Explore Guna Culture and join us as Delfino guides us through his Guna Yala Museum
Guna Yala History Virtual Museum Tour
Delfino Davies is a 54-year-old Guna man working in agriculture and tourism, and the museum founded by his father in 1989 preserves and shares Guna culture with visitors and future generations.
Introduction
Nuchus
The Nuchus are carved balsa wood figures used in Guna healing rituals to protect the sick and provide spiritual safeguarding.
Chicha
The chicha is a fermented drink made from sugarcane, banana, and coffee, prepared for special Guna ceremonies such as the puberty celebration for girls and community celebrations.
Guna Burial
The Guna burial traditions involve placing the deceased in a hammock with personal implements and symbolic canoes, ensuring the spirit has provisions and a vessel for its journey to the afterlife.
Helmet Shell
The helmet shell is used in Guna tradition to produce sounds that alert about storms, announce the fishermen’s return, and wake the community for agricultural work.
Taladro
The Taladro is a traditional Guna tool made to create a strainer out of a perforated gourd that is then used in the preparation of foods such as bananas and other dishes.
Banana Beater
The banana beater is a wooden Guna tool used to pound cooked bananas into a traditional drink or mash.
Staff of Civil Police
The staff of the civil police is a symbol of authority in Guna tradition, used by community guards to call and inform the people during ceremonies and gatherings.
The Guna Revolution
The Guna Revolution of 1925 was an uprising against the Panamanian government to defend autonomy and preserve Guna culture, commemorated each year through ceremonies and reenactments.
Animal Skulls
The Guna museum displays animal skulls—such as the tapir (called moli, the “horse” in Guna), rabbit, and crocodile—as noted by Delfino
Death of an Important Person
When an important leader (kandur) dies in the Guna community, a ceremony is held in a special place with spiritual priests and the community, using implements like maracas, a flute, and black turkey feathers that only the kandur and important people handle.
Revolutionary Flag
The flag references eight planets (with traditional names, e.g., Tadibe for the Sun) and features a star beneath two arms symbolizing Venus as a woman, while green signifies the revolution.
This page is dedicated to Sayla José Davies, father of Delfino Davies and founder of this museum. His contributions to the preservation and education of Guna Culture will continue having great impact for years to come.
