Visitors from indigenous villages
October 2, light rain in the morning, then clear (Day 76 Stop 19)
After waiting for a long time, the "house arrest" was finally lifted and people could finally go ashore.
THE PORT WE CALL AT IS BALBOA, WHICH IS THE TRANSSHIPMENT PORT OF THE PANAMA CANAL AND THE TRADING PORT OF PANAMA CITY. It is located at the south mouth of the Panama Canal, on the Pacific side, 3 kilometers from the center of the capital Panama City. It is one of the important ports of Panama and its capital, and is also known as the crossroads of the world due to the navigation of the canal.
The old town is a World Heritage Site, with vast rainforests and indigenous villages on the outskirts, making it a charming port destination.
Get up at six in the morning, eat breakfast at half past six, look out the window, it's raining, it's so good!
Meet and depart at 7:45, our attractions today are J and A lines.
The itinerary is as follows: "Panama City Half-Day Sightseeing; a walk in Balboa Aihau Old Town; Communicate with the ancestors (i.e. indigenous or aboriginal) here. Visit the indigenous villages here and feel the quaint folk customs. Coming here, you are greeted by a primitive ethnic tribe, traditional wooden houses, traditional furniture, etc., displayed in front of people's eyes. The local people's singing, dancing, etiquette and lifestyle will leave us with an unforgettable memory. ..., to participate in this route, we can take a canoe, through the rainforest, about forty minutes or so, to feel the natural scenery of Panama. "I'm looking forward to this "wooden boat trip".
This time, we still didn't have a local Chinese guide, and we went with the Japanese on board.
When I got to the car, I learned that the tour route had completely changed, and I don't know why. Instead of taking part in a rainforest walk by wooden boat, visit an indigenous village. Everyone is very sorry and angry about the arbitrary behavior of the ship, and I am so depressed. I joked with Mr. Zhang: No wonder our car number is always X, it turns out to be unknown?
The car drove us for about thirty minutes to a village on the outskirts of the city. This is a gathering place for the local aborigines! Judging from their appearance and dress, the people here are neither white nor black people. The Indians are not quite like it either. Since they are ancestors, then Indo-European hybrids should definitely not be.
But the data is as follows: Panama has a population of 3,408,600 (2010); of which 65% are Indo-Europeans, 13% are blacks, 11% are whites and 10% are Indians. So are the people here the remaining 1%, or who else? Who exactly the other 1% are, there is no answer.
I have always naively believed that the origin of blacks and whites in the early years of the Americas was such that blacks were the descendants of black slaves who were sold here by colonialists for coolies; And the white man is the descendant of the colonialists. And from this a large number of Indo-European mestizos were produced. Of course, with the progress and development of society, today's blacks and whites, in addition to the descendants of black slaves and colonizers, are more the result of the voluntary migration of the world's population.
The village appears to be an underdeveloped area. In a large, simple house similar to that belonging to a rural village committee in China, chairs are placed in the middle, surrounded by a circle of stalls of handmade fabrics. Tourists arrive, and the local women warmly welcome them, in addition to shaking hands and hugging. Then each person offered a large coconut with a straw, and people held the coconut and sucked it to their heart's content, and the fresh coconut tasted refreshing and delicious, a little sweet and sour. A person who may be a "village official" (perhaps from the country's tourism department) gives an introduction to the situation of the village and local customs. Visitors visit this small indoor "free market" as they listen to introductions, some buying their favorite folk crafts, others learning to do these needlework with the locals. At the same time, at the window of this large house, many children were crowded, laughing and looking inside. Outside the house, in front of the house, behind the house, and under the trees on the roadside, many local villagers gathered, men, women and children, adults and children were watching the liveliness.
According to reports, it is more respectful of women and advocating mountains. The local women have a higher social status. These indigenous people believe that women are the key to their reproduction. And the peaks are like women's breasts. The rivers and streams in the mountains, the flora and fauna are the milk of the mother and the food used to nourish the human being. That's a good idea, it's not a good idea at all! This is really a primitive and simple environmental concept. Those of us in modern developed regions should be ashamed of the wanton squandering of resources and destroying the environment.
