travel

The Embera live mostly in Darien province. They are jungle Indians. But since 1970, some of them have settled around the Lake Alajuela (Madden Lake), which stretches along the Chagres River, through the Panama City corregimiento of Chilibre.

The Embera living in those areas have an agreement with the National Environmental Authority (ANAM), which is in charge of the rainforest around the lake because it's a nature reserve. In return for being allowed to settle in the national park, they help to prevent poaching and denounce clandestine logging. They also receive and host tourists, and they have become one of the most popular ecotourism destinations in Panama. They gladly present the visitors their unique culture and lifestyle.

Visiting those one village is possible by arranging a tour with a guide, like the one who conducts tours for Adventures in Panama for about $80. Part of the fee goes directly to the Embera.

First, we take a small riverboat in Chilibre, and the ride on the lake or the river varies between 15 minutes and an hour and one-half, according to the destination village.

There, after being welcomed, sometimes with flowers and pipers, and you take part to an ecological tour where the Embera themselves are guiding you.

Each village maintains botanic gardens where they cultivate medicinal herbs and vegetable dyes for the artwork.

The village botanist will gladly explain you the virtues of the plants. If you complain of any headache or fever, or sore throat, or backache, he will find a plant that fits your needs.

The visit includes a demonstration of Embera building techniques. They live in houses built on pilons to avoid the inconveniences of torrential rains or wild animals.

The Embera, great wood-carvers traditionally make their own hunting weapons, canoes, paddles, household furnishings and ceremonial objects.

Part of the visit is a demonstration of the artwork. Many Embera women are excellent weavers. Many of the men are talented carvers. Each family present a particular production: Fine baskets and plates hand-woven and dyed with plants from the botanic garden, or carvings of wood or tagua nuts, also called "vegetable ivory". These artworks have won the Embera UNESCO prizes in native handicraft competitions. Our picture shows a collection of plates. A nice collection of this works is shown at http://www.bridgesacrossborders.org/fairtradecrafts.htm

The Embera will also invite you to lunch with them --- usually fried fish, like tilapia, patacones" (fried plantain), and some fruits, served on banana leaves.

Finally, they present their traditional dances and invite you to join them, in a friendly parade. A young girl may also offer to decorate your body with some geometric figures (the painting will last one week, at most.)

Coming back from the visit, admiring the the Chagres River basin, I wondered how long the Embera would be able to perpetuate their traditions and culture and at the same time being so open and friendly with visitors like us. The young Embera girl who painted my arm told me that during the school year she lives in Panama to receive a high school education. When school's out, she comes back to the village.

It is essential to remember that the way tourism is developed and practiced can help or destroy a culture. Good ecotourism, where visitors arrive in small groups and develop personal and friendly contacts with the natives, do help. Other forms of tourism, like massive two-hours visits by groups off of the cruise ships, probably entail more drawbacks than advantages.





Also in this section:
A day trip to Embera Country
Let this be a word of warning

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