Page 277 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

The Darién anD easTern Panama 275
THE EMBERÁ AND WOUNAAN
Two separate but related ethnic groups speaking mutually unintelligible languages, the
majority of Panama’s Emberá (warriors famed for their poisonous blow-darts) and Wounaan
(more noted for their artistry) inhabit wood-and-thatch huts along the Darién’s numerous
rivers – though the increasing presence of zinc roofs and cement buildings is indicative of
encroaching modernization. As former seminomadic hunter-gatherers, it is only relatively
recently that their communities started to live in fixed villages, a government-promoted project
primarily to facilitate schooling and access to modern health care; before, family homes, though
still sprinkled along the rivers as they are today, formed temporary bases from which to hunt
and practise limited slash-and-burn agriculture before moving on, allowing forest to recover.
The groups’ wooden houses are built on stilts, to protect them from wild animals and
unwelcome intruders, as well as rising floodwaters. Semi-open sides permit cooling breezes
to enter while preserving a degree of privacy. The platform, accessed by a tree trunk, with
notches carved out as steps, constitutes a living space with a fire pit for cooking; crucially, the
heat prevents the thatched roof from rotting during the rainy season, and keeps destructive
insects at bay. Traditionally, the largest building in the community is the bujia or casa
comunal, a splendid circular construction with a soaring conical ceiling, where meetings are
held, guests are received and ceremonies take place. Missionaries have been chipping away
at traditional beliefs since the time of the conquistadors, and while shamanism persists,
villagers are more likely today to head for the government medical centre than put their trust
in traditional medicine.
Cartí hiGhLiGhTs To learn more about Emberá or Wounaan village life, consider staying the night
CARIBBEAN (see box, p.283).
SEA Lago Bayano
Akua
El Llano Guna Icantí Parque Nacional Darién 8
Chepo Cañita Lago Archipiélago de Guna Yala (San Blas ) Staying with the Emberá settlers encroaching on their lands, while overlap with the national park, whose
Bayano
RÍo Chepo Ipetí or Wounaan regulations restrict traditional hunting and agricultural practices, fuel frictions
Cuevas Agua Fría GUNA YALA Harpy eagle nests between indigenous groups and government. There are also concerns that following
Isla de majé N°1 Río Sambú the 2016 peace accord between the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas
Chepillo PANAMÁ Tortí The Pacific coast Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) – the opposition guerrilla movement – there is
Agua Fría
Golfo de Panamá N°2 Puerto likely to be an influx of former combatants who are against the agreement.
SERR ANÍA Obaldía
DE MA JÉ arriVaL anD inFOrmaTiOn The Darién anD easTern Panama
Capurganá
Santa Fé S E R R A N Í A D E L D A R I É N Most tourists visit the Darién on a tour but it is entirely possible, and becoming more common, to visit independently
I N TERA M E R I C AN A
Puerto Lara Río Chucunaque
(Boca Lara) Metetí – though you need to be flexible and have time, money and Spanish-language skills.
Puerto Quimba RESERVA Golfo de Urabá
Isla La Palma HIDROLÓGICA INDEPENDENT TRAVEL as the condition of the paved road is highly variable,
del Punta FILO DEL TALLO PARQUE
Rey RESERVA FORESTAL BY PLane especially in the rainy season. The last daily direct bus from
Isla Golfo de Alegre NACIONAL
DEL CANGLÓN
San San Miguel Chepigana DARIÉN To Jaqué and Bahía Piñas Air Panama (T316 9000, Albrook leaves at 4.30pm.
José Punta Patiño Mogué Río Mogué Wairpanama.com) flies to Jaqué ($91; 1hr 15min) and To La Palma To reach La Palma and other destinations in
A rchipiélago La Marea Yaviza
de la s Perla s Taimati Unión Chocó nearby Bahía Piñas. the Golfo de San Miguel, take the bus to Metetí, then a
La Chunga El Real Cerro
Garachiné Puerto Indio/ DARIÉN Boca de Cupe Tacarcuna minibus shuttle to nearby Puerto Quimba (see p.279), from
(1874m)
rancho Frío
Cerro Sapo Sambú (Pirre station) BY BUs anD BOaT where there is a water-taxi to La Palma (see p.283).
(1145m) Paya Bus and boat transport in the Darién requires patience and
Playa Muerto Cerro Pirre flexibility. Timetables are only loosely adhered to and COMMUNICATIONS
(1200m)
P A CIFIC OCEAN Río Sambú Río Balsas Santa Cruz services may be delayed or cancelled if there are insufficient Communication is very difficult and intermittent in the
de Cana Río Tuira passengers to warrant a trip. Set out as early as possible Darién. Some places have no mobile phone reception (Más
N S E R R A N Í A D E L S A P O SE RR A N ÍA D E JU N G URU DÓ from Panama City’s Albrook bus terminal to have a chance Móvil and Digicel have the greatest coverage); for others
Pavarandó
of reaching your destination the same day. For information you might need several days and several attempts to make
PARQUE on Darién bus schedules, call T6792 9493 or visit their contact either by email or phone, since people may only
NACIONAL COLOMBIA
DARIÉN office in the terminal. have access to these services when they visit a large town.
To Yaviza and Metetí Beyond the expensive express bus Outside Metetí, wi-fi is rarely available; we have indicated
The Darién anD Bahía Piñas Puerto Piñas to Yaviza (midnight; around 5–6hr; $21), most buses in our accommodation listings where it exists. Moreover,
easTern Panama Jaqué Río Jaqué 0 kilometres 25 bound for the Darién stop at Metetí, where you transfer to unlike in some areas of Panama, virtually nobody will
speak any English.
a local minibus for Yaviza. Journey times are approximate,
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