THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Panama - page 356

Three communities are involved in eco-tourism projects, which give visitors the chance to
learn about medicinal plants, Naso history and culture, hike in the rainforest, make and travel
on a traditional bamboo raft (balsa), and visit the capital, Seiyik. The Naso are warm and wel-
coming and the spectacular river trips set against the brooding backdrop of the Talamanca
range alone make a visit worthwhile, though to do the place and the people justice you should
plan at least a two-night stay. Among the many pernicious effects of the recent controversial
hydroelectric dam communities now suffer from periodic daytime noise - the grinding en-
gines of construction trucks or buses transporting workers to and from the dam. Once on the
WEKSO trail or up in Sieyik, traffic disturbance is thankfully absent, as it is at night.
THE NASO KINGDOM
When the Spanish arrived in the region, the Naso (or Teribe) were both numerous and
widespread, but centuries of conflict with the conquistadors and other tribes decimated
their numbers, which declined further in the early twentieth century due to tuberculosis.
Of the remaining 3500 Naso, around a third have been assimilated into the dominant Latin
culture, living and working in Changuinola, while the rest mostly inhabit settlements along
the Río San San and Río Teribe. Teribe is believed to be a corruption of “Tjër Di”, mean-
ing water of Tjër, the grandmotherly guardian spirit of the Naso, one of the more tangible
traces of a sorely eroded culture. Since the Naso language is not taught at school, only an
estimated twenty percent still know how to speak it, with Spanish often the preferred lan-
guage even in the villages, though the Naso legends and colourful characters that populate
them are still widely recited.
The more immediate threat to the Naso lies in the form of a hydroelectric dam under
construction upstream on the Río Bonyik, a tributary of the Teribe, which has ripped the
kingdom apart. In 2004, the reigning monarch, Tito Santana , approved the project without
proper consultation, for which he was deposed and chased into exile. His uncle, Valentín
Santana , who took over, garnered the support of national and international environmental-
ists and human rights groups in a battle to stop the dam and safeguard their ancestral lands
and livelihood. However, as the Panamanian government refused to recognize his author-
ity, the Naso were forced to elect a new king - Alexis - from the Santana dynasty in 2011.
Since he too failed either to stand up to the hydroelectric company or make any progress
with the Naso's long-standing petition to establish their own comarca , he too has now been
ousted. As the dam nears completion and a second project is in the pipeline, time is running
out for the Naso.
COMMUNITY TOURS: THE NASO VILLAGES
General information Lodgings are basic: rudimentary wooden beds with mosquito nets,
sporadic water and you'll need a torch as there's no electricity. Meals consist of simple tra-