Who Are the Emberá?
The Emberá (also Empera, Chocó) are an indigenous people of the Pacific rainforests of Colombia and Panama, with smaller communities in Ecuador. Numbering approximately 100,000, they are renowned for their distinctive body painting using jagua fruit, which produces a temporary blue-black dye. River-dwelling people who traditionally lived in dispersed settlements deep in the forest, the Emberá have adapted to changing circumstances while maintaining cultural identity, with some communities now welcoming visitors to share their traditions.
Jagua Body Art
The Emberá are masters of jagua (Genipa americana) body painting. The fruit produces a juice that stains skin blue-black for 10-14 days, similar to henna but darker. Traditional designs feature geometric patterns with spiritual and protective meanings. Women apply jagua for ceremonies, celebrations, and daily beautification. Today, jagua body art has spread globally through "temporary tattoo" products, though the Emberá connection is often unacknowledged. Within communities, specific patterns may indicate clan, status, or ceremonial roles.
River Life and Stilted Houses
Traditional Emberá settlements cluster along rivers, which serve as highways through dense jungle. Houses (tambo) stand on stilts 2-3 meters above ground, protecting against flooding and animals while providing ventilation in the humid climate. Open-walled construction allows air circulation while palm-thatch roofs shed tropical rain. Canoes carved from single logs provide essential transportation. The river orientation shapes daily life: fishing, bathing, socializing, and travel all center on waterways threading through the forest.
Basketry and Crafts
Emberá basket weaving, particularly by the Wounaan subgroup, produces some of the finest baskets in the Americas. Woven from chunga palm fiber and dyed with natural colors, these baskets feature intricate geometric and animal designs requiring months of work. Originally utilitarian, the baskets now command high prices from collectors. The craft provides important income while maintaining traditional skills. Tagua nut carving, producing "vegetable ivory" figurines, represents another artisan tradition adapted for external markets.
Displacement and Adaptation
Armed conflict in Colombia has displaced many Emberá from ancestral territories. Communities have relocated to urban areas or Panama, where some have established cultural tourism ventures. These tourist-oriented villages near the Panama Canal offer day visits where guests experience traditional dance, food, and body painting. While commercialization raises authenticity concerns, it provides economic alternatives to destructive extractive industries. Some Emberá communities continue traditional forest life while others innovate to survive in changing circumstances.
References
- Stipek, G. (1976). Emberá: Tradition and Change in the Chocó
- Kane, S. (1994). The Phantom Gringo Boat: Shamanic Discourse and Development in Panama
- Velásquez Runk, J. (2017). Crafting Wounaan Landscapes