The native people living on the San Blas islands are the Kuna indians. They are a small but proud community of around 300.000 people in total. About 50.000 Kuna’s live on the 49 major islands of San Blas and are controlled by their own community leader called a Sahila.

Passengers on cruise ships are able to see Kuna women living on the Atlantic coast of Panama, and in Panama City there are a number of outlets where Kuna women, also wearing the full dress ensemble, sell molas.

The San Blas islands are a group of islands in the archipelago de San Blas, located in the Northwest of Panama facing the Caribbean Sea. There are about 378 islands in the archipelago which are scattered around in an area of roughly 100 square miles.

The San Blas region is known by the Kuna Indians as Kuna Yala or Guna yala. This territory lies stretched north of Panama on the Caribbean Sea. It stretches from Colombia all the way to Parque Nacional Chagres, which borders Panama City.

In 1903 Panama became an independent country but the Kuna did not want to be part of Panama and where protesting against the new Panamanian government. In 1925 the Kuna communities gained the status of an independent state within Panama.

Of course the Kuna’s know how to drink and party on their small islands. One of their favorite drinks they serve tourist and themselves is a Coco Loco. If you order a Coco Loco a Kuna Indian goes to the nearest palm tree and searches for a fresh ready to drink coconut. He cuts the coconut open and pours some cheap brown rum into it.

The Kuna Indians of Panama have become identified with the mola blouses worn by Kuna women. The impact of colonization and the subsequent transculturation gave the Kuna access to the materials needed to sew molas which were subsequently used as …

Welcome on the official website of the San Blas Islands of Panama. SanBlas-islands.com provides reliable travel advice for your trip to San Blas. We hope that you enjoy traveling to our beautiful islands and wish you a happy & sunny stay.

Sep 20, 2014 · When you visit the San Blas Islands you will find Guna Indians selling Molas to every tourist from their small canoes and on the islands. In the Dulegaya language, which is the Guna’s native language, “mola” means “clothes” or “clothing”.

If you are travelling to Panama for a vacation you can’t skip the San Blas Islands. This beautiful archipelago of 378 islands is located in the North of Panama connected to the Caribbean Sea. All the islands are spread over 100 square miles in the along the coastline.