HISTORY OF THE GUNA YALA COMMUNITY

The Ogigidiuala, also called Koskun diuar and Amukua diuar, today located in the Republic of Colombia, in the Department of Choco, under the name Atrato River, is the region where our oral history places the beginning of the strengthening of the Kunas as a people, as a society in constant construction, thanks to the presence of elders who were educated and instructed, first by Inanadili and then by Ibeorgun and Gikadiryai, in many kinds of knowledge. This knowledge was later developed in their respective communities. Likewise, the knowledge acquired by the elders served to guide, educate and intellectually develop the great nelegan, born on the tributaries of the Duileuala.

However, the Kuna people began their social structure through small family groups and elementary cultural expressions; the face of Kuna traditions was built little by little, until more organized community formations were reached. That family structure lacked complex knowledge of community leadership, and they did not build adequate dwellings. Nevertheless, they understood the language of the birds, the animals and nature itself, and they worked the land in response to their basic needs and the demands of their surroundings. So, organized or not, the Kunas led by the elders Dad Mague, Dad Igua, Dad Naki, Dad Yoli and others began to improve this situation thanks to the preparation given to them by Ibeorgun and Kikadiryai.

Later, as the great nelegan deepened different kinds of knowledge, they gave strength to the organization and order that had been gradually emerging, from the family to an organized community society. All of this happened amid the obstacles the Kuna have faced as a people before and after the arrival of Europeans. As Masardummi and Ologanagunkiler pointed out, there were other, very different peoples living on Mother Earth. Some were noble and friendly; other groups were men of war who showed no nobility toward others. The Kuna had to stand up to them in order to survive and protect their children, thanks to individuals born with gifts of wisdom and strategies for struggle, such as Olonigikinyaler, who taught the Kuna people the art of fighting and defense.

These social transformations experienced by the Kuna people began with Olotualigiber and Gabayai, the parents of Ibeler, who started the search for the identity of their parents and the first construction of Kuna culture.

After living for several hundred years on the banks of the tributaries of the Ogigidiuala, the Kunas moved to live near the many tributaries of the Duileuala, today called the Tuira River in Darien, mainly because of conflicts with neighboring peoples and the epidemics that struck the region.

Thus the Duileuala became the new home of the Kunas, and from there, under the guidance of the elders, they began to develop how to lead an organization within a community. Before that they were not organized in communities; they lived only in family groups, subsisting by working the fields, hunting and fishing in the tributaries of the Duileuala.

And on the tributaries of this river the great nelegan were born, as Ibeorgun had foreseen:

“Ibeorgun neg owisos nade, namaignai gude yo an sorbali, igua ualagan daniye, naki ualagan daniye, sommas ualagan daniye, irsu ualagan daniye, suar nuegan, suar gandikimalad, suar niganikamalad, we sualamala an sorbali nonimaloye”. That is, Ibeorgun said: after me will come men and women endowed with great wisdom and strength of spirit (nelegan), and they will be born on the different tributaries of the Duileuala. And so the elders who had been prepared for the arrival of the nelegan waited and, at the right moment, went with their wives to the tributaries of the Duileuala to receive the birth of the nelegan.

The Duileuala/Tuira River, being a mighty river, has countless tributaries with abundant water, and so the Kuna lived near them to stay away from the attacks of their adversaries. Those tributaries of the Duileuala allowed each elder to work and build the home where they would receive the nelegan, who were born separately on different branches of the Duileuala.

They are:

Gunwa diuar, where the nele Diegun was born. Dad Mague received him together with his wife, and they cared for him in his childhood, preparing the medicinal baths that Diegun required because of his condition as a nele (elevated intellect). This river fed and served as a source of food for the community settled near it. It was named Gunwa because of the great number of fireflies there at night. Near that river there was a great tree called “Dieb”, from which the name Diegun comes. This river is also known as Yeye Diula, because it is where the great Gandur Diegun taught this treatise to the others, as the gandugan shout yee, yee, yeee in the ceremonies. The community of Ukup Nega was settled near the river.

Agsibgandi Diuar, a mighty tributary of the Duileuala, surrounded by thick vegetation where the elders tended their crops. The river was given this name because when the seas dried up after the great flood, a large number of white stones appeared, hence the name Agsibgandi. The nele Gubiler was born there and was received by Dad Yoli and his wife, who were in charge of caring for him and preparing the medicine the nele Gubiler needed to develop his special intellectual capacity. The name Gubiler arose because in the middle of the river there was a great Kupu tree.

Bailagandi Diuar, a tributary of the Duileuala, named for its abundance of Baila trees. This river sheltered the community of Abyogandi, which stood nearby, where the oldest inhabitants waited for the signs of nature announcing the arrival of a nele in their village, as Ibeorgun had announced years before. And so the day came when the nele Bailibe was born; he was welcomed by Dad Baila and his wife. It fell to them to prepare the medicine the nele needed because of his highly developed intellect. Bailebe took his name from the Baila tree. Dad Baila and his wife took care of Nele Bailibe in his childhood.

