The Rainforests: 

EMBERA SPIRIT

MARTI PHOTO.
Water navigator, PANAMA (Embera means place of fish)

They craft masks, bags and useful objects out of grass and reeds. Today the Embera of Panama live just a few hours by car from modern industrial cities, but for the most part, they prefer to live on the quiet peaceful backwaters where they are close to nature and their deeper soul force. Waterways and rivers are essential to the Embera way of life. Traditionally Embera used dugout canoes and paddles. Today they have flat-bottom boats and outboard motors.

Schools are obligatory in Panama. Children go to the village schoolhouse above their village in uniforms and shoes. But as soon as classes are over and the teacher leaves to go back to the city, the children are once again barefoot and running about with very little to cover their beautiful bodies except their intricate tattoos. 

The Embera connect to material forces or energy called jai, which are seen as the essence of natural phenomena, people, and animals. The shaman is the intermediary that assures a balance between all these forces. The Embera honor the Mother of Fish and the mothers of all the other animals. Shamanistic rituals include the healing of the earth at sowing time, the chicha cantada at harvest time, and the Song of Jai, when people are ill. The Embera have an intimate knowledge of the medicinal, toxicological and hallucinogenic properties of plants. 

The Embera honor their ancestors, whose memories they hold dear. In most cases they do not have defined rulers, but enjoy considering that all members of the tribe are equal in making decisions for the whole.