626 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1909. 
tribes, and in comparing statements made by various authorities 
a great deal of discrepancy appears, as already mentioned. The fol- 
lowing is a list of the important tribes of Darien, most of whom 
are believed to exist, as a whole or in part, at the present time, and 
those marked (*) are held to be non-Cuna from data referred to 
later.* 
The tribes are: 
Chucunas: Old name Tumanama (?). Inhabit mountains lying in interior 
from Atlantic coast. Held to be very warlike and much feared by coast tribes. 
Sucubti: Living on river of same name; comparatively few in number, about 
1,000, and were found to be timid when visited by Admiral Selfridge in 1870, 
never having seen white men. 
Navagandi: inhabiting region between Navagandi Point and the high moun- 
tains. Considered warlike, formerly. Probably absorbed by the Sasardi. 
Sasardi: Held to be cowardly, but treacherous. Their chief is considered 
by some writers to be the head one of all coast tribes—others, that the caique 
of San Blas, on Rio Diablo, is chief of all. Live about Caledonia Bay. 
Anachunas: North-coast Indians, thought to have been largely absorbed by 
Other tribes. 
Caiman: Inhabiting lower coast or west shore of Gulf of Darien. Held by 
Acosta to be certainly Cuna from words he collected among them. (Not in 
Panama proper.) No trace of any villages seen by naval officers in those 
waters in 1903-4. 
Manzanillo or San Blas: Old name Comogres. Semicivilized. 
Mandingas: Region of Mandinga Bay, probably subtribe of San Blas. 
Payas: On tributary of Tuyra, much reduced in numbers since visited by 
Reclus and later by Restrepo. Have been brought into closer contact with 
whites, owing to their location on. main route to Columbia, and are much re- 
duced in number and degenerate, having practically lost their independence. 
Very cruel when drunk. 
(*) Paparos: Whose territory was between the Yape and Puero near the 
Payas. Extinct as a tribe. 
(*) Chocamus: Valley of Tuyra and lower Chunaque, also southeast shores 
of Gulf of San Miguel and Rio Sambu. Nearly extinct. 
That all the Cunas of Darien could speak the Cueva dialect is held 
by practically all authorities. The Cuevas were a powerful tribe 
living on the Pacific coast near the site of Old Panama. Other tribes 
mentioned but ill defined by various writers were the Pacoris (or 
Pacri), Chiapes, Cheapes, Panamas, Chimans, Escorias, Cutaris, 
Chunachunas, Irmiacos, Tucutis, ete. Valdes gives the number of 
Cunas as 14,000 (1905), Pinart as 8,000 (1890), and Admiral Sel- 
fridge estimated the number at about 7,000 (1870). The following 
is a description of the Cunas taken from Valdes (5) : 
Generally speaking, the Cunas are small and very muscular. The 
women are extremely ugly and wither at an early age, and those of 
“Some old writers held Tule, Darien, Paparos, as all meaning Cunas of 
Darien. ‘‘ Braves” is a term used to-day by Isthmians designating all moun- 
tain Indians of the section. 
