Balsaria

I love indigenous festivals. Being there I can wonder at the people celebrating and the traditions that may be centuries old. People are proud and loud. They're having fun, doing their thing, welcoming me in to see. 

Seriously, time to fight.

Balsaria is a traditional festival for the Ngäbe indigenous people. The term Balsaria comes from the word for the balsa tree. Large sticks made from balsa wood are used to fight, turns taken throwing at the legs of another man. The two fighters will face each other, dancing around to gain the best shot at avoiding or throwing. Traditionally the fights occur between representatives from community groups and the prize... get this... is the other man's woman. That's right, they fight for wives. 

The battlefield

The scene for Balsaria looks like this: a large field filled with people standing around individual fights. The perimeter of the field is women serving soup and the beloved liquid courage, fermented corn beverage chicha. Spontaneous refereed fist fights break out among the most drunk men. Men wear naguas, the traditional dress for women, along with hats decorated with feathers and colorful fabric, and dead stuffed animals slung on their backs. There is a noise being constantly emitted that can be heard a mile away, like something from a World Cup soccer match. Cow horns, turtle shells, and shells from the beach are blows to make the ruckus. 

             

     I found this hipster with fake glasses

Just a jaguar, no big deal

Making some noise

Being thrown at

Throwing the balsa stick. Note man in dress with dead animal on back.

Life can be rough for Ngäbes here in the mountains. It's either scalding hot or pouring down rain. Sometimes you cow falls into a hole and your crops won't grow. Well, this is the once a year celebration to proudly be a Ngäbe - a true man - who can carry twice what you can, up hill, for twice as long. And he'll beat you up to prove it.

Look at more photos here.