Ngöbe Buglé

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The Ngöbe Buglé are a group of Indians in Panama. They live at highlands of Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui and arid plains of Veraguas. They have dark skin, thick lips, wide backs and flat noses. Women wear night gowns of bright colors and geometric shapes while men dress similarly to modern men. However, during their ceremonies of balseria, where the strongest triumphs, they will dress themselves with exotic bird feathers and paint their faces with geometric shapes, usually black, white and red.

They live in huts near rivers or at valleys. The Ngöbe Buglé fish, hunt, raise dogs, cattle, chickens and pigs. Some of their more famous items are chaquiras, bead neckalces of geometric designs and bold colors. The Ngöbe Buglé punish severely adultery and celebrate ceremonies like the aguito, chicherias and clarias. According to the 2000 Panamanian census, there is a total of 110,080 Ngöbe Buglé Indians in Panama, forming 63.6% of the national Indian population. The Reservation Ngöbe Buglé was made on March 7, 1997 with the Law 10. Some of the most important villages in this Reservation are: Culantro, Cascabel, Mununi, Piedra Roja and Rio Luis.