Limerence Update # 49

Embera and Wounaan People

March 1, 2003

Panama temperature- 93 degrees

The largest province in Panama and the most sparsely inhabited is the Darien, in the eastern part of the country bordering Colombia. It is an inaccessible jungle with many bird species, anteaters, jaguars, ocelots, monkeys, tapirs, peccaries, caimans and crocodiles. This landscape of Indiana Jones movies is also the home to the Embera and Wounaan Indians. It is believed they immigrated to Panama from Colombia hundreds of years ago. A few groups of Indians have moved closer to populated areas, and thus we had the chance to visit a small village within an hour of Colon Panama.

A family group of Wounaan and Embera Indians often sits on the patio of the Panama Canal Yacht Club selling finely woven baskets and masks. Their intricate art is irresistible. Several months ago a cruiser approached a friendly Wounaan man named Bender, and asked about visiting his village. Bender agreed to organize a group outing to his pueblo, with a few days notice. This week, eighteen of us made the trek by city bus to the edge of the Gatun River where our journey to the village began.

Wounaan and Embera Art	Wounaan and Embera homesites

After a dusty ride through the city of Colon and into the countryside, our bus pulled over on the highway near a river. We dislodged ourselves from the tiny seats of the colorful city bus, and stumbled down the riverbank to the edge of the Gatun River. Two slender hand hewn piraguas, or dug out canoes, waited for us. We tentatively climbed into the narrow piraguas and slowly were transported up river into jungle terrain and away from the exhaust fumes and noise of civilization. We could hear drums beating in the distance and several small boys in loincloths ran along the riverbank, following our piraguas. We tied up to logs on the edge of the river and balancing carefully, climbed out.

Up the Gatun River to the Village	Entering the Wounaan and Embera Village

 Women and children waited at the top of the riverbank greeting us with broad smiles. Their bodies had been stained and decorated in geometric patterns with the purplish black juice from the jagua fruit. The women wore colorful wrap around skirts and bead jewelry.  Children skipped, held our hands, and grinned with excitement as we marched toward their small settlement. The Embera and Wounaan homes are suited to the jungle environment. They are built on stilts with thatch roofs, and the floors are chest level. The central home had a stone pot in the corner perched over a wood fire. Women and children lounged on the platform as several women tended the pot of coconut rice.

Cats and Dogs Dance	The Band	Pelican Dance

 Our group was taken to a large hut with a thatched roof and several long wooden benches. We enjoyed dance demonstrations from the women and children while several men accompanied them on the flute, drums, and percussion turtle shell. They seemed to have a great time putting on this special “pageant” for us gringos. After dancing and before lunch, they demonstrated extracting juice from sugar cane. As they squeezed the peeled cane between two carved logs tied together to make a grinder, the juice squirted as if from an orange. Each cane was run three times through the primitive but effective man-powered machine.

Doug handing out treats to the kids	Pressing the sugar cane

After a pleasant lunch of rice and fish served in Cabeza gourds, we visited with many of the Indians asking simple questions in Spanish about their lives. They had a small display of their artwork including baskets, masks, mats, jewelry, and shells. Several of us negotiated art purchases, while some of the children played ball. Others observed us carefully as an Embera woman applied jagua juice designs to our bodies.

Feeling dusty and hot, it was a short hike of a hundred yards to a tiny waterfall feeding the Gatun River. It didn’t take much coaxing to entice us into the cool fresh river. Several Wounaan and Embera children joined the kids in our group climbing trees and cannonballing into the water. All of us giggled and frolicked in the old swimming hole like ten year olds.

Embera and Wounaan cuties	Judy swims in the river with a baby	Darcy shows off her tattoos!

 By the end of the afternoon, sun burnt and spent, we were transported downriver by piraguas to the highway where we flagged down a bus back to Colon. Most everyone sported a black jagua juice tattoo that will be with us for a few days as the “badge” of our visit to an Embera Wounaan village.

 Fair winds friends,     Doug and Judy

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