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64-555: Guaymí is an outdated name, derived by the Spanish colonists from the Buglere term for this people ( guaymiri ). Local newspapers and other media often alternatively spell the name Ngäbe as Ngobe or Ngöbe because Spanish does not contain the sound represented by ä , a low-back rounded a , slightly higher than the English aw in the word saw . Spanish speakers hear ä as either an o or an

128-491: A datum . For example, hourly measurements may be averaged over a full Metonic 19-year lunar cycle to determine the mean sea level at an official tide gauge . Still-water level or still-water sea level (SWL) is the level of the sea with motions such as wind waves averaged out. Then MSL implies the SWL further averaged over a period of time such that changes due to, e.g., the tides , also have zero mean. Global MSL refers to

192-491: A topographic map variations in elevation are shown by contour lines . A mountain's highest point or summit is typically illustrated with the AMSL height in metres, feet or both. In unusual cases where a land location is below sea level, such as Death Valley, California , the elevation AMSL is negative. It is often necessary to compare the local height of the mean sea surface with a "level" reference surface, or geodetic datum, called

256-440: A "mean sea level" is difficult because of the many factors that affect sea level. Instantaneous sea level varies substantially on several scales of time and space. This is because the sea is in constant motion, affected by the tides, wind , atmospheric pressure, local gravitational differences, temperature, salinity , and so forth. The mean sea level at a particular location may be calculated over an extended time period and used as

320-670: A . Ngäbe means "people" in their native language of Ngäbere . Numerous Ngäbe have migrated to Costa Rica in search of work on the coffee fincas . Ngäbere and Buglere are distinct languages in the Chibchan language family. Ngäbe territory originally extended from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea , though there was never an empire or a distinctive “Ngäbe territory”. Most Ngäbe lived in dispersed villages, which were run by chiefs and influential families. Few, if any, Ngäbe occupied

384-409: A defined barometric pressure . Generally, the pressure used to set the altimeter is the barometric pressure that would exist at MSL in the region being flown over. This pressure is referred to as either QNH or "altimeter" and is transmitted to the pilot by radio from air traffic control (ATC) or an automatic terminal information service (ATIS). Since the terrain elevation is also referenced to MSL,

448-432: A few metres, in timeframes ranging from minutes to months: Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by 15–25 cm (6–10 in), with an increase of 2.3 mm (0.091 in) per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had ever risen over at least the past 3,000 years. The rate accelerated to 4.62 mm (0.182 in)/yr for the decade 2013–2022. Climate change due to human activities

512-462: A fist fight. On the fourth day, the challenged leave, and the hosts take care of the inebriated and injured, who are unable to leave. Attendees of balseria typically dress in traditional Ngäbe clothing and colors. They 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 widely used. Outside of

576-462: 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. A good harvest or

640-413: A reciprocal obligation to host are typical catalysts. 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. On the first day of balseria , the hosts receive

704-463: A sharp reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, this may increase to hundreds of millions in the latter decades of the century. Local factors like tidal range or land subsidence will greatly affect the severity of impacts. For instance, sea level rise in the United States is likely to be two to three times greater than the global average by the end of the century. Yet, of the 20 countries with

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768-483: A spatial average over the entire ocean area, typically using large sets of tide gauges and/or satellite measurements. One often measures the values of MSL with respect to the land; hence a change in relative MSL or ( relative sea level ) can result from a real change in sea level, or from a change in the height of the land on which the tide gauge operates, or both. In the UK, the ordnance datum (the 0 metres height on UK maps)

832-499: A xenophobic, folk-style Christianity. Practitioners are noted as wary and resentful of Latinos, and do not drink or practice balseria . The Ngabe who practiced Mama Tada created a stronger sense of brotherhood. This religion is believed to have contributed to the Ngäbe's unified effort to earn their own autonomous area. The Balseria is a four-day festival and Ngäbe traditional sport. The sport consists of two players, who take turns throwing