The village has a relatively serious incidence of albinism, and according to the relevant United Nations agencies, it is the most serious and concentrated area of albinism in the world. The reason is said to have been caused by the marriage of close relatives due to the inconvenience of these ancestors interacting with other regions a long time ago. Now, although transportation is developed and they are allowed to go out and combine with people in other areas, they already carry this cause in their genes, so there are still people with albinism. Local people do not discriminate against these persons with albinism. Instead, it is believed that people with albinism are a symbol of the moon. Whenever a lunar eclipse occurs, only people with albinism can come out, and everyone else is locked up in the house and cannot come out.
Homosexuality is also widespread in these villages, which, according to local guides, have one of the highest concentrations of homosexuality in the world. But it is not considered inappropriate and will not be discriminated against.
While many people were still enjoying the handicrafts in that house, Teacher Ouyang, Mao Mao, and Guo Feng and I ran around the rest of the village.
The village is located in a hilly area, with houses scattered high and low on the land, some on high slopes and some under dirt slopes, and the roads are also undulating. Tall coconut palms and tropical plants are everywhere, as well as many haphazardly planted flowers and plants that bloom along the roadside. The people here are very warm and can see that it is their nature to be friendly, simple and kind. We looked at the primary school, kindergarten, and church in their village, and although the housing facilities were rudimentary, people were optimistic. Maybe because there are foreigners coming, the children do not attend classes; There were not many children in the kindergarten, and when they saw someone coming, they all ran over and huddled with us to take pictures. There is a lot of space in the church, the innermost is the icon; In the middle there are rows of log benches, low ones; On this side of the door, there is a piano on the right side of the door; There were some people inside praying. The boys here are lively and cute and like to take pictures very much. The little girl looked shy and delicate. When we said we wanted to take pictures with them, many little boys would rush over, laughing and huddling together, their faces all squeezed into shape, which was really cute.
When I came back, I kind of regretted that I should have brought some small gifts for the children here. Because I didn't know this was the case, I wasn't prepared.
We came to the villagers and greeted them with a greeting we had just learned: "Ola"! [hola o (一音) pull (一音)], meaning "hello". They also responded shyly to greet us. We watched them at work, amused the children in their arms, and observed their homes. The life of the villagers here does not seem to be very rich, but there is no problem with food and clothing, and the housing is very rudimentary. Probably because it is tropical, the house is not very tight, and the wind is leaking. The electrical equipment in the house includes refrigerators, washing machines, TVs, rice cookers, etc., but they are all old and some are rusty.
There are also some interesting phenomena that puzzle us. On the streets of the village, you can always see many shoes hanging on high wires, which are definitely not for drying, but probably thrown on them mischievously. This requires a good head accuracy to throw it on. What a naughty child did this!
Seeing these simple aborigines reminded me of the Classic of Mountains and Seas. It is said that the Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Book of Changes are two strange books in ancient China. The I Ching is known as the wordless book of heaven, and the Classic of Mountains and Seas is known as the earliest geographical book on the mainland. Later, some people found that the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" is not only a Chinese geography book, but also the earliest world geography book.
I once read a very influential magazine, saying that a few years ago, an American female scientist, with the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", according to the description in the book, investigated many places on the American continent, and after field investigation, found that the mountain shape and landform described in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" are exactly the same as many places on the American continent. Based on this, it is concluded that in ancient times, the Chinese at that time had already reached the Americas and multiplied there.
There are also experts who have verified that at that time, not only were there no blacks and whites in this land, but even the so-called indigenous Indians were not the earliest inhabitants here.
Now seeing these people, I believe in this corollary very much, these people are too much like Chinese. Or much like the inhabitants of the southeast coast of China or some fraternal peoples in the south. Thinking of the handicrafts I saw in the Dominican port a few days ago, some of the handicrafts have patterns that resemble the hieroglyphs of the Dongba people in Yunnan on the mainland. It reinforces my belief that Chinese has been in the Americas since ancient times.
I was with villagers and policewomen
Me and Mao Mao with the villagers
Look out the window at the lively children
Residence
Village street
Handicrafts on display
visitor
Shoes on wires.
village
Teacher Ouyang and the children
kindergarten
Church in the village
Shoes on wires
Women who do domestic work
Teacher Ouyang and mother and son
Villagers building houses
On the way, take pictures in the car window
The policemen who accompanied us on the tour were several in front of and behind the car.
Shizuichi-san translated for everyone