Naso (people)

The Central American tribe, Naso, Teribe or Tjër Di are an indigenous people located in northwest Panama, in the province of Bocas del Toro. There are roughly 3,500 people who belong to the Naso tribe. It is one of the few native American indigenous groups or tribes that continues to have a monarchy.

The Naso people have traditionally occupied the mountainous jungle regions of western Bocas del Toro where they continue to identify with the lands along the river that became known in the Spanish speaking world as the Teribe or Tjër Di in Naso. ‘Di’ means ‘water’ and 'Tjër' is their mythical “Grand-Mother” who was endowed by God with the secrets of botanical medicine. Until as recently as three or four generations ago the Naso people led a remarkably autonomous existence. Dispersed among their clans and homesteads, and geographically isolated from most of the world, the Naso developed and nurtured their cultural self-sufficiency through the idiom and the institution of the family.

The Naso, who now live in the province of Bocas del Toro, Panama, are for the most part very poor subsistence farmers who supplement their earnings with the sale of the agricultural products (cocoa, oranges, plantains, etc.), animals (pigs, chickens, ducks, etc.), lumber (cordia alliodora, cedrela odorata, etc.) and some handicrafts which they transport to the relatively nearby city of Changuinola (population 30,000, two hours down river by raft or dugout canoe). While the Naso are isolated in geographic terms and receive few visitors to their communities, they are for the most part bilingual (Naso and Spanish), wear Western clothing, and many among them have converted to evangelical protestant religions.

The enormous scientific, hydroelectric and eco-tourism potential of the Naso people’s ancestral territory has attracted considerable international and national interest. Beginning in the 1980s the Government of Panama transferred large sections of the region to its own system of protected areas (Palo Seco National Forest (BBPS) and La Amistad International Park (PILA). In the year 2005, three major conservation and development projects were proposing to significantly reorganize local land use activities. These included a new law to recognize Naso territorial rights and jurisdiction in the Panamanian National Assembly, a World Bank-funded Biological Corridor project (CBMAP) promoting sustainable development in indigenous communities and protected areas, and a hydroelectric project sponsored by a Colombian utility company (Empresas Públicas de Medellín).

Politics

The tribe is governed by a king. The succession, according to tradition, would follow from the king to his brother, to the older son of the previous king. Since the 1980s, succession is based on the vote of the adult population. Typically, when there is a sense within the community that there is dissatisfaction with the current king (or sometimes queen, for instance queen Rufina), another member of the royal family may choose to stand for a public vote to see if they can replace the current king. In 2004 King Tito was deposed following his approval of a hydro electric scheme on the River Bonyic which traverses Naso territory. He was deposed in a civil uprising in the capital - Seiyik - and forced into exile. His uncle is now considered the King of Naso by the majority of the tribe, although this state of affairs is yet to be recognised by the Panamanian Government.

List of Kings

* Bass Lee Santana
* Santiago Santana
* Santiago Santana(son)
* Chalee Santana
* Francisco Santana
* Lázaro Santana - (? - 1973)
* Simeón Santana - (1973 - 1979)
* Manuel Aguilar - (1979 - April 25, 1982)
* Rufina Santana - (April 25, 1982 - July 30, 1988)
* César Santana - (July 30, 1988 - May 31, 1998)
* Tito Santana - (May 31, 1998- )
**"Valentín Santana -(May 30, 2004- ) [ On May 30, 2004 Tito lost a vote of confidence, but still claims the title of king. [http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_10/issue_12/news_briefs.html]
]

Culture

Most of the inhabitants speak the native language, although the majority also know Spanish. Very few of the Naso tribes adhere to Catholicism. The traditional God is Sbö, who is a supreme God and creator. Most Naso live in wooden houses with leaf tops.

Additional Information

* [http://www.mcgill.ca/standd/members/jpaiement/biblio/ Naso Bibliography]
* [http://www.mcgill.ca/standd/members/jpaiement/pics/ Naso photo gallery]
* [http://www.mcgill.ca/files/standd/Arial_View_of_Naso_Comarca.pdf Map of proposed Naso Comarca]

Notes