896-458: Is almost never discussed, even during birth. When the baby is deemed healthy, people consider it safe to acknowledge the pregnancy. Many women have traditionally given birth in their homes, with the help of their mother or a midwife . The government has established some women's clinics in Ngobe territory, seeking to improve women's health. The staff have had to adapt some of their practices to accommodate

960-585: Is calibrated to the Amsterdam Peil elevation, which dates back to the 1690s. Satellite altimeters have been making precise measurements of sea level since the launch of TOPEX/Poseidon in 1992. A joint mission of NASA and CNES , TOPEX/Poseidon was followed by Jason-1 in 2001 and the Ocean Surface Topography Mission on the Jason-2 satellite in 2008. Height above mean sea level ( AMSL )

1024-427: Is due to change in either the volume of water in the world's oceans or the volume of the oceanic basins . Two major mechanisms are currently causing eustatic sea level rise. First, shrinking land ice, such as mountain glaciers and polar ice sheets, is releasing water into the oceans. Second, as ocean temperatures rise, the warmer water expands. Many factors can produce short-term changes in sea level, typically within

1088-428: Is led by a general congressional president and three regional congressional presidents. The congress works in conjunction with a general Chief, three Regional Chiefs (regional level), and seven Local Chiefs (district level). The Chief acts mostly as a voice of the people but can hold considerable and influential power in that capacity. The Comarca Ngäbe-Bugle is approximately 6,700 square kilometers, encompassing areas of

1152-451: Is mainly caused by human-induced climate change . When temperatures rise, mountain glaciers and polar ice sheets melt, increasing the amount of water in the oceans, while the existing seawater also expands with heat. Because most of human settlement and infrastructure was built in response to a more-normalized sea level with limited expected change, populations affected by sea level rise will need to invest in climate adaptation to mitigate

1216-451: Is maintained. In the higher elevations, such livestock is supplemented by hunting (where permitted). The primary crop for the Ngäbe on the Atlantic slopes is green bananas. In order to survive, many Ngäbe resort to working in the cash economy. They pick coffee, work on large cattle ranches, and on banana plantations to make cash. Also, some Ngäbe sell traditional beaded necklaces on the side of

1280-547: Is now Veraguas Province . Urracá became famous by defeating the Spaniards time after time. He forced Diego de Albitez, a captain of the Spanish, to sign a peace treaty in 1522. He was betrayed and sent in chains to the town of Nombre de Dios on the Atlantic coast. According to historian Bartolomé de las Casas , Urracá escaped and made his way back to the mountains, vowing to fight the Spaniards unto death. He fulfilled his vow. Urracá

1344-411: Is the elevation (on the ground) or altitude (in the air) of an object, relative to a reference datum for mean sea level (MSL). It is also used in aviation, where some heights are recorded and reported with respect to mean sea level (contrast with flight level ), and in the atmospheric sciences , and in land surveying . An alternative is to base height measurements on a reference ellipsoid approximating

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1408-723: Is the main cause. Between 1993 and 2018, melting ice sheets and glaciers accounted for 44% of sea level rise , with another 42% resulting from thermal expansion of water . Sea level rise lags behind changes in the Earth 's temperature by many decades, and sea level rise will therefore continue to accelerate between now and 2050 in response to warming that has already happened. What happens after that depends on human greenhouse gas emissions . If there are very deep cuts in emissions, sea level rise would slow between 2050 and 2100. It could then reach by 2100 slightly over 30 cm (1 ft) from now and approximately 60 cm (2 ft) from

1472-741: Is the mean sea level measured at Newlyn in Cornwall between 1915 and 1921. Before 1921, the vertical datum was MSL at the Victoria Dock, Liverpool . Since the times of the Russian Empire , in Russia and its other former parts, now independent states, the sea level is measured from the zero level of Kronstadt Sea-Gauge. In Hong Kong, "mPD" is a surveying term meaning "metres above Principal Datum" and refers to height of 0.146 m (5.7 in) above chart datum and 1.304 m (4 ft 3.3 in) below

