The Comarca Ngäbe-Bugle: an Overview

Set in the western mountainous region of Panama, the Comarca is inhabited by two related but distinguishable indigenous groups. The Bugle people number approximately 4,000 and the Ngäbe around 120,000, making them the second largest indigenous group in Central America after the Mayans of Guatemala. They are also one of the only matrilineal groups left in the world. Both groups are part of the Chibcha language family which originally extended from Mexico to Peru.

Before Spanish arrival in 1501, the Ngäbe territory was vast. It extended from the Pacific to Caribbean oceans. Likewise, the Bugles once administered a large landmass. They populated five of Panama's current nine provinces. Since the Spanish landed on its shores, Panama has seen the Ngäbe-Bugle territory diminish to what is now a mountainous indigenous reservation.

Other than surviving (which is more than some can say), the one unexpected event these two indigenous groups have achieved took place in 1997 when one hundred years of seeking independence culminated in the creation of a nascent, semi-autonomous, territory. Since that time roads, schools, health centers, and a few economic opportunities have significantly improved the quality of life here. But if one is not careful "development" can be a double-edged sword because it sometimes brings negative cultural development along with its intended infrastructure development. For the first time ever, generations of Ngäbe-Bugle children are growing up unable to speak the language their parents speak. (for a great article by a fellow PCV on the subject of universal education and its effect on indigenous groups, see http://www.policymic.com/beta/global-affairs/keeping-cultural-identity-indigenous-education). To exacerbate the problem many young people (especially the most educated) dream of working and living outside the Comarca where material comforts abound. It is not a surprise their culture and way of life are at risk of fading into history.

Birth: A woman is "sick" when she is pregnant, a condition that is not to be mentioned, acknowledged or commented upon in casual conversation. I made this mistake a few times during my first months in site and they made for some exceptionally awkward moments. Like most poor women in the world, the women here work almost up to the day they give birth. And because of a high Child Mortality Rate (8.4/100 vs. Panama's average of 1.3/100) many children are only given a nickname for the first years of life.

Death: When an immediate family member dies, the family stays up drinking cacao (cocoa) for up to three straight nights. Following the third day, the family buries the deceased in a hole with all their belongings. While in the U.S. it is normal to wear things the dead have donned (clothing, jewelry, etc.) it is strictly prohibited here. Also, I must be careful to not show any pictures of now-dead people.

Society: The traditional unit of society is the family and their ancestors lived as hunter-gatherers. In the past century communities have developed around churches and schools. They live with an ideal of shared ownership and collective work although private ownership is becoming more popular today. Nearly all families in the Comarca survive on subsistence farming, government checks, and (rarely) on a family member working outside their community.

Gender Roles: Ngäbe women are very hard workers -carrying water, washing clothes, preparing, harvesting and cooking food and raising children is a full time job many times over. Men are also hard working. They plant the food, build houses, harvest some food, and hold almost all the leadership positions in the communities. Still, they find time to relax and sometimes get drunk on a homemade fermented corn drink called chicha fuerte.

What are they like?: People in general are shy and passive like many places in the world steeped in tradition. Not confronting each other and instead talking behind their back or withholding a difference of opinion are common practices. Long periods of silence are also normal and sometimes preferred. I have experienced far more awkward moments in the past seven months than my entire pre-PC life.

Marriage: Weddings are uncommon and when someone moves in with another they are considered married. What is considered dating in the U.S. is considered marriage here, so PCV's have to be careful because a mistake like that could jeopardize one's service. Luckily, however, finding someone near our age without five children and with a high school diploma is about as hard as finding snow here.

Panama's Highest Peak/Hike #2

 Omar loving the sun atop Volcán Barú

The group, after 13.5 hours on the mountain is down and ready for some well-deserved sleep

On the night of March 26, ten other Peace Corps Volunteers and I began our seven hour summit of Volcán Barú, Panama's highest peak at 11,398 ft. The night of March 25 I unwisely went out dancing until 3am and any hope of getting over the cold I had was lost. I was losing my voice. Armed with lots of water, extra food, headlamps, extra clothing for the summit, and three guides we departed around 10:15pm.

