Panamá and its indigenous peoples: Ngäbe Culture and History

Panamá is remarkable for its system of Comarcas: semi-autonomous indigenous areas that also have representation in the legislature. As of right now, Panamá has five comarcas: Ngäbe-Buglé, Kuna Yala, Madugandí, Emberá-Wounaan, and Wargandí. The creation of a sixth: Naso/Teribe, is currently underway. The majority of Peace Corps Panamá indigenous sites are Ngäbe communities, with a few in Buglé or Naso communities. With the Darién closed to future volunteers due to the increased security risk, my group will not be serving Wounaan or Emberá communities.

Our first taste of Ngäbe culture was presented during a cultural event known as the "tour de provincias". That is, staff members and a couple of current volunteers presented on the four provinces our group of G85 would be working in: Bocas del Toro, Coclé, the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, and Veraguas. At the Bocas del Toro station, we learned of the famous "Picante de Bocas" which I was promised was spicier than Mexican salsa (it wasn't). It still did have spice however, which I rate as mild. But I digress.

Arcadio, one of our language and culture facilitators, hails from the province of Bocas del Toro and is of Ngäbe descent. He was responsible for presenting the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé. There we drank unsweetened cacao from a tatuma (bowl created from a calabaza fruit) and learned of its cultural importance. Cacao is believed to be medicinal, and when prepared by certain individuals, such as the eldest sibling, youngest sibling, or a twin, it contains much greater potency. It is also believed to be disliked by evil spirits, so it is wise to prove one is not possessed by asking for seconds.

What follows is everything I've learned since. Ngäbe, in their language of Ngäbere, translates to person. Originally located along the coasts of western Panamá, the Ngäbe retreated into the cordilleras during the Spanish Conquest and the majority can be found in the hills that make up the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé. The conflict is the reason why the word for a Spanish or Latino person is "Sulia", which means cockroach. The word for Spanish, "Suliare", can thus be translated as "language of the cockroach". The Ngäbe were eventually conquered and the majority converted to Catholicism. This history however, made the Ngäbe more susceptible to protestant missionaries in the mid-nineteen hundreds such that the majority of Ngäbe today practice a protestant religion, though some practice a religion called "Mama Tata" created as a reaction to their history of foreign influence.

One of the most distinctive identifiers of a Ngäbe woman is the nagua. This was originally a plain puritanical dress brought by missionaries. I can't say exactly when, but as consciousness rose and the Ngäbe became vested in reclaiming their culture, the plain dresses were transformed to the colorful naguas that are seen today. Ngäbe clothing tends to be colorful as it is representative of how colorful nature is. The "dientes" or triangle patterns on the clothing are said to represent the mountains and rivers, though I've had someone tell me that they don't actually represent anything, that they're just a traditional pattern.

In Ngäbe communities, most people communicate with one another in Ngäbere. However, as communities become more connected with the larger cities, Spanish ends up taking higher precedence than Ngäbere. A typical Ngäbe community in the Comarca would consist of elderly people who are fluent in Ngäbere, but who may only have limited proficiency in Spanish. The younger adults would be fluent in both Spanish and Ngäbere, but their children would most often only be fluent in Spanish. The use of Ngäbe names outside of a nickname is rare and in later generations there's a preference to be called by their official latino name. Part of the reason why Ngäbere and other indigenous languages are being lost is because of the shame felt both for being indigenous and for speaking improper Spanish.

For my part, I like to share the fact that my maternal grandmother was indigenous as well. I talk about how she was Nahua, the primary culture of the Aztec Empire, but that she knew only very little Nahuatl because her mother was too ashamed to teach it to her. As such, my mother doesn't know the language, nor do I. Ngäbe people can relate to this story and agree that it is a tragedy that an important aspect of their culture, their language, is fading away. I do my best to learn and speak in Ngäbere as a means to show interest and support for their culture. I also always share my indigenous name (volunteers get them too) when I introduce myself, even if it means that people won't remember my official name.