Bokota people

The Bokota, also called Bogotá^[2] or Bugleres, are an Indigenous people of Panama. They live in Bocas del Toro and north of Veraguas.^[3] As the 2010 Census, there were 26,871 Bogota living in Panama.^[4] They are the smallest tribe in Panama and live in the west of the country.^[3] Traditionally they spoke the Bokota language, a dialect of Buglere.

Bokota

Total population
26,871[1]
Regions with significant populations
Panama (Bocas del Toro)
Languages
Bogota language[2]
Religion
Traditional tribal religion
Related ethnic groups
Ngöbe Buglé by marriage

Culture

The Bokota dedicate themselves to livestock, fishing, and hunting. They still use weapons like bows and arrows and spears or fishnets. Men wear shirts of manta-sucia, while women dress similar to the Ngobes. They wear necklaces, facial paint of black and red, and shiny hair combs. They make hats of vegetable fibers, backpacks, baskets, and daily dresses called cobo. They live in round houses on stilts. They are monogamous, and the Bokotas have often intermarried with the Ngöbe Buglés, another Indigenous tribe of Panama. There are still fullblood families of Bokota. Many traditional ceremonies are maintained, including the ceremony of lightning, which prevents lightning from striking their houses.

Language

They speak the Bokota language, also called Buglere,^[3] which is one of the Chibchan languages.^[2]

See also

• Ngäbe–Buglé people