Balseria Demo at International Indigenous Day in Chichica - 1

Описание: The Balseria is a four-day festival and Ngäbe traditional sport. The sport consists of two players, who take turns throwing a four-foot-long balsa stick at their opponent's legs. The objective is to hit the opponent below the knees until he can no longer continue. Opponents meet before the match to decide how many sticks will be thrown by each (10 being few, 40 being a lot, and 20 being average). There is no tournament structure and matches are initiated by challenge and request.

The event is initiated when one town invites to host and challenge another town; this is typically precipitated by a good harvest or by a reciprocal obligation to host. Once a date is selected, the host presents the challenged with a knotted rope—each knot represents a day and the rope is used as a countdown for the event. In the weeks leading up to balseria, participants in each town blow animal horns and other makeshift trumpets to announce the imminence of the event.

Attendees of balseria typically dress in traditional Ngäbe clothing and colors and wear feathers, animal skins, and even entire animals on their backs. Some men also wear the woman's traditional dress, or nagua, to hide their legs during the match. Horns, whistles, and improvised trumpets are ubiquitous.

Balseria has a negative reputation in Panama outside of the Comarca and is officially outlawed by the government. The general attitude is that balseria is a drunken, violent mess. According to the Ngäbes, while alcohol and violence are present during balseria, it is primarily a cultural event, a unique sport and a chance to demonstrate pride in their heritage.