La Chunga, Darien, Panama
Early this morning, at 5:30 a.m., we hopped on board four cayucos – dugout canoes – built by the Choco Embera people. After a wonderful ride up the Sambu River, we reached the village of La Chunga. Beautiful, shy, smiling children greeted us and held our hands while we walked towards the central plaza.
The Embera hunt, fish, and raise vegetables and yard animals, but lately they are making some extra income by selling their wonderful handicrafts. Men make carvings out of wood and vegetable ivory, and women weave baskets out of plant fibers. These baskets were originally meant to be used by women and children for fishing, culinary use, and to keep agricultural or collected products. Some are so tightly woven that they may even be used to hold water.
The raw fiber comes from a palm known as chunga, hence the village’s name. The fresh fronds are boiled in hot water until the green color from the chlorophyll fades away and the fiber turns white and malleable (note braided fibers in the center of the photo). The different colors are obtained by dying the original white fibers with the bark of various trees, and with flowers, berries, and leaves.
Early this morning, at 5:30 a.m., we hopped on board four cayucos – dugout canoes – built by the Choco Embera people. After a wonderful ride up the Sambu River, we reached the village of La Chunga. Beautiful, shy, smiling children greeted us and held our hands while we walked towards the central plaza.
The Embera hunt, fish, and raise vegetables and yard animals, but lately they are making some extra income by selling their wonderful handicrafts. Men make carvings out of wood and vegetable ivory, and women weave baskets out of plant fibers. These baskets were originally meant to be used by women and children for fishing, culinary use, and to keep agricultural or collected products. Some are so tightly woven that they may even be used to hold water.
The raw fiber comes from a palm known as chunga, hence the village’s name. The fresh fronds are boiled in hot water until the green color from the chlorophyll fades away and the fiber turns white and malleable (note braided fibers in the center of the photo). The different colors are obtained by dying the original white fibers with the bark of various trees, and with flowers, berries, and leaves.
