Guna Yala : Achutupu Island

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Achutupu is an Island  in Guna Yala. The island is home to a dense population of Guna people: one of the most densely populated in Guna Yala. It is a popular gateway to the rest of Guna Yala, though there is no place for tourists to stay the night.

Walking around Achutupu can be an interesting experience. All the women are dressed in Guna's traditional costume. Children in varying states of undress play in the streets and on the beaches. Many families own pigs.

Despite obvious overcrowding, islanders reserve space for a basketball court which, with the nearby stores, is the hub of local life. There is also a Gathering House, where the community governs its affairs. The Chicha House is the other important public building and is where islanders celebrate the coming-of-age of their girls.

What to do in Achutupu ?

 

Spend a day observing traditional Guna village life

Hire a boat to take you to one of the many surrounding islands

Ask about the large community gathering house in the center of the island: many important Guna   events take place here.

Kuna Yala or Guna Yala ?

In October 2011 the Panamanian Government changed the name Kuna Yala for Guna Yala , the name means "Guna-land" or "Guna mountain" in the Guna language.

The Guna people's claim that in their native language there was no equivalent to the letter "K" and that the official name should be "Guna Yala

The objective is not to create a new language but to clear away incongruities from the past which had made the writing and teaching of the unique Guna tongue difficult and confusing. In order to achieve, the dictionary uses a revised alphabet (10 consonants, 5 vowels) to better meet the morphological-phonological requirements in native word formation and meaning, often missing in the previous rather mixed orthography of Guna and Spanish.