Panamanian Ancestral (Indigenous) Games

[Keith Woolford]

First National Indigenous Ancestral Games to be held in Guna Yala

Panama, 23 April 2017.- The Guna Yala will become the headquarters of the First Indigenous Ancestral Games, to be held from 26 April to 1 May this year on Isla Tigre, with the participation of sports delegations from the Ngöbe Bugle, Embera and Wounaan, Guna Yala, Madungandí and Wargandi nations.

This event aims to set a historical precedent on a sporting level in the country, through the exchange of culture and sports, in which the folklore, tradition and healthy coexistence will be the elements that combine to highlight the richness of the indigenous peoples of Panama.

The Games will include at least 12 ancestral disciplines within which stand out: races of 100 meters, canoeing, tests of physical strength and endurance, archery, swimming, soccer competition; in addition to cultural activities and training seminars for the athletes and participating delegations.

The Deputy Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Feliciano Jiménez, highlighted the importance of this initiative for the strengthening of the ties of friendship between the peoples of the country and for the projection of their cultural and ancestral values.

The conclusion of these first games is the anteroom to the preparations for the II World Games.

It should be noted that in 2015 the Panama participated in this international competition which was held in Brazil, where the Panamanian delegation achieved a total of 3 awards in the Canoeing competitions (gold and silver), and bronze in swimming open in the female category.

In the same way they achieved a special recognition for being the only indigenous delegation to present a diversity of samples at the cultural level during the celebration of these competences.

Posted by Katherine Palace/Photos: Ariel Montezuma

http://www.mingob.gob.pa/guna-yala-sera-el-escenario-de-los-primeros-juegos-indigenas-ancestrales/

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What follows is a transcription of the English language article so that it is easier to read.

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Indigenous ancestral games in Guna Yala

The "First Ancestral Games of the Indigenous Peoples of Panama" will be held during the week of Wednesday, April 26 to Monday, May 1. This six day event will take place in the "Gunayala" comarca in the Panamanian Caribbean area and entrance is free.

Several athletes from the main indigenous populations of the country will meet for this event, including delegations from the "Ngobe" and "Bugle", "Embera" and "Wounaan" tribes; also from other areas within "Gunayala" such as "Madungandf" and Wargandf".

The competitions seek to set a historical precedent for sports in Panama through cultural and sports exchange, combining elements such as folklore and traditions.

The first indigenous games will feature competitions in at least eight different categories, including traditional one-hundred-meter races, hand-canoeing competitions, physical strength and endurance challenges, jousts, free diving (100 meters), swimming (1OK) and archery, etc.

In addition, the organizers are planning to hold football matches, cultural activities and training seminars for participating athletes and delegations as well as for spectators.

The official venue of the event will be Tigre Island, in Digir, Guna Vala. These games are being held in preparation for the participation of Panama in the "II World Indigenous Games", which will be held this year in the Republic of Colombia.

For more information visit: Facebook.com/comite.indigenas

 

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Culture and traditions, determinants of the 2nd edition of the Panamanian Ancestral Games

Wed, 07/11/2018 - 18:10

Culture, traditions and sport will be the themes of the second edition of the Panamanian Indigenous Ancestral Games, which will be held from July 26 to 29 to raise awareness to rescue the skills of the indigenous athlete and promote tourism, an official source reported today.

The competition, which will have some 250 athletes covering twelve disciplines, will be hosted by the Ipetí Emberá - Alto Bayano community, in the district of Chepo, 59.5 kilometers east of Panama City, said the Panamanian Tourism Authority (ATP) in a statement.

Elvis Flaco, president of the Association of the Emberá Ancestral Games, said that the fair is aimed at rescuing traditional sports, testing the skill of the indigenous athlete, promoting tourism and continuing to strengthen the identity of the aboriginal population.

"We want nationals and foreigners to know our culture, visit us and consume the authentic indigenous gastronomy, inherited from generation to generation," he said.

