Native Americans

The European colonization of the Americas forever changed the lives and cultures of the Native Americans. In the 15th to 19th centuries, their populations were ravaged, by the privations of displacement, by disease, and in many cases by warfare with European groups and enslavement by them. The first Native American group encountered by Columbus, the 250,000 Arawaks of Haiti, were enslaved. Only 500 survived by the year 1550, and the group was extinct before 1650.

The Natives of Panama

When the Spaniards came to the present day area known as Panama in the 16th Century, they encountered various Native American Indian Groups; the main of these included the Kuna, Guaymi, Choco and some other minor native groups. Subsequent to the settling of the Spanish, the mixed ancestry of Spanish and Indians developed to what is termed today as mestizos. During the colonial times the people from Africa were brought there as slaves, and slowly these people were also integrated into the society. With the construction of the Panama City – Colon railway, and then later the canal, a range of nationalities were settled in this area; included nationalities were from the United States, China, French, West Indian, as well as Italians and Greeks. All these nations have contributed to the current society of Panama.

A small fraction of the original natives remain, mostly living in isolated areas, including on small islands, and in the rain forests.

The largest of the groups is the Guaymi or Ngobe Bugle – mostly located in Western Panama. They live in the provinces of Chiriqui, Bocas del Toroand Veraguas. The language spoken by these indigenous natives is known as Ngabere. The Guaymi proved to be formidable opponents to the exploring Spaniards and it was recorded in many historic journals of these fierce and fearless adversaries. The Guaymi people still follow many of their traditions, but many have opted for the work opportunities in the coffee plantations in the neighboring Costa Rica. The women still practice the manufacture of traditional arts and crafts and make the traditional ‘Panama hat’ which is worn by the men… A traditional ‘jewellery’ item worn by these people is what is known as a Chaquira, which is a beaded necklace also worn by the men of the Ngobe Bugle.