Tule

San Blas Kuna

Chibchan

FamilyChibchan Speakers~60K (vibrant) ScriptLatin CountriesPanama Official inPanama 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

20 core words in San Blas Kuna

Water

di

/di/

Fire

so

/so/

Sun

olo

/olo/

Moon

nii

/niː/

Mother

nan

/nan/

Father

baba

/baba/

Eat

gunne

/ɡune/

Drink

gobe

/ɡobe/

Love

sabbi

/sabːi/

Heart

kurgin

/kuɾɡin/

Tree

sappi

/sapːi/

House

nega

/neɡa/

Dog

achu

/atʃu/

Cat

miji

/midʒi/

Hand

arigan

/aɾiɡan/

Eye

ibya

/ibja/

Hello

nuedi

/nweðiː/

Thank you

nuedi malo

/nweðiː malo/

One

kuenki

/kweŋki/

Good

nuegan

/nweɡan/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Chibchan languages

Meaning San Blas KunaKanitePapiamentoMazahuaBeromChechenJiamao
Water di /di/ nai /nai/ awa /awa/ ndo /ndo/ /bi/ хи /xi/ noːm /noːm/
Fire so /so/ lo /lo/ kandela /kandela/ sibi /sibi/ /tʃa/ цӏе /tsʼe/ hoːi /hoːi/
Sun olo /olo/ suka /suka/ solo /solo/ hyadi /hjadi/ kọs /kɔs/ малх /malx/ mau /mau/
Moon nii /niː/ ika /ika/ luna /luna/ zana /zana/ cwèl /tʃwel/ бутт /butː/ naː /naː/
Mother nan /nan/ nene /nene/ mama /mama/ nana /nana/ ne /ne/ нана /nana/ miə /miə/
Father baba /baba/ nafa /nafa/ tata /tata/ tata /tata/ da /da/ да /da/ paː /paː/
Eat gunne /ɡune/ ne /ne/ kome /kome/ ñe /ɲe/ /ɾi/ даа /daː/ kɛːn /kɛːn/
Drink gobe /ɡobe/ ne /ne/ bebe /bebe/ theni /tʰeni/ nyaŋ /ɲaŋ/ мала /mala/ ɲom /ɲom/
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