Review ...a fascinating ethnography of speaking. -- Latin American Research Review...a landmark book. -- Language in SocietyAs a study of formand context, Kuna Ways of Speaking is a masterpiece. --Ellen Basso, Language in Society, 1985 Product description Book by Joel Sherzer, Sherzer, Joel About the Author Joel Sherzer is professor of Anthropology and Linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin. He has been carrying out research among the Kuna Indians since 1970. He has written Verbal Art in San Blas: Kuna culture through its discourse, as well as numerous articles dealing with Kuna language, culture, society, and literature. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. On arriving in San Blas, visitors feel at once that they have entered another world, perhaps an idyllic one. There is the tropical lushness of the Darién jungle. There is the beauty of the coral islands, with their thatch-roofed, bamboo-walled, oblong houses and the surrounding cool blue water. There is the striking color of the women's clothing, especially the magnificent molas, the appliqué and reverse-appliqué blouses. There live the Kuna, less than one hour away from modern Panama City. It is no wonder that the San Blas has attracted so many visitors-from adventurers to tourists, from missionaries to anthropologists. The Kuna can be and have been studied from the perspective of their economic, political, or social structure, their religion, or their ecology. It is my aim to enter their world through speaking, not just because the Kuna dedicate a vast amount of time to talk, which they do, but because their world is perceived, conceived, and especially organized and controlled by means of language and speech. An investigation focused on language and speech is thus a very productive way into an understanding of Kuna culture and society, perhaps the most productive way.