There are two routes up Volcán Barú and we chose the harder, longer, more dangerous trail over the unpaved road (hence the guides). At one point we were on all fours bouldering upward as small pieces of  loose debris bounded down on people below. It was during this dangerous incline that I saved Coys life, or so he claims. Someone ahead of Omar kicked loose a twenty-or-so pound rock and as I noticed it bounding past Omar and picking up steam as it came for me, I had to make a decision. I had time to dodge the rock but Coy and Charles were directly behind me and I (correctly) feared their view was blocked by my large frame (remember, this is around 3am). So I stood my ground and took the rock straight to the gut as it sailed off a rock-face in front of me. Luckily the rock hadn't been moving too long and the decision turned out to be the right one.

As soon as we arrived the summit (5:30am) and stopped moving it became unbearably cold. Of everyone, only Coy brought enough clothing. The rest of us were left to huddle, cuddle, and shiver the hour before sunrise. It was all worth the effort, though, as we watched the sun emerge from the other side of the world and felt our icy limbs begin to thaw. While waiting we played "That cloud looks like a...". My favorite was the T-Rex. Either I was delirious or that cloud looked EXACTLY like the dinosaur -small arms and all! We couldn't see both oceans on that day because it was cloudy to the North but the view was gorgeous nonetheless. 

After two and a half hours on the peak we hiked down the easier side (four hours) and by the time we arrived I was talking like Marlon Brando from the Godfather: "It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business." I was also near delirious from... well you can imagine... We slept all the rest of that day and night then went to Peace Corps In-Service Training. I can't wait to do it again.

Welcome to the Comarca/Hike #1

Samuel and I chatting atop Cerro Cacicon

Kate with Samuel (back-right) and others posing with ancient rock carvings

My wonderful girlfriend visited Panama (well actually, me) for two weeks in early March. Her stay included one week in the Comarca at my site, one day of which was filled with ten hours of hiking in the blistering Panamanian sun. The decision to hike for ten hours in the Comarca with my visiting girlfriend may seem like a peculiar decision, and indeed it was. Understanding what sort of hiking the Comarca offers (and it only offers one kind) one realizes just how peculiar this decision was.

Quick history lesson transition: Indigenous groups in the Americas have fought European outsiders for the right to live since the 1500's. The destruction of Native Americans is perhaps the most tragic legacy of European expansion, and Panama's indigenous groups have not been spared from this legacy. Traditionally located in the fertile coastal lands of the Azuero Peninsula, the Ngäbe's were removed to the highlands of the Comarca through a combination of war, disease, lies, manipulation, and "economic expansion" for five hundred years. Sound familiar?

The Comarca is a mountainous area with deep valleys of flowing rivers and steep slopes bursting with greenery (except the parts burned for agricultural use). It features stunning views and hikes that get you in shape. Fast. When I first arrived in site I was not ready for the Comarca's endless up-and-down hiking. Kate was similarly unprepared for ten hours of hiking in this unforgiving terrain.  I realized this about eight hours in when we approached an incline and she said "Are you s-e-r-i-o-u-s? ANOTHER hill?". I chuckled and translated for my counterpart, Samuel, who also laughed and replied "Beinvenidos a la Comarca" ("welcome to the Comarca"). 

Kate is tough and she made it just fine (actually the next day we hiked three more hours) and a great memory it was. We summited two peaks for fantastic panoramic views, examined ancient rock carvings, and leaped off a waterfall in the midday heat. My Ngäbe friends wouldn't jump in for fear of an evildoer living behind the waterfall. I found this out afterward and when I asked why they didn't warn me they said I was safe because I am white -apparently the evildoer only haunts them.