The Ngöbe–Buglé are a union of two indigenous peoples of 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...

, the Guaymí (Ngöbe) and the Bokota (Buglé). They live in the highlands of 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...

, 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...

 and on the arid plains of Veraguas, and have a joint reservation, the Ngöbe–Buglé Comarca.

History

The Ngöbe–Buglé Comarca (territory) was established on March 7, 1997 with Law 10. Some of the most important villages in the Comarca are: Culantro, Cascabel, Mununi, Piedra Roja, and Rio Luis.

According to the national census in 2000, there are a total of 110,080 Ngäbe and Buglé in Panama, constituting 63.6% of the national Indigenous population. Most of these are Guaymí.

Ethnography

Women wear long gowns decorated with symmetric bands of colorful wedges while men dress similarly to modern men. However, during the balseria ceremonies, where the strongest man triumphs, they will dress themselves with exotic bird feathers and paint their faces with geometric shapes, usually black, white and red. Some of their more famous items are chaquiras, bead necklaces of geometric designs and bold colors.

They live in huts, usually near rivers. The Ngöbe–Buglé fish, hunt, raise dogs, cattle, chickens and pigs. Traditionally, the Ngäbe–Buglé punish adultery

Adultery

Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...

 severely and celebrate ceremonies like the aguito, chicherias and clarias

Clarias

Clarias is a genus of catfishes of the family Clariidae, the airbreathing catfishes. The name is derived from the Greek chlaros, which means lively, in reference to the ability of the fish to live for a long time out of water....

.