Poetic structuring of Kuna discourse: The line

Abstract

A central feature of the oral discourse of the Kuna Indians of Panama is the line. The nature of lines, verses, and other poetic and rhetorical units has recently emerged as a significant topic within the study of native American languages and discourse generally. Investigation of the structuring of Kuna lines requires attention to the intersection and interplay of linguistic, sociolinguistic, and poetic structures, patterns, and processes. (Discourse, line and verse patterning, ethnopoetics; Panama, Kuna.)