Guaymí
Encyclopedia
The Guaymí or Ngäbe are an indigenous group living mainly within the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca (native american province) in the Western Panama
nian provinces of Veraguas, Chiriquí
and Bocas del Toro
, as well as in the indigenous town of Conte, Costa Rica near the extreme southern tip of the country. Guaymí is the traditional term for the Ngäbe and is derived from the Buglere term for them (guaymiri). Local newspapers and other media often alternatively spell the name Ngäbe as Ngobe or Ngöbe because Spanish
does not contain the sound represented by ä, a low-back rounded a, slightly higher than the English aw in the word saw and Spanish speakers hear ä as either an o or an a. The language spoken by the Ngäbe is Ngäbere
. There are approximately 200,000-250,000 speakers of Ngäbere today. A sizable number of Ngäbe have migrated to Costa Rica
in search of work on the coffee fincas. Ngäbere and Buglere are distinct languages in the Chibchan language family. They are mutually unintelligible.
The Spanish
found three distinct Guaymi tribe
s in what is today's western Panama
; each was named after its chief and each spoke a different language
. The chiefs were Nata
, in the Province of Cocle, and Parita
in the Azuero Peninsula and the greatest chief Urraca
in what is now Veraguas Province.
Urraca
became famous by defeating the Spaniards time after time, and forced Diego de Albitez, a captain of the Spanish, to sign a peace treaty in 1522. He was nonetheless betrayed and sent in chains to the town of Nombre de Dios on the Atlantic coast – according to historian Bartolomé de las Casas
– Urraca escaped and made his way back to the mountain
s, vowing to fight the Spaniards unto death. And he fulfilled his vow. Urraca was so feared by the Spaniards that they avoided combat
with his men. When Urraca died in 1531 he was still a free man.
The Guaymies were divided into two large groups: those of the lowlands along the Atlantic coast, and those of the tropical forest in the highlands of Veraguas and Chiriquí Province
. Never surrendered, fighting until the collapse of the Spanish empire
. When Panama
broke away from Spain and joined Colombia
in the early 19th Century, the Guaymies remained in the mountains. Only now slowly are some assimilating into modern society.
A few Guaymi have been able to acquire solar electricity (through an electrification project), as well as cell phone service. However, most still live below the poverty level. Because of the rugged geography, efforts to bring roads and new infrastructure to Guaymi reservations has been limited. Nevertheless, some Guaymi choose to live secluded lives away from modern societies.
Today the Guaymí are subsistence farmers, and agricultural laborers. On the Pacific slopes, the main crops are rice, corn, yucca, otoy, ñame (both tubers), several species of beans. Small-scale livestock production of chickens and pigs is maintained and in the higher elevations is supplemented by hunting (where permitted). The primary crop for the Guaymí on the Atlantic slopes is green bananas.
In order to survive many Guaymí resort to working in the cash economy. Coffee picking, working on large cattle farms and on banana plantations provide the main source of cash. Also, once made for battle and ceremony, some Guaymi sell beaded necklaces on the side of the roads in Panama.
The Guaymi women make many traditional crafts, both for their own use and their families', but also to sell as extra income. These include handmade bags from plant fibers called "kra" in their language, colorful dresses called "nagua" and beaded bracelets and necklaces.
The men of the Guaymi have a tradition of weaving hats from plant fibers.
Today, there is a small Baha'i community developing within the Guaymi community after the first primitive Baha'i center was built in El Progreso.
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
nian provinces of Veraguas, Chiriquí
Chiriquí Province
Chiriquí is a province of Panama, it is located on the western coast of Panama, and it is also the second most developed province in the country, after the Panamá Province. Its capital is the city of David. It has a total area of 6,490.9 km², with a population of 416,873 as of the year 2010...
and Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro Province
Bocas del Toro is a province of Panama. Its extension is 4,643.9 square kilometers comprising the mainland and nine main islands. The province consists of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Bahía Almirante , Laguna de Chiriquí , and adjacent mainland. The capital is the city of Bocas del Toro on Isla...