1536-534: Is used, for example, as a chart datum in cartography and marine navigation , or, in aviation, as the standard sea level at which atmospheric pressure is measured to calibrate altitude and, consequently, aircraft flight levels . A common and relatively straightforward mean sea-level standard is instead a long-term average of tide gauge readings at a particular reference location. Sea levels can be affected by many factors and are known to have varied greatly over geological time scales . Current sea level rise

1600-641: The Bokota people . This article related to the Indigenous languages of the Americas is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sea level Mean sea level ( MSL , often shortened to sea level ) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth 's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datum  – a standardised geodetic datum  – that

1664-643: The geoid . In the absence of external forces, the local mean sea level would coincide with this geoid surface, being an equipotential surface of the Earth's gravitational field which, in itself, does not conform to a simple sphere or ellipsoid and exhibits gravity anomalies such as those measured by NASA's GRACE satellites . In reality, the geoid surface is not directly observed, even as a long-term average, due to ocean currents, air pressure variations, temperature and salinity variations, etc. The location-dependent but time-persistent separation between local mean sea level and

1728-973: The 19th century. With high emissions it would instead accelerate further, and could rise by 1.0 m ( 3 + 1 ⁄ 3  ft) or even 1.6 m ( 5 + 1 ⁄ 3  ft) by 2100. In the long run, sea level rise would amount to 2–3 m (7–10 ft) over the next 2000 years if warming stays to its current 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) over the pre-industrial past. It would be 19–22 metres (62–72 ft) if warming peaks at 5 °C (9.0 °F). Rising seas affect every coastal and island population on Earth. This can be through flooding, higher storm surges , king tides , and tsunamis . There are many knock-on effects. They lead to loss of coastal ecosystems like mangroves . Crop yields may reduce because of increasing salt levels in irrigation water. Damage to ports disrupts sea trade. The sea level rise projected by 2050 will expose places currently inhabited by tens of millions of people to annual flooding. Without

1792-538: The Cerro Colorado mining project put Ngobe-Bugle ancestral lands in peril. Part of their area is under risk to be flooded by hydroelectricity project Barro Blanco . Scores of Ngabe men, women, and children were arrested in response to protest against the project. Buglere language Buglere , also known as Bugle , Murire and Muoy , is a Chibchan language of Panama closely related to Guaymi . There are two dialects, Sabanero and Bokotá (Bogota), spoken by

1856-822: The Comarca, balseria has a negative reputation in Panama; it is officially outlawed by the government. The general attitude is that balseria is a drunken, violent mess. According to the Ngäbe, 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. Among all the provinces in Panama, the Comarca Ngäbe-Bugle consistently score lowest in terms of human development , education, income, and social and economic investment indices. They are also most recently second lowest in life expectancy and employment rate. Some facts: Development projects like

1920-411: The Comarca. Spanish missionaries introduced Roman Catholicism in the early 1600s. Since the late 19th century, Protestant, Mormon and Evangelical missionaries of various types have also worked among the people. While the people are predominately Catholic, some Ngäbe have since adopted various forms of protestant Christian views, including: The British Methodist Church established a mission field among

1984-555: The Guaymi Indians about 1926-27, under the leadership of the Rev. Ephraim S. Alphonse (1896-1995). Born locally on the island of Carenero , in Bocas del Toro Province , he was the son of John Alphonse, from Martinique , and Carlotha Reid, a native of Bluefields, Nicaragua . Both parents were of African descent. Alphonse first worked in the area as an engineer, but became increasingly interested in

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2048-724: The Guaymi people. He lived, worked and raised his own family among the Valiente people on the Cusapin Peninsula. Working with them to learn the language, he devised a written form and translated the four Gospels of the New Testament and many hymns into the Guaymi dialect. He created a Guaymi Grammar and developed a dictionary in Guaymi, Spanish and English. These were later printed by the Bible Society . Copies of Alphonse's work are held in

