CULTURE OF PEOPLE OF SOUTHEASTERN PANAMA 39 



speaking; English, having traveled extensively in England and the 

 United States. The "tame" Cuna on the upper Chico River will 

 guide travelers over the trail through passes to the Caribbean coast, 

 avoiding the region occupied by the wilder tribal groups who have 

 established a " deadline " at the Membrillo River, beyond which 

 Negroes and other traders may not pass. The Pacific coast Choco, 

 together with the many Indian, Negro, and oriental half-breed 

 Cholos, accept intruders on a more friendly basis, and the wares 

 of the traders, such as iron-pointed spears, are everywhere in evi- 

 dence. La Palma, near the entrance to Darien Harbor, has in its 

 population some 200 negroids, some heavy featured Cholo half- 

 breed Indians, one Spanish family, and several Chinese storekeep- 

 ers. The " deadline " between the Tule and Negro territory on the 

 Caribbean coast is more definitely marked racially than cultural!}* - , 

 the Tule accepting trade wares, but restricting the incoming Negroes 

 to the west of Point San Bias on the Gulf of San Bias, so that 

 villages to the west, such as Portobelo, Nombre de Dios, Palenque, 

 St. Isabela, and Viento Frio, have a predominating Negro element 

 which is not found to the east of the Point. 



Domestic utensils and implements of vyood. — Among the woods 

 most useful to the Darien Indians is that of the black-grained 

 chonta palm. It is used in the manufacture of various domestic 

 implements, such as wooden spoons or stirrers, rice pounders, 

 pestles of various shapes and designs, boat paddles, weaving paddles, 

 shafts for spears and arrows, seats, and various forms of artistic 

 carvings of animals, birds, and of the human figure. 



Among the wood implements in the Museum collection used by 

 the Choco of the Pacific slope are various pestles, paddles, and the 

 hundreds of carved and painted images that are partly utilitarian 

 and partly religious in their use. The Choco frequently make uss 

 of the balsa wood and to a much greater extent than do the Carib- 

 bean coast tribes. This may point to a difference in the local flora, 

 as it is so easily worked as to be preferable to the harder woods, 

 provided the supply be plentiful. It is very soft and not durable, 

 being subject to the almost positive attack of the termites or white 

 ants. These " ants " eat out the heart of the soft wood, leaving 

 only the outer shell. The Choco nevertheless employ this wood to a 

 great extent. 



In the preparation of foods, the manufacture of bast mats, in 

 weaving, and the varied utilitarian and industrial arts, many types 

 of wood pestles and paddles are employed. In the museum collec- 

 tions of the Choco industrial objects is a wooden pestle (Cat. No. 

 327503), 42 cm. (16.5 in.) in length and 8.5 cm. (3.3 in.) in basal 

 diameter, carved with a machete from red wood lighter in color 



