Ethnic Groups in Panama

Ethnic Group in Panama

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By: Jean Moràn 

Panama presents a mixture of ethnic diversity. Panama is home to six indigenous groups - the Ngöbe-Buglé, Emberá-Wounaan, Naso (Teribe), Guna (Kuna), Bri Bri, and Bokota. According to the 2000 census, these groups had a total population that reached a number slightly greater than 285,000; making up 5-8% of the total Panamanian population.The ethnic group that owns more habitants is Ngobe-Bugle. All these group preserve their native language, but many of these group also speak spanish. 

Ethnic Group in Panama

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Kuna Yala (Guna Yala)

The Kuna people are arguably more famous for where they live than for who they are. Most of them live on a few dozen islands on the Caribbean coast of Panama, though they have a Comarca that extends down the northeastern coast of Panama, until the Colombian border. The islands are popular travel destinations, as they are an appealing combination of small, rustic, private, and surrounded by nothing but pristine Caribbean sea.

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History The Kuna originally occupied many parts of what is now Colombia and the Darien jungle in eastern Panama, but were pushed west by Spanish invaders and conflicts with the Embera. In 1925, the Kuna revolted against the government, who were trying to suppress many of the indigenous cultural traditions around the country. They succeeded in winning a peace treaty and taking the first steps towards having their current semi-autonomous region. They still celebrate this revolution every year and remain distrustful of the government. Dress The Kuna are famously photogenic, as their customary dress includes brightly colored molas (blouses) and skirts and beaded anklets wrapped up about halfway to their knees. Tourism Tourism is a significant economic driver for the Kuna, but they are careful to keep it under control and receive travelers on their own terms. They have their own checkpoint when you enter their territory which requires a passport or local ID card in order to cross. They have a unique look, but generally discourage travelers from taking pictures of them.They also have certain islands designated specifically for tourism which they keep in good condition, planting grass and maintaining clean beaches.  

Ngobe Bugle

The Ngobe are an indigenous group native to eastern Costa Rica and western and central Panama. Pre-conquest, they lived in small chiefdoms or nomadic family units and were famous for being warriors. Conquistadors, banana plantations, and latino cattle ranchers successively pushed them into a mountainous area in western Panama, where the soil is less arable and farming generally more difficult.

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Dress Since the early 1960s, Ngobe women have worn full length dresses called naguas. Naguas are typically brightly colored and decorated with a geometrical diente (teeth) pattern that is said to represent mountains, animal teeth, the flow of a river, or dragon scales – depending on the legend. Cultural Activities Ngobe have their own traditional dance and sport. The jeki dance is a line dance of at least ten people meant to imitate nature. Ngobe dance jeki for special occasions, such as cultural celebrations and naming or coming-of-age ceremonies. Their sport, balseria, involves throwing a four-foot length of balsa wood at an opponent’s legs, while the opponent attempts to dodge. Balseria is played as a challenge between towns and is just as painful as it sounds. A Note on Interactions On first contact, Ngobe are generally stoic and reserved. Many have had limited interactions with foreigners in their lives and aren’t exactly sure how to deal with them, so they may appear standoffish at first.

Embera-Wounaan

The Embera people are indigenous to western Colombia and eastern Panama and mostly migrated into what is now the Darien province of Panama in the 1700s, following Spanish colonization in Colombia. They traditionally lived in extended family units along the banks of rivers and rarely had established villages.

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Dwellings The Embera are famous for the distinct style of their houses. They are typically made of wood, circular in shape, and raised 6-12 feet off the ground, with thatched roofs and no walls. Dress The Embera are also famous for their style of dress. The women often go topless and wear brightly colored and patterned skirts called perumas. The men may wear nothing but a long loincloth, although modern men are more likely to wear pants or shorts and no shirt, saving the cloth for ceremonies. Both men and women also often paint patterns on their bodies using a jagua nut, which can be manipulated to create black dye. The dye can last on the body up to a couple of weeks. Tourism In recent years, the Embera have begun to take advantage of the surge of tourism to Panama, leveraging their photogenic traditional dress, unique houses, and cultural traditions (such as dance and song) to receive travelers in their villages. If you are interested in visiting an Embera community, it is important to either go directly to the village, or use a responsible source – many tour operators and cruise lines take commission of up to 90% for bringing groups of tourists to Embera towns, leaving the people to do most of the work and receive a small fraction of the benefit.     

Naso

The Naso are a small indigenous group that inhabits the northeastern extremes of Panama, in the Bocas del Toro region. They are scattered in eleven communities along the Teribe River, and are one of the last indigenous groups in the Americas to have a traditional monarchy.

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Naso homes are built on stilts and have thatched roofs. Families often share a house or a group of houses, and cook simple meals based on rice, beans, and some type of vegetable. An estimated few thousand Naso remain in Panama, although some live in southern Costa Rica as well. The Naso have been isolated and relatively autonomous for decades, but these days their culture has been threatened by the migration of young people, missionary activity, interference from tourism, and a gigantic hydroelectric project. Unlike other indigenous groups in Panama, the Naso have not been guaranteed their own comarca. This is a serious problem because there are two forces that currently threaten their ancestral lands - a developing tourist scene in La Amistad International Park (where many Naso live) and the construction of a huge hydroelectric project along the Teribe River.

Bri Bri

The Bri Bri are another indigenous group that live in the Bocas del Toro region of Panama. This group originated in the Talamanca reserve in Costa Rica and some moved to the north of Panama; however, many Bri Bri still live in Costa Rica. Only a few thousand live in Panama, and they speak both Bri Bri and Spanish. Most live without clean water or electricity, and survive on a mix of subsistence farming, hunting and fishing. Their relative isolation has allowed them to maintain their cultural identity, but has also resulted in reduced access to education and health care.

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The Bri Bri live in clans made up of their extended family. Clans are matrilineal, which means that a child's clan is determined by the clan to which her mother belongs. In Bri Bri society women play an extremely important role, and they are the only ones who can inherit land or prepare cocoa, a sacred drink used in rituals and ceremonies. Like other indigenous groups in the area, the cacao tree holds a special place in the Bri Bri culture. It is believed that their God, Sibö, transformed a woman into a tree, and to this day these cacao branches have never been used as firewood. Apart from their role in ceremonial practices, Bri Bri women also use cocoa to make organic chocolate, forming an additional source of income.

Bokotas

The last and smallest indigenous group in Panama are the Bokota. Their numbers reach a figure a little less than a thousand individuals and they inhabit the eastern part of Bocas del Toro and the northwest of Veraguas.

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The Bokota maintain their own language and culture, and until the late 1970s, there were practically no streets across Bokota territory. However, the pressure of modern society is making it increasingly difficult for the Bokota to retain cultural traditions and customs. Each year, the Bokota become increasingly integrated with the local mestizo population.

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