2112-677: The Latinos and became part of what are now termed campesinos, or rural Panamanians with indigenous roots. In the early 1970s the Torrijos administration tried to encourage the Ngäbe to form more compact communities by building roads, schools, clinics, and other infrastructure in designated points in what is now the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé . This marked a social change in lifestyle, as formerly dispersed villages and family units did converge and form larger communities. In 1997, after years of struggle with

2176-576: The Panamanian government, the Ngäbe were granted a Comarca, or semi-autonomous area. The majority now live within its boundaries. The Spanish found three distinct Guaymi tribes in what is today's western Panama ; each was named after its chief and each spoke a different language. The chiefs were Natá , in Coclé Province ; Parita in the Azuero Peninsula; and the greatest chief Urracá , in what

2240-775: The archives of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The government honored him with the Order of Vasco Nuñez de Balboa and a Medal of Belisario de Porras Noncomala is the name of a traditional deity. Methodists established a main church in Cusapin and smaller congregations around the Peninsula. The Methodist Church also established a medical clinic in Cusapin. Members of the Bahá’í Faith number around 8,000. Some writings of

2304-580: The average sea level. In France, the Marégraphe in Marseilles measures continuously the sea level since 1883 and offers the longest collated data about the sea level. It is used for a part of continental Europe and the main part of Africa as the official sea level. Spain uses the reference to measure heights below or above sea level at Alicante , while the European Vertical Reference System

2368-416: The best of the day and may feature up to 60 balsas being thrown. After the inaugural match, the rest of the day is informal. Matches are initiated through challenges. The only rules are that no two balseros from the same town can face one another, and players must hit each other below the knees. The "below the knees" rule is enforced by spectators and "teammates" of the players, the implied consequence being

2432-448: The challenged in their town and provide food and drink (generally fermented corn, banana, and palm leaf liquor). The second day consists of much of the same. The unstated goal of both sides is to exhaust the other by festivities before the games on the third day. At dawn on the third day, the best balseros of each town lead a procession to a predetermined location and begin the games by facing one another. The dawn matches are supposed to be

2496-467: The development of large banana plantations successively forced the Ngäbe into the less desirable mountainous regions in the west. Many Ngäbe were never defeated in battle, including the famous cacique Urracá who in the 16th century united nearby communities in a more than seven-year struggle against the Conquistadors. Those Ngäbe who survived on the outskirts of this region began to slowly intermarry with

2560-400: The dresses were introduced by Catholic missionaries for modesty's sake, as the Ngäbe traditionally wore loincloths and little else. The dresses are usually adorned with geometric patterns at the sleeve and neck lines, the waist, and at the bottom of the skirt. The classic Ngäbe geometric pattern is called "pintura" (paint), or "dientes" (teeth), and is said to represent mountains, animal teeth,

2624-436: The early 19th century, the Ngäbe remained in the mountains. In the 21st century, some are slowly assimilating into Panamanian society. The Ngäbe traditionally organized in millions of farms or otherwise lived nomadically in family units. The chiefdoms were run by a chief, who often had an assistant, or cabra , and a council of advisers. In 2012, the Ngäbe adopted a system intended to integrate their traditional government with

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2688-484: The entire Earth, which is what systems such as GPS do. In aviation, the reference ellipsoid known as WGS84 is increasingly used to define heights; however, differences up to 100 metres (328 feet) exist between this ellipsoid height and local mean sea level. Another alternative is to use a geoid -based vertical datum such as NAVD88 and the global EGM96 (part of WGS84). Details vary in different countries. When referring to geographic features such as mountains, on

