Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GUNA NAMES AND LANGUAGE
All island communities have a
Guna name
, which often has several variant spellings, and
a
Spanish name
. We have generally used the most commonly used name and given the al-
ternative in brackets when introducing the place. Matters have been further complicated by
the standardization of the Guna alphabet in 2011 in which the letters “p”, “t” and “k” were
removed - while other consonants were doubled - hence the relatively recent change from
Kuna Yala to Guna Yala. Since this standardization has not permeated much of Guna soci-
ety yet - and certainly not Air Panama's airport listings - we've kept to previous spellings
of most place names, except where the community itself is now using the standardized
spelling - as in Icodub - to avoid further confusion.
GUNA GLOSSARY
The most essential word to grasp in Dulegaya (Guna language) is the versatile “
nuedi
”,
meaning “hello”, “yes” and “it's good/OK” or “welcome”. “Nuegambi”, meaning “thank
you” is also useful. Other key cultural terms include:
saila
chief
nele
traditional healer or shaman
ulu
dugout canoe
Onmaked Summakaled
Guna General Congress
onmaked nega
meeting house
inna nega
chicha house
neg uan
burial ground
Ibeorgun
Guna prophet and religion
Bab Dummad and Nan Dummad
Great Father and Mother, the creators
Baba Nega
heavenly spirit world
boni
evil spirits
nuchu
carved wooden totem to ward off evil spirits
uaga (uagmala)
outsider(s)
absoguedi
chanter
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: EL PORVENIR AND AROUND
By plane
Daily flights arrive at the El Porvenir airstrip from and to Panama City (25min; $75
one way).
By boat
There are no scheduled boat arrivals or departures.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Cabañas Ukuptupu
Ukuptupu 293 8709 or 6746 5088,
ukuptupu.com
.
The friendly
owner, Juan Garcia, who speaks good English, and his family are Ukuptupu's only inhab-
itants. A maze of wooden boardwalks leads between fifteen spacious but simple wooden
