| The Ngabe, Panama's largest indigenous group, rely on natural resources to provide food, shelter, goods, and medicine. Many Ngabe 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. Ngabe 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 Ngabe (Hazlett 1986; Joly et al. 1987; 1990; Koshear 1995). My research documents the names and uses of medicinal plants by the Ngabe 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 Ngabe 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. |
