The Wounan

January 31, 2015

The Nimiipuu welcomed visitors from the Wounan Tribe in Panama recently.

The Wounan are one of seven different indigenous groups in Panama. They live primarily in the Darien region of Panama and the Choco department in Colombia, although they have communities in other regions of both countries. In 1983, Panamanian Law created the Comarca Embera-Wounaan, an autonomous area covering over 1 million acres that represents 27 percent of the Darien region. Originally cogoverned by the Wounaan and Embera, the two split governance in 1983 as the Wounaan felt they were underrepresented given their smaller population numbers.Historically, the Wounaan were hunters, gatherers, and adept fisherfolk.

Some of their many cultural practices include the tradition of using a bamboo branch and a black dye made from the jagua fruit to create elaborate body art. The Wounaan have many artistic traditions and are well known for their woven and dyed baskets made from chunga fiber and wood carvings.As many indigenous people around the world, the Wounaan have experienced a significant decrease in the availability of game for hunting due to loss of habitat from deforestation, illegal logging, and poaching, and have turned to conventional agricultural practices to survive. The Wounaan also now depend on ecotourism as a source of income.

They came to learn about the culture of the tribal people groups in North America and to share their own in friendship. As part of their visit they toured the Reservation and visited the Cultural Center. They shared some of their cultural music, dances, body painting, craftsmanship, and stories at a cultural exchange, hosted by the Wy-A’Yas Community Center in Kamiah. Here is a short video of their presentation. In turn, they were also introduced to Nimiipuu culture, music, and dance styles.

Wounan-Nimiipuu Cultural Exchange from YWAM Native Ministries on Vimeo.

The team also visited and shared a delicious meal with the Nez Perce Senior Citizens and were given a taste of traditional Nimiipuu foods, such as Camas, smokes salmon, and elk meat.

We were also able to record an interview for “Calling All Warriors” at the radio station. (Listen to the archived version of the program!)

You can find more pictures from the teams visit here.