The Indigenous Population

If you visit Panama it will become very obvious that it is the melting pot of cultures. However let us not forget that this was in the 1500's the new world. Most of the people you see in Panama are the mestizos and immigrants that make our country so fantastic.

In some cities such as Panama you will surely get to see (if you pay attention) some Kuna Indians walking around as some have migrated to the capital. You will see some Embera though the Embera that live in the capital are more difficult to spot because they don't wear their native customs (which is very little, really).

Panama however was originally inhabited by various indigenous tribes which still exist nowadays having barely escaped the Spanish attempts to convert or erradicate policies. These are the native ethnias of Panama:

The Ngäbe-Buglé (Guaymi)
The Kuna
The Emberá-Wounaan (Chocoe)

The Embera-Wounaan

The Emberá-Wounaan are natives of the province of Darien where they had lived for ages before the Spanish Conquest. The great majority of them still live there but since there have also been a migration or Panamanian "mestizos" from other provinces into the wilderness of Darien, their habitat has also become kind of endangered.

Although officially they are the natives of the Darien province, in 1983 two special reservations were created in Darien in order to preserve their heritage and customs. These two reservations are the districts of Cemaco and Sambu.

Many Embera have migrated to the capital for selling their crafts in the artisanal markets. It is obvious that due to their natively scarce dressing when they are in Panama they are dressed like the rest of us and might be difficult to spot.

The Kuna

The Kuna are perhaps the best known Panamanian indigenous people because San Blas was one of the first and most popular tourist destinations in Panama. They are proud people who had been inhabiting the areas of Kuna Yala since much before the Europeans arrived. Back then what is nowadays known as San Blas was collectively called as the Darien Isthmus..

Kuna Yala is a long comarca extending for nearly one fourth/fifth of the Atlantic coast of Panama and is an archipelago with as many islands as a year has days. They typically live on these tiny islands and then go to the mainland for hunting. They are a strongly knit tribal society with a matriarchal system.

The Ngäbe-Buglé

The group collectively known as Guaymi are actually the Ngäbe-Buglé which are two distinct -yet related- groups with their own language. Nowadays they are mainly found inhabiting in the mountains of Cocle, Veraguas, Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro.

They were once fiersome warriors which the Spaniards dared not to confront in combat if they could. To their name they have great chief warriors such as Urraca, Parita and Nata.

References

Sherry Thorup, "The Kuna Indians"

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