, as well as in the indigenous town of Conte, Costa Rica near the extreme southern tip of the country. Guaymí is the traditional term for the Ngäbe and is derived from the Buglere term for them (guaymiri). Local newspapers and other media often alternatively spell the name Ngäbe as Ngobe or Ngöbe because Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
does not contain the sound represented by ä, a low-back rounded a, slightly higher than the English aw in the word saw and Spanish speakers hear ä as either an o or an a. The language spoken by the Ngäbe is Ngäbere
Ngäbere
Guaymi , also known as Movere , is a native American language spoken by the Ngäbe or Guaymí people. There are 133,092 Guaymí in Central America, predominantly in Panama ....
. There are approximately 200,000-250,000 speakers of Ngäbere today. A sizable number of Ngäbe have migrated to Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
in search of work on the coffee fincas. Ngäbere and Buglere are distinct languages in the Chibchan language family. They are mutually unintelligible.
The Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
found three distinct Guaymi tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s in what is today's western Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
; each was named after its chief and each spoke a different language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
. The chiefs were Nata
Nata
Nata is a small village in the Paphos area of southwest Cyprus. It is a small relatively unspoilt traditional village situated on the south-eastern hillside of the Xeros River Valley with approximately 300 residents that is slowly growing due to the number of foreigners wanting to live there. The...
, in the Province of Cocle, and Parita
Parita
Parita is a town in the Herrera province of Panama. It was founded in 1556.- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
in the Azuero Peninsula and the greatest chief Urraca
Urraca
Urraca or Hurraca is a feminine given name, the same as the Spanish word for magpie, derived perhaps from Latin furax, meaning "thievish", in reference to the magpie's tendency to collect shiny items...
in what is now Veraguas Province.
Urraca
Urraca or Hurraca is a feminine given name, the same as the Spanish word for magpie, derived perhaps from Latin furax, meaning "thievish", in reference to the magpie's tendency to collect shiny items...
became famous by defeating the Spaniards time after time, and forced Diego de Albitez, a captain of the Spanish, to sign a peace treaty in 1522. He was nonetheless betrayed and sent in chains to the town of Nombre de Dios on the Atlantic coast – according to historian Bartolomé de las Casas
Bartolomé de Las Casas
Bartolomé de las Casas O.P. was a 16th-century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians"...
– Urraca escaped and made his way back to the mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s, vowing to fight the Spaniards unto death. And he fulfilled his vow. Urraca was so feared by the Spaniards that they avoided combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
with his men. When Urraca died in 1531 he was still a free man.
The Guaymies were divided into two large groups: those of the lowlands along the Atlantic coast, and those of the tropical forest in the highlands of Veraguas and Chiriquí Province
Chiriquí Province
Chiriquí is a province of Panama, it is located on the western coast of Panama, and it is also the second most developed province in the country, after the Panamá Province. Its capital is the city of David. It has a total area of 6,490.9 km², with a population of 416,873 as of the year 2010...
. Never surrendered, fighting until the collapse of the Spanish empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
. When Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
broke away from Spain and joined Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
in the early 19th Century, the Guaymies remained in the mountains. Only now slowly are some assimilating into modern society.
A few Guaymi have been able to acquire solar electricity (through an electrification project), as well as cell phone service. However, most still live below the poverty level. Because of the rugged geography, efforts to bring roads and new infrastructure to Guaymi reservations has been limited. Nevertheless, some Guaymi choose to live secluded lives away from modern societies.
Today the Guaymí are subsistence farmers, and agricultural laborers. On the Pacific slopes, the main crops are rice, corn, yucca, otoy, ñame (both tubers), several species of beans. Small-scale livestock production of chickens and pigs is maintained and in the higher elevations is supplemented by hunting (where permitted). The primary crop for the Guaymí on the Atlantic slopes is green bananas.
In order to survive many Guaymí resort to working in the cash economy. Coffee picking, working on large cattle farms and on banana plantations provide the main source of cash. Also, once made for battle and ceremony, some Guaymi sell beaded necklaces on the side of the roads in Panama.
The Guaymi women make many traditional crafts, both for their own use and their families', but also to sell as extra income. These include handmade bags from plant fibers called "kra" in their language, colorful dresses called "nagua" and beaded bracelets and necklaces.
The men of the Guaymi have a tradition of weaving hats from plant fibers.
Today, there is a small Baha'i community developing within the Guaymi community after the first primitive Baha'i center was built in El Progreso.
External links
- Ngobe Bugle (English)
- US Library of Congress – Guaymí
- http://medo.awardspace.com -a Ngobe development organization
- http://soloy.pueblerino.info/english/index.html – a Ngobe Botanical garden