Long before the Spanish founded Panama City, the isthmus was home to indigenous peoples who are still very much here today — governing their own territories, making world-renowned art, and welcoming visitors. Panama officially recognises seven indigenous peoples. This guide introduces the three you're most likely to encounter as a visitor, and points you to where their culture and crafts turn up in and around Casco Viejo. It expands on our mola art guide, which covers the Guna textile tradition in depth.
Panama's seven indigenous peoples
Panama recognises seven indigenous groups — the Guna (Kuna), Emberá, Wounaan, Ngäbe, Buglé, Naso Tjërdi, and Bri Bri — several with their own semi-autonomous territories called comarcas. Together they make up roughly a tenth of Panama's population and preserve languages, governance systems and art forms that predate European contact. Three are especially visible to travellers.
The Guna & the region of Guna Yala
The Guna (Kuna)
Guna Yala · San BlasThe Guna are Panama's most internationally recognised indigenous people, governing Guna Yala — the archipelago of San Blas and the Caribbean coastline beside it. After a 1925 revolution they won a remarkable degree of self-rule, and today they run their islands, tourism and traditions on their own terms.
Their signature art is the mola — a layered reverse-appliqué textile panel sewn by Guna women and worn as part of their traditional dress. Molas are the single most recognisable piece of Panamanian craft, and you'll find authentic ones for sale from Guna artisans in Casco Viejo.
The Emberá & Wounaan — people of the rainforest
The Emberá & Wounaan
Darién & Chagres RiverThe Emberá and the closely related Wounaan live in the rainforests of the Darién and along rivers such as the Chagres, within easy reach of Panama City. They are renowned for tightly woven chunga palm baskets, carved tagua (vegetable ivory) and cocobolo wood, and traditional jagua body art.
Emberá communities along the Chagres welcome visitors for the day — you travel by dugout canoe, share a meal, and see music and dance in the village. It's one of the most rewarding cultural day trips from the city; see our Emberá Village Tour.
The Ngäbe-Buglé — Panama's largest indigenous group
The Ngäbe-Buglé
Western highlandsThe Ngäbe and Buglé are the most numerous of Panama's indigenous peoples, living mainly in the western highlands (Chiriquí, Veraguas and Bocas del Toro) within the country's largest comarca. Ngäbe women are known for their brightly coloured nagua dresses and for beaded collars called chaquiras, which you'll sometimes see sold alongside molas.
Traditional crafts & where to find them in Casco Viejo
You don't have to travel to a comarca to encounter indigenous Panama — much of its craft converges on Casco Viejo's shops and markets:
- Molas — Guna textile panels, sold by Guna women who often sit and sew as they sell.
- Chunga baskets & tagua carvings — Emberá and Wounaan work, among the finest in the Americas.
- Chaquira beadwork — Ngäbe collars and jewellery.
Our guide to shopping in Casco Viejo covers where to buy authentic pieces and pay fair prices, and the mola guide shows how to spot a real mola from a machine-made copy.
How to experience indigenous culture from Panama City
- Meet Guna artisans in Casco Viejo — buy a mola directly, or learn the technique in our Kuna Mola Art Workshop.
- Visit an Emberá village on a day trip up the Chagres by dugout canoe.
- Travel to Guna Yala for a multi-day San Blas experience hosted by the Guna themselves.
The full picture: Panama's story is indigenous, colonial, and everything since. A colonial walking tour of Casco Viejo explains how these worlds collided and combined — the perfect companion to meeting the cultures that were here first.
Frequently asked questions
How many indigenous groups are there in Panama?
Seven officially recognised peoples: Guna (Kuna), Emberá, Wounaan, Ngäbe, Buglé, Naso Tjërdi and Bri Bri. The Ngäbe-Buglé are the most numerous; the Guna are best known abroad for their molas.
Who are the Guna people of Panama?
An indigenous people who govern the autonomous region of Guna Yala (the San Blas islands and adjacent coast), famous for mola textile art and for their strong political self-rule.
Can you visit an indigenous community near Panama City?
Yes — Emberá communities on the Chagres River are a day trip from the city, Guna Yala (San Blas) is a popular multi-day trip, and you can meet Guna artisans and buy molas in Casco Viejo itself.
Meet the culture first-hand
Learn mola-making from a Guna artisan, or travel up the Chagres to an Emberá village — living indigenous Panama, from Casco Viejo.
Mola Workshop →