Kuna

Kuna can refer to:

People with the surname

See also

Kuna people

The Guna, also known as Kuna or Cuna, are an indigenous people of Panama and Colombia. The current preferred and legally recognized spelling is Guna. In the Kuna language, they call themselves Dule or Tule, meaning "people", and the name of the language in Kuna is Dulegaya, literally "people-mouth".

Location

The Kuna live in three politically autonomous comarcas or reservations in Panama, and in a few small villages in Colombia. There are also communities of Kuna people in Panama City, Colón, and other cities. The most Kunas live on small islands off the coast of the comarca of Kuna Yala known as the San Blas Islands. The other two Kuna comarcas in Panama are Kuna de Madugandí and Kuna de Wargandí. They are Chibchan-speaking people who once occupied the central region of what is now Panama and the neighboring San Blas Islands and still survive in marginal areas.

Political and social organization

In Kuna Yala, each community has its own political organization, led by a Saila (pronounced "sai-lah"). The Saila is traditionally both the political and spiritual leader of the community; he memorizes songs which relate the sacred history of the people, and in turn transmits them to the people. Decisions are made in meetings held in the Onmaked Nega, or Ibeorgun Nega (Congress House or Casa de Congreso), a structure which likewise serves both political and spiritual purposes. It is in the Onmaked Nega that the Saila sings the history, legends and laws of the Kuna, as well as administering the day-to-day political and social affairs. The Saila is usually accompanied by one or more voceros who function as interpreters and counselors for the Saila. Because the songs and oral history of the Kuna are in a higher linguistic register with specialized vocabulary, the Saila's recitation will frequently be followed by an explanation and interpretation from one of the voceros in everyday Kuna language.

Croatian kuna

The kuna is the currency of Croatia since 1994 (ISO 4217 code: HRK). It is subdivided into 100 lipa. The kuna is issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins are minted by the Croatian Monetary Institute.

The word "kuna" means "marten" in Croatian since it is based on the use of marten pelts as units of value in medieval trading. The word lipa means "linden (lime) tree".

History and etymology

During Roman times, in the provinces of upper and lower Pannonia (today Hungary and Slavonia), taxes were collected in the then highly valued marten skins. Hence, the Croatian word "marturina" or tax, derived from the Latin word "martus" (Croatian: "kuna"). The kuna was a currency unit in several Slavic states, most notably Kievan Rus and its successors until the early 15th century. It was equal to ¹⁄₂₅ (later ¹⁄₅₀) gryvna of silver.

It has no relation to the various Slavic currencies named "koruna" (translated as kruna in Croatian) which means "crown".

In the Middle Ages, many foreign monies were used in Croatia, but since at least 1018 a local currency was in use. Between 1260 and 1380, Croatian Viceroys issued a marten-adorned silver coin called the banovac. However, the diminishing autonomy of Croatia within the Croatian-Hungarian Kingdom led to the gradual disappearance of that currency in the 14th century.