Ethnobotany of the Ngabe people of Panama
(Book - Regular Print)

ProQuest Document ID : 868707032

Advisor ; Philip D. Young

Thesis (M.A.) -- Prescott College, 2011

The Ngäbe, Panama's largest indigenous group, rely on natural resources to provide food, shelter, goods, and medicine. Many Ngäbe live in remote areas with limited access to modern healthcare services. Others do not have financial resources to visit health centers or confidence in the care they will receive there. Medicinal plants are used as an alternative to treat a variety of ailments and illnesses. Ngäbe botanicos , traditional healers, use their intricate knowledge of plants to treat or heal others. Few studies exist documenting the names and uses of medicinal plants used by the Ngäbe (Hazlett 1986; Joly et al. 1987; 1990; Koshear 1995). My research documents the names and uses of medicinal plants by the Ngäbe in the Bocas del Toro region of Panama. For this study, I collected information on medicinal plants through participant observation and plant collecting methods. I photographed, recorded names and treatment details for 160 different plants found in the Bocas archipelago and Northern Valiente Peninsula with guidance from a local Ngäbe botanico. The information collected adds to the knowledge of indigenous plant use and may aid in protecting native plants in the Bocas del Toro archipelago.