Indigenous peoples of Panama
From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Indigenous peoples of Panama, or Native Panamanians, are the native peoples of Panama. According to the 2010 census, they make up 12.3% of the overall population of 3.4 million, or just over 418,000 people. The Ngäbe and Buglé comprise half of the indigenous peoples of Panama.[1]
Many of the Indigenous Peoples live on comarca indígenas,[2] which are administrative regions for areas with substantial Indigenous populations. Three comarcas (Comarca Emberá-Wounaan, Guna Yala, Ngäbe-Buglé) exist as equivalent to a province, with two smaller comarcas (Guna de Madugandí and Guna de Wargandí) subordinate to a province and considered equivalent to a corregimiento (municipality).
Indigenous groups[edit]
- Bokota, Bocas Del Toro
- Embera, southeastern Darién Province
- Ngäbe (including the Movere and Murire peoples), mainly Chiriquí Province
- Guna, Darién Province and Caribbean side.
- Buglé, mainly Chiriquí Province
- Talamanca
- Teribe[1]
- Wounaan, southeastern Darién Province
- Emberá-Wounaan, mainly Emberá-Wounaan Comarca
- Bribri
Languages[edit]
Some native peoples speak Spanish, while many more retain their traditional languages. According to the 2000 census, the following indigenous languages are spoken in Panama:
- Bokota language: 933 speakers (in Panama)
- Bri-bri language: 2,521 speakers
- Buglé language: 17,731 speakers
- Emberá language: 22,485 speakers
- Guna Language: 61,707 speakers
- Naso-Teribe language: 3,305 speakers
- Ngöbe language: 169,130 speakers
- Wounaan language: 6,882 speakers[2]
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b "Panama History: Indigenous People." Archived 2010-11-25 at the Wayback Machine Panama Experts. (retrieved 23 Feb 2011)
- ^ a b "Indigenous Peoples in Panama." Archived 2011-03-02 at the Wayback Machine International Work Group for Indian Affairs. (retrieved 23 Feb 2011)