The source said that the sports delegations that will attend are composed of the Emberá Wounaán region, the Collective Lands Congress, the Alto Bayano Congress, the provinces of Panama and Colón, who will demonstrate their skills in bow and arrow, ugü (blowpipe), corporal force, swimming, running with a log, spear, wrestling, soccer,
boating, fishing and athletics (100 meters and 10 kilometers).

The sporting and cultural meeting is qualifying for the III Indigenous World Games. In 2017, at the international meeting held in Canada, with the participation of 26 countries, Panamanian athletes won 17 medals (7 gold, 4 silver and 6 bronze) in boating, spear, swimming 100 meters and 50-meter race.

In the opening ceremony a traditional ritual will be carried out live, in which a young woman of the Emberá ethnic group, in stage of puberty, will earn her rite fo passage.

According to the ATP, the ceremonial celebration will have dances and coexistence in a cultural house, then the female will be transferred to the nearest river where she will be submerged and returned to her residence. In that specific custom, the girl's face is painted, she dances and people drink strong chicha.

The first version of the Emberá Ancestral Games was held, with the support of the ATP, in Puerto Indio, in the Emberá region, in the Sambú region. The activity was attended by residents of the capital city and American and European tourists, generating a great economic and touristic movement in the region.

In Panama there are about 400,000 indigenous people, who represent about 11 percent of the total population and which is grouped into 7 main ethnic groups: Emberá, Wounaán, Guna, Ngäbe, Buglé, Naso and Bri-Bri.

 

http://www.panamatoday.com/life-style/culture-and-traditions-determinants-2nd-edition-panamanian-ancestral-games-7299

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Panamanian Indigenous people show their brave skills in ancestral games

Sat, 07/28/2018 - 17:17

More than 150 participants of the Emberá indigenous community in Panama today held a fierce competition in the 2nd edition of the Ancestral Games, to show their skills in more than 10 disciplines, with a view to qualify in the competition nationwide, informed their organizers.

"This event seeks to strengthen the Emberá culture in which we show our competitive strength, which we do daily as a community coexistence in our territory," Elvis Skinny, the president and organizer of the sporting activity told Efe.

The competition that began yesterday and will last until Sunday July 29, includes the competitions of bow and arrow, end of force, swimming, miazu (spear), jamba (boating), pilon, trunk race, spinning firewood, athletics (10 kilometers and 100 meters), blowgun, and soccer, in female and male categories.

He said from the internal qualifying round -which they will hold in their headquarters in Ipetí Emberá-Alto Bayano, in the district of Chepo, 59.5 kilometers east of Panamanian City- 70 best athletes will be selected to compete nationwide in the Ancestral Games next November, along with other ethnic groups.

He stressed in the event all participants used their traditional clothing, which encourages society to know, in addition to their dances and music, their essence as an indigenous people.

A cultural agenda was also held for the guests, inhabitants and those interested in knowing the Emberá worldview, culture and wisdom, as well as carrying out workshops, a space for stories and indigenous tattoos.

The activity, organized by the Emberá Association of Ancestral Games and Sports, had the support of the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) in order to disseminate the sports and tourism skills of that community in the Central American country.

In Panama about 400,000 indigenous people represent about 11 percent of the total population and are grouped into 7 main ethnic groups: Emberá, Wounaán, Guna, Ngäbe, Buglé, Naso and Bri-Bri.

 

http://www.panamatoday.com/panama/panamanian-indigenous-people-show-their-brave-skills-ancestral-games-7433

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Panamanian Indigenous Games 2018

 

