Balsaria

Me, throwing the balsa

Balseria is a very special festival in the Ngabe culture. I have heard it started when one family would invite another during good harvest years. They would share their food or else it would go bad. Nowadays, it is a large gathering of people from all over. People come to drink, fight and compete with other communities. It´s also a good chance to put on some colorful clothing and that dead cat skin that never seems to go with any of your other outfits.
There are a few things to do at Balseria, which usually lasts for about four days (I could only stand it for about four hours). They drink Chicha Fuerte (strong juice). It´s usually made from corn, it tastes sweet but has LOTS of alcohol in it. People drink this for the whole time they are there and some get very drunk. While at Balseria, you can also fight. This is a good way to mangle your face and possibly win a wife! You can also throw the Balsa, which hurts much less than bare knuckle fighting, and is actually pretty fun. During the whole festival, people will be making as much noise as possible from homemade contraptions (anything from cow horns to PVC whistles to turtle shells).

They play a game, which I tried, where one man throws a balsa stick at another´s legs. I didn´t get hit too bad, but I saw some very nasty welts.

Men wear anything from a Nagua (the dress that only women wear, see above) to colorful hats (see above) to dried animal skins, usually cats.

Fist fighting is very common among men and women.

Man ready to throw the Balsa.

Once someone throws the balsa, people rush to grab it so they can be next to throw. Once you throw, the next person throws at you.

Churches are discouraging Balseria because of the drinking, but it is an important part of their culture. Despite the gruesome violence of it, I am glad I went.