probably a lot of work involved, it's a big
settlement here, with two political entities due to a lond standing disagreement
between the two districts in the town. Turns out, in about 10 years he may well
become a 'Saida' himself. Also turns out when we asked him where the family name
'Green' came from that Great-Grandpa (we think) was an American. The world is
getting smaller and changing. Teenagers here dress 'Rapper-Style' and we saw at
least one MP3 player (maybe a small Ipod!).
Anyway, after a supper of rice and tinned sardines
(my least favourite fish, unfortunately!) which was interesting mainly because
whilst they could have given us fresh-caught local fish they chose to open a tin
which costs them hard currency, so we saw this as a form of compliment.
Elsewhere in the world, if you were offered tinned fish for an evening meal,
you'd probably view it in a different light.I gave Mr Green the requested and by
now customary pair of reading glasses and trying them out on his newspaper
he was visibly delighted.We then returned to Troutbridge, stopping of en-route
at Kilkea to pick up the cookies that Marion had baked in the afternoon. Simon
then went back ashore to pick up Mr & Mrs Green, his friend who had walked
around the town with us and his wife. We had a lively evenin, the men drinking a
couple of cans of beer and the women drinking coke.The conversation flowed
reasonably well, with Mr Green frequently translating into Kuna. They then had a
look around Troutbridge, which seemed to impress. The men being impressed by the
internal volume of the boat and the ladies being very much taken with the
Alcantara seat coverings. I feel Mr Green may be buying some soft cushions for
his benches in the near future! Truly an interesting experience and one which
may not be available much longer. Kuna culture is changing quickly. The
traditionalists are trying to be selective in what aspects of modern life they
allow into the community, but I can't help feeling that the dam will burst soon.
Most of the older ladies (say mid-twenties and up) still wear traditional Kuna
dress, but a few are starting to dress in Western style. Two houses in the
community of 2000 people have television (Mr Green said the families have a lot
of money) but I think that's just the start of the 'rot'. The Kunas are very
keen for their young people to study and improve themselves so I think a life of
no electricity, sleeping in hammocks suspended over a dirt floor etc etc will
not be able to compete with the attractions of 'the big city'.
Still using the satellite system, but I couldn't
resist posting the photo. From right to left, Mr & Mrs Gree, the friends'
wife, we think called Marilyn (or very similar) and his friend who's name I'm
sorry but I can't remember at the moment. I feel the rest of 'Kuna Yalu' will be
an anti-climax after these couple of days.
 |