2752-613: The faith have been translated into the native language. Mama Tada is a Ngäbe religion (some argue a cult), dating from September 1961. The Virgin Mary (and possibly Jesus – there are several stories) allegedly appeared before a Ngäbe woman named Besikö (pronounced "bessy-go") over the Fonseca River . She was given several messages and commands for her people. While the exact commands of the vision have been hotly disputed, they roughly consist of: Besikö, thereafter more commonly known as Mama Chi,

2816-482: The geoid is referred to as (mean) ocean surface topography . It varies globally in a typical range of ±1 m (3 ft). Several terms are used to describe the changing relationships between sea level and dry land. The melting of glaciers at the end of ice ages results in isostatic post-glacial rebound , when land rises after the weight of ice is removed. Conversely, older volcanic islands experience relative sea level rise, due to isostatic subsidence from

2880-590: The global carbon offset goals set by nations at the UN . In February 2012 many Ngöbe protested against the new dam; two were killed in the confrontation and more than 100 injured or arrested. Many international environmental organizations have protested against the project, such as the German organization Rainforest Rescue , which wrote a petition , addressed to the DEG. A woman is considered "sick" ( bren ) while pregnant, and pregnancy

2944-419: The grave as grave goods. After the funeral, some families abstain from eating salt or sugar for four days in order to purify the body. After four days, each family member eats a spoonful of cooked bananas with salt and sugar to break this fast. Since roughly the 1960s, Ngäbe women have worn full-length, short-sleeve dresses called "naguas". They extend from the neck to the ankles. It is widely believed that

3008-624: The greatest exposure to sea level rise, twelve are in Asia , including Indonesia , Bangladesh and the Philippines. The resilience and adaptive capacity of ecosystems and countries also varies, which will result in more or less pronounced impacts. The greatest impact on human populations in the near term will occur in the low-lying Caribbean and Pacific islands . Sea level rise will make many of them uninhabitable later this century. Pilots can estimate height above sea level with an altimeter set to

3072-551: The height of planetary features. Local mean sea level (LMSL) is defined as the height of the sea with respect to a land benchmark, averaged over a period of time long enough that fluctuations caused by waves and tides are smoothed out, typically a year or more. One must adjust perceived changes in LMSL to account for vertical movements of the land, which can occur at rates similar to sea level changes (millimetres per year). Some land movements occur because of isostatic adjustment to

3136-481: The melting of ice sheets at the end of the last ice age . The weight of the ice sheet depresses the underlying land, and when the ice melts away the land slowly rebounds . Changes in ground-based ice volume also affect local and regional sea levels by the readjustment of the geoid and true polar wander . Atmospheric pressure , ocean currents and local ocean temperature changes can affect LMSL as well. Eustatic sea level change (global as opposed to local change)

3200-413: The modern Panamanian system. As such, the Ngäbe have Official Administrative Authorities and Traditional Authorities. The Administrative Authorities include: a governor and vice governor, mayors for each of the seven districts, and representatives of each county within the districts. These are elected by the people. (Or appointed by national government?) The Traditional Authorities include a congress, which

3264-443: The mountainous region in which they now live. They retreated to that area under pressure from Spanish colonists and development of low-lying areas. Christopher Columbus and his men contacted the Ngäbe in 1502, in what is now known as the Bocas del Toro province in northwestern Panama. He was repelled by a Ngäbe leader with either the name or title of Quibían . Since that contact, Spanish conquistadors , Latino cattle ranchers, and

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3328-423: The night. A deep hole is dug, and a tunnel, or shelf is carved out in the bottom part of the hole. The casket is placed in the tunnel, so that the dirt that fills the hole does not fall on top of the casket. The mound is covered in otoe de lagardo leaves. When chewed, these sting and stain the mouth. They are put on the grave to prevent evil spirits from coming near. The deceased's possessions are placed on top of

3392-534: The poles and 6,371.001 km (3,958.756 mi) on average. This flattened spheroid , combined with local gravity anomalies , defines the geoid of the Earth, which approximates the local mean sea level for locations in the open ocean. The geoid includes a significant depression in the Indian