Basurgandi Diuar, a tributary of the Duile River; on its banks there were many basuruala trees, which gave the river its name. A girl was born there, the nelegua Olonaguegiryai, received by Dad Diuar with the help of his wife. The girl was endowed with great faculties, which required special attention from the elder. For that reason Dad Diuar grew basil, cacao, nibar, nahuar and all kinds of medicines near the river, to be used in the baths of the nelegua Olonaguegiryai.

Ulubirdi Diuar, another tributary of the Duile River, where the nele Ologana Kunkilele was born, under the care of Dad Yala and his wife. They were from the community of Ukubnega, at the end of which ran the Ulubirdi River. There was a lot of gold in it. Leafy “Igua” and “Naki” trees stood there, used for making dugout canoes, hence the name of the river.

Bardi Diuar, a tributary of the Duile River, where the nele Balipiler was born, received by Dada Igua. There was a great Palu'uala tree, hence the name of the river; the community of Bardi was settled there. Dad Igua stayed at the far end of the river for 9 months awaiting the birth of Nele Balipiler.

Gabdi Diuar, a tributary of the Duile River, where ner Sibu was born, received by Dada Duke. It was the region where “Owa” palms abounded, and near it Dad Duke awaited the birth of Ner Sibu.

Masargandi Diuar, a tributary of the Duileuala where a great variety of masar flourished; the place was known as masargana, meaning where there was always a variety of masargan (wild cane and other species of that family), hence the river's name Masar-gana-di. The nele Masardummi was born there, received by Dad Masar together with his wife. They waited there for nine months for the birth of the nele Masardummi. On that river grandfather Masar grew a lot of cacao, planting it all along the bank. He also grew biseb (basil) in abundance, koke and all kinds of fragrant and medicinal shrubs, to be used in the baths of the nele Masardummi.

Guilubgandi Diuar, a tributary of the Duileuala, where the nele Waguibler was born, received by Dad Naki. Before the nele arrived, the elder grew a great variety of cacao to be used in caring for him. Nine months later the nele Waguibler was born on the banks of the Guilubgandi diuar. Guilub was abundant there, hence the river's name guilub-gana-di. Near the river the guilub tree grew and flourished, used in funeral ceremonies when the body of the dead is prepared for the journey to the beyond, to Baba nega. It was a very remote region, cared for only by the Kuna elders; the Spaniards had not yet arrived, and in the depths of that place the nele Waguibler deepened his knowledge of the behavior of birds.

Thus the Duileuala was the home of the Kunas between the 14th and 16th centuries. Afterwards the elders migrated again to other lands, first because of an epidemic that struck the region owing to the presence of a beautiful maiden, Guanigad, who married when she came of age. She lived only a short time with her partner; the husband fell ill and died. Months later she married again; they lived together for just one year before that husband also fell ill and died.

Because the girl was very beautiful, all the men of the community wanted to marry her. But when her last husband died, the elders reacted and forbade her to marry again, since her husbands had died one after another. One young man, however, ignored the prohibition weighing on the girl and married her, saying: if I must die one day, so be it; nobody stays here forever, we will all die some day. He ignored his parents' prohibitions and married the woman.

The marriage did not last long; the young man died like the others. After his death, the elders took the young woman prisoner, carried her to the river and drowned her there.

A month later, an epidemic struck Ukup Nega. From the Upper Tuira on, the communities suffered the ravages of the epidemic; entire communities fell ill, and some were completely decimated. The nelegan determined that the epidemic was the result of the death of the girl who had been drowned in the river by the elders. One nele said that the girl's blood had spread through all the rivers and contaminated everything.

Because of this epidemic, one of the migratory waves of Kuna history began from the Duileuala toward the Atlantic coast, today Kuna Yala.

Another epidemic that struck and greatly decimated the Kuna population was chickenpox, a disease introduced at the time of the European invasion; many of the conquerors who came had poor hygiene habits. The Kunas headed to Mordi, Wala, Sogubdii and Nura. From there they came down the rivers until they reached Armila, Sasardii and other places.

The banks of the Atrato River (Ogigidiuala, Koskun Diuala or Amukua diuar) in Colombia, as far as the tributaries of the Tuira River (Duileuala) in Darien, have been the traditional home of the Kuna, as the region where the first Kuna communities originally settled and where the foundations of the cultural formation of the Kuna people were laid. It is there that the first communities were built, which would become the cultural heritage of the Kuna people, and where the great figures of our history were formed, from elders and nelegan to great leaders who have guided Kuna society through the years.

As the Kuna population grew, it spread to other areas and formed new communities. Over the years they developed under the guidance of their leaders, who left for posterity the names of several communities, above all those associated with the great nelegan. Those communities remained engraved in the memory of the elders, who passed them down to our day; even now two communities still exist in that region, Paya and Pucuro.