Along the River: Traditions of the Embera

In the Darién Province of Panama, along the winding waters of the Chucunaque, Tuira, and Balsas Rivers, live the Embera—whose name simply means “the people.” Their villages sit just beyond the riverbanks, typically on small rises surrounded by forest and farmland. Most communities consist of five to twenty stilted homes, open-air with tall thatched roofs and spaced apart in quiet symmetry. Around the village, dense jungle gives way to banana and plantain groves—crops the Embera cultivate and sell to support basic needs like motors, nets, or tools.

Daily life still follows a rhythm shaped by tradition. Men may wear their hair in a bowl cut and, away from town, dress simply in a minimal loincloth. Women wear brightly patterned wrap skirts at the waist and leave their torsos uncovered in the village, with long black hair falling naturally over their shoulders. Children go barefoot and bare-skinned until adolescence. The simplicity reflects something deeper—a way of living that remains closely tied to place.

The Embera also carry a long tradition of body art. A dark dye made from the genip tree berry is used to coat the skin, not only for aesthetics, but to help repel insects. On special occasions, the same dye is applied in intricate geometric patterns, pressed onto the body using hand-carved balsa wood stamps. Silver jewelry—often made from coins passed down through generations—is worn with pride. Many of these coins date back to the 1800s, punched with a hole and threaded into necklaces worn by women to mark celebration, lineage, and memory.

In a world where speed and noise are constant, the Embera way offers another kind of time—one rooted in land, language, and the slow passing of tradition from hand to hand.