🌿 Buglé

Who Are the Buglé?

The Buglé (also Bokotá, Bukueta, or Buglere) are an indigenous people of western Panama, inhabiting the rugged mountainous regions of Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, and Veraguas provinces. Numbering approximately 18,000-24,000, they speak Buglere, a Chibchan language closely related to Ngäbere. The Buglé were historically considered part of the Ngäbe-Buglé complex but maintain distinct linguistic and cultural identity. Their homeland encompasses cloud forests and steep river valleys of the Cordillera Central, areas that remained largely outside colonial and national control until recently. The Buglé's mountainous territory has both protected their autonomy and limited their access to services and economic opportunities.

Mountain Adaptation

The Buglé have adapted to life in Panama's highest and most rugged terrain. Their settlements, scattered along steep river valleys, are often accessible only by foot trails that can become impassable during heavy rains. Subsistence combines swidden agriculture (cultivating banana, root crops, and maize), hunting, fishing, and gathering. The cloud forest environment provides diverse resources but limits productive land. Traditional houses are elevated on posts with palm-thatch roofs suited to heavy rainfall. Isolation has preserved traditional practices but also created vulnerabilities: healthcare requires long journeys; schools are distant; economic opportunities are limited. The Buglé's mountainous homeland represents both refuge and challenge.

Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca

In 1997, Panama established the Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca, a semi-autonomous indigenous territory that is the country's largest and one of Latin America's largest indigenous reserves. The comarca includes both Ngäbe and Buglé communities, recognizing their related but distinct identities. Within this framework, the Buglé maintain traditional governance structures alongside comarca-wide institutions. The comarca has provided legal protection for territory but faces challenges from mining, hydroelectric, and road-building projects that threaten lands and waters. The Buglé, though numerically smaller than the Ngäbe, have participated in resistance movements against development projects, particularly the Barro Blanco dam that flooded indigenous lands despite community opposition.

Contemporary Buglé

Modern Buglé communities balance tradition with integration into national society. Many families practice seasonal migration, working on Pacific-slope coffee and banana plantations during harvest seasons before returning to mountain communities. Education has expanded, though schools remain distant for many families. The Buglere language is actively spoken, though Spanish increasingly dominates among younger people. Cultural practices including traditional medicine, oral literature, and ceremonies continue. Economic challenges drive migration to cities, creating diaspora communities in Panama City and elsewhere. Development pressures—roads, dams, mining—threaten traditional territories. The Buglé work within the Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca structure while maintaining distinct identity, navigating the tensions between autonomy and integration that characterize indigenous experience across the Americas.

References

• Guionneau-Sinclair, F. (1991). Legislación Amerindia de Panamá
• Herrera, F. (2012). Los Pueblos Indígenas en Panamá
• Gordon, B. L. (1982). A Panama Forest and Shore: Natural History and Amerindian Culture