A HOME STAY AT COMARCA NGÄBE-BUGLÉ

Ever since we chose Panama as a destination for our year adventure abroad, I have wanted to learn more about the Ngäbe-Buglé indigenous people.  This past weekend, I arranged a home stay in Soloy, a small community that is part of the Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca, and a mere 2 1/2 hour drive from Boquete.  I had read about Soloy in one of our four Panama guide books (The town isn't even mentioned in the other three).  The guidebook indicated that there are no hotels or places to stay in Soloy's rustic village and suggested contacting someone in the Peace Corps or a member of the Comarca prior to arrival.  I contacted Adán Berejeno, founder of Medo (www.medo.awardspace.com), a non profit organization dedicated to helping the indigenous community of Soloy in the areas of education, health, and cultural promotion.  I told Adán I wanted to learn more about the traditions, customs, and way of life of the indigenous people in the area, and he offered to make arrangements for me to stay with a Comarca family.  I'm so glad that I contacted Adán, as he and his brother, Umberto, ended up being my guides once I arrived in Soloy, and I give them credit for most of what I learned during my brief 24 hour visit there.

While the entire Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca consists of about 180,000 people, the small community of Soloy is inhabited by approximately 6,000 Ngäbe.  The Ngäbe and Buglé are actually two separate groups with different indigenous languages, but share cultural customs and traditions.  Most speak Spanish as a second language.  Soloy has just one road which runs through town, and most people travel by truck, horseback or foot to other parts of the Comarca.  Soloy is an agricultural area, and families practice small scale farming and grow rice, corn, and other fruits and vegetables for their own consumption.  Rio Soloy runs through the town and merges with the larger, Rio Fonseca.  While the Ngäbe-Buglé abide by Panamanian laws and receive a variety of services through the Panamanian government, they are also governed by their own rules and laws.

The Ngäbe indigenous people of Soloy lead a very simple and modest life.  Most families live in small homes which are made of wood or bamboo, have dirt floors, have little (if any) electricity, and some without running water.  Since most homes do not have showers or any form of water for washing, everyone bathes in the river.  There are no grocery stores in Soloy.  Families trade items, and a few, such as the one I stayed with, sell grocery items out of their home.  While most Ngäbe-Buglé remain in the Comarca, some migrate to other areas of Panama or to Costa Rica for work opportunities in the agricultural industry.  Such is the case with the Ngäbe-Buglé families who come live in Boquete for the coffee picking season.

After arriving in Soloy, Adán gave me a tour of the community, showed me the local public school, and introduced me to my Ngäbe family where I would be spending the night.  I really had no idea what to expect in terms of my home stay and was not given any information about the family or living conditions prior to my arrival.  While the far majority of homes in Soloy are built of wood and are very rustic, I was placed with a family whose home was part concrete and part wood, and certainly looked like it was one of the nicer homes in Soloy in terms of its larger size, and being that it had a concrete floor as opposed to dirt. Nonetheless, a single mother with 5 children (ages 18, 10, 7, 4, and 15 months) lived in a two bedroom home with no windows, no running water inside the house, no electricity (except for one hanging lightbulb in the kitchen), and no toilet.  Even during daylight hours, it was necessary to use a flashlight or candle in my designated bedroom because there were no windows and it was so dark.  The only bathroom was an outhouse with a latrine, which was padlocked to keep other people in the community from using it.  Until now, it had never really occurred to me that squatting over a hole would be such a luxury!

During that evening, I particularly enjoyed spending time with the children in this family.  They were eager to show me their school work and loved asking me to translate certain words from Spanish to English. The kids were proud of their academic accomplishments, and I could tell they truly loved learning and going to school.  I happened to have my phone with me and showed them pictures of Monica and Matt and some of our travels thus far in Panama.  The kids lit up when I talked about Monica and Matt, and the next day told their mom that they wanted my kids to come to Soloy to visit them.  Maybe they will one day...!  One of my most surprising moments occurred while showing the kids some photos of iguanas our family had spotted during a hike in Panama.  The 10-year-old girl, around Monica's age,  immediately said, "I eat those!"  I looked at her with questioning eyes, and her seven-year-old brother, who is Matt's age, chimed in and explained that they not only enjoy eating iguanas, but they also catch them themselves, prior to eating them.  I am aware that much of this family's diet, and the diet of most Ngäbe people, primarily consists of corn tortillas, rice, and occasionally some other starchy vegetables.  Most Ngäbe people rarely eat meat.  I can imagine that capturing an iguana and eating it would be quite a treat.  Such is the life of a child living in Soloy!

