Tule

San Blas Kuna

Chibchan

FamilyChibchan Speakers~60K (vibrant) ScriptLatin CountriesPanama Official inNo (Spanish is the official language of Panama; Guna is used in the Guna Yala comarca and in bilingual education) Vitalityvulnerable ISO 639-3cuk

San Blas Kuna (autonymously Tule, also written Kuna or Guna) is the language of the Guna people of the Caribbean coast of Panama and the borderlands of Colombia. The Kuna live primarily in the Guna Yala (San Blas) Comarca, an autonomous indigenous territory established in 1953 after the 1925 Tule Revolution that won Kuna self-rule. Linguistically, Kuna is a Chibchan language though its position within Chibchan is debated — it shows substantial divergence from other Chibchan languages and may represent an early branch off the family tree. The Kuna are world-famous for their distinctive cultural artifacts: molas (intricate reverse-applique fabric panels created by Kuna women) which are now collected as folk art globally, and the matrilineal cultural organization that gives Kuna women significant economic and political authority. The Kuna have one of the strongest indigenous polities in the Americas, with an active Cultural Congress that publishes Kuna-language books and protects intellectual property over Kuna cultural designs.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in San Blas Kuna

Water

di

/di/

Fire

so

/so/

Sun

olo

/olo/

Moon

nii

/niː/

Star

bisir

/pisiɾ/

Mother

nan

/nan/

Father

baba

/baba/

I

an

/an/

You

be

/pe/

Name

nug

/nuk/

Eye

ibya

/ibja/

Hand

arigan

/aɾiɡan/

Heart

kurgin

/kuɾɡin/

Love

sabbi

/sabːi/

Tree

sappi

/sapːi/

House

nega

/neɡa/

Dog

achu

/atʃu/

Cat

miji

/midʒi/

Eat

gunne

/ɡune/

Drink

gobe

/ɡobe/

One

kuenki

/kweŋki/

Two

bo

/po/

Hello

nuedi

/nweðiː/

Thank you

nuedi malo

/nweðiː malo/

Good

nuegan

/nweɡan/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Chibchan languages

Meaning San Blas KunaKanitePapiamentoSusuGalibi CaribBakhtiariOtomi
Water di /di/ nai /nai/ awa /awa/ yi /ji/ tuna /tuna/ ئاو /aw/ dehe /tehe/
Fire so /so/ lo /lo/ kandela /kandela/ te /te/ wàto /wahto/ تش /teʃ/ tsibi /tsibi/
Sun olo /olo/ suka /suka/ solo /solo/ soge /soɡe/ weju /weju/ خور /xor/ hyadi /hjadi/
Moon nii /niː/ ika /ika/ luna /luna/ kike /kike/ nuno /nuno/ مانگ /mãŋ/ zänä /zãnã/
Star bisir /pisiɾ/ ka'nefi /kaʔnefi/ strea /ˈstre.a/ tunbi /tunbi/ siriko /siɾiko/ ئستاره /estɒːɾe/ tsʼe /tsʼe/
Mother nan /nan/ nene /nene/ mama /mama/ nga /ŋɡa/ sano /sano/ دا /daː/ nänä /nãnã/
Father baba /baba/ nafa /nafa/ tata /tata/ baba /baba/ papa /papa/ بوا /bowa/ tada /tada/
I an /an/ nagaya /naɡaja/ mi /mi/ n /n/ au /au/ مو /mo/ nugä /nuɡæ/
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