Hammock
As Kuna are conceived and born in a hammock, the dead are wrapped in their hammock for burial and returned to Mother Earth. The hammock is tied with a cord, symbolising the umbilical cord, and suspended in the grave, not touching the floor. Above it is placed a “tabla” or board of red mango wood with the dead person´s personal belongings. The grave is then covered with a mound of earth, again symbolical of the Earth´s pregnancy.
©Kieron Nelson 2015 "Vanishing Cultures Photography" All rights reserved