In this November 26, 2018 photo, a man runs in the 10 K competition as Ngabe-Bugle women look on during the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games in Piriati, Panama. The winner of the race will participate in the World Indigenous Games where over 30 countries and more than 2000 athletes participate. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this November 26, 2018 photo, an Embera indigenous man takes part in the bow and arrow competition during the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games in Piriati, Panama. Panama attended the first World Indigenous Peoples Games in Brazil in 2015 and participated in the next one in Canada in 2017. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this November 25, 2018 photo, a group of Guna women sit on the field during a penalty shootout in the women's soccer competition of the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games in Piriati, Panama. The Guna women won the match and advanced to the semifinal and won the championship. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this photo November 25, 2018 photo, fishing canoes are tied together at a dock on Lake Bayano as the men watch the dugout canoe race of the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games on lake Bayano, Panama. Indigenous people fish and motor in the lake on any given day, transporting goods from one side to the other. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this November 26, 2018 photo, men run during 100 meters athletics competition of the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games in Piriati, Panama. These games were held in the Embera town of Piriati, some 55 miles (90 kilometers) east of Panama City. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this November 25, 2018 photo, an injured Guna woman is aid by her teammates after the tug-of-war competition of the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games in Piriati, Panama. Events such as archery, swimming, wrestling and running are also a part of the games. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)


In this November 25, 2018 photo, an Embera indigenous man takes part in the spear throwing competition during the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games in Piriati, Panama. The Embera are an indigenous people of Panama and Colombia. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this November 25, 2018 photo, Guna indigenous women compete in the tug-of-war during the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games in Piriati, Panama. Indigenous people from the four most important ethnic groups in Panama participated for two days to select the athletes that will represent Panama in the upcoming World Indigenous Peoples Games. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this November 25, 2018 photo, a group of children play tug-of-war away from the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games in Piriati, Panama. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this November 25, 2018 photo, indigenous women compete in the canoe race during the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games on Lake Bayano, Panama. For two days, more than 100 competitors from the main indigenous groups of Panama, Guna, Embera, Ngabe Bugle, converged for the second time to celebrate their ancestral games. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this November 25, 2018 photo, two Guna indigenous men row in the dugout canoe competition during the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games on Lake Bayano, Panama. Lake Bayano is one of the main reservoirs in Panama. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this November 25, 2018 photo, Ngabe-Bugle indigenous women support their women's soccer team during the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games in Piriati, Panama. Ngabe-Bugle is the largest and most populous of Panama's three Indigenous regions. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this November 25, 2018 photo, a Guna woman competes in the swimming event of the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games on lake Bayano, Panama. Sixty athletes were selected to compete in the upcoming world indigenous games. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this November 25, 2018 photo, Embera indigenous men participate in the tug-of-war competition during the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games in Piriati, Panama. The Embera won the tug-of-war competition. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this November 26, 2018 photo, a group of Ngabe-Bugle women take photos during the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games in Piriati, Panama. For two days, more than 100 competitors from the main indigenous groups of Panama, Guna, Embera, Ngabe-Bugle, converged for the second time to celebrate their ancestral games. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)



In this November 25, 2018 photo, Ngabe Bugle indigenous people dance during the opening of the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games in Piriati, Panama. At night, the groups intermingled to share dance and music traditions. (Photo by Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo)

 

http://avax.news/fact/Panamanian_Indigenous_Games_2018.html

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Indigenous Panamanians compete in ancestral games

In this Nov. 25, 2018 photo, indigenous men finish the swimming competition during the second edition of the Panamanian indigenous games on lake Bayano, Panama. In terms of surface area, Lake Bayano is the second largest lake in Panama, exceeded only by Lake Gatun.Arnulfo Franco / AP

PIRIATI, Panama — Some brought bows and arrows to show off shooting skills. Others came to demonstrate their strength, endurance or ability to pull heavy ropes or to paddle small wooden dugout canoes.

The women wore brightly hued dresses in red, orange, green and purple, with hand-embroidered details. Men stained their arms and faces with black ink extracted from a mountainous fruit. Some wore loin cloths with intricate beaded geometric designs, and strings of yet more beads crisscrossing their chests.

For two days, more than 100 competitors from the main indigenous groups of Panama — the Guna, Embera and Ngabe-Bugle — converged for the second time to celebrate their ancestral games.

“Everyone has to show dexterity, their tradition, their dance, their behaviour,” said Eduardo Lopez, a member of the Guna community and co-ordinator of the games.

At night, the groups intermingled to share dance and music traditions. Drums beat. Flutes vibrated.

 

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/indigenous-panamanians-compete-in-ancestral-games