For the most part, the Ngäbe-Buglé people are quiet and reserved and often keep to themselves.  My experience spending the night with this Ngäbe family ended up being one of the most rewarding parts of the trip. The mother, Violeta, was friendly and kindly answered my many questions about her traditions, family life, and lifestyle.  While from my perspective as an outsider I believed this family was living in poverty, Violeta shared with me that she was quite content, proud, and grateful to live in this house and to have what she does, which includes sufficient food for each day, clothes to wear, and the ability to send her children to a local private school.  She told me about her rough and challenging life as a child, having to carry heavy loads on her back and often not having enough food to eat.  Today, she is able to provide a different and better life for her children, and for this, she is proud.  Violeta is a happy and content person with a beautiful caring smile.  Her children are playful, friendly, full of laughter, and affectionate with one another.  I told Violeta how I was struck by the bond between her children and how wonderfully they played together. Violeta agreed that her children are close, love spending time together, and are eager to help around the house.  Much of this family's free time was spent just sitting together and laughing.  Being a part of this family, even for a short time, was a great reminder that there often is not a correlation between poverty and happiness.  People who have very little can certainly be happy and content with their lives and relationships.  Violeta and her family were a shining example of this.  In contrast, we have all seen too often people who have so much, but are miserable, constantly wanting more, and discontent with life in general. It was a pleasure to spend time with this family, even if my living conditions were not what I am accustomed to.

So what did I actually do in Soloy?  Adán arranged different activities to help me learn more about the Ngäbe people.  I hung out with my Ngäbe family, went on a horseback ride through the Soloy community and the surrounding countryside (with Umberto as my guide), and visited a group of women artisans.  The Ngäbe-Buglé are known for their crafts, and all of the women wear colorful dresses called naguas.   It was explained to me that while most naguas are carefully sewn by hand, some are made by machine, if a woman is fortunate enough to have one.  Each women makes her own dress and chooses specific colors and designs to fit her persona.  The Ngäbe are proud of their naguas and committed to keeping this longtime tradition.  In addition, the artisan women showed me three different types of bags they make (called chacaras), and how they weave them.  Most chacaras are made of plant fibers and used by men and women for storing items and for transport.  I was encouraged to try to weave a bag myself, and the women found it quite comical when I miserably failed at this task.  It is tougher than it looks, and I now have a greater appreciation for the skill and time it takes to make each one, big or small.  My day ended with Adán taking me to a home in which a woman made me a traditional Ngäbe lunch or almuerzo.  Throughout all of these activities, I asked many questions, and Violeta, Adán, and Umberto were patient and happy to share their culture with me.  I can't believe how much I learned about the Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca in less than 24 hours and am grateful for the experience to learn first hand more about these wonderful people.

The Ngäbe family I stayed with in Soloy.  I am so grateful for their kindness and for welcoming me into their home.

Most Ngäbe homes are very simple wooden structures with tin roofs and dirt floors.

Riding on horseback through Soloy was a great way to see the Comarca.

While most homes in this area are made of wood with corrugated metal roofs, others have grass roofs, such as this one on the left.  Some homes, such as this one on the right, are made of bamboo.

Homes along the main road of Soloy.

These Ngäbe women specialize in artesanía and showed me how they weave their bags (chacaras).  In addition, they each make their own nagua, a bright colored dress with shoulder and neckline details and embroidered bands around the waist and bottom.  I loved hearing about the importance of their work and sensed their pride in carrying out their artesanía traditions.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of this pig who just plopped down in the mud right in front of me.

This is a traditional Ngäbe meal I was served for almuerzo or lunch, the main meal of the day.  On the left is a bowl of sopa de pollo (chicken soup).  On the right is a plate with maduro (cooked sweet banana), two pieces of yucca (a type of root vegetable), arroz (rice), and guineo (a type of green banana - not sweet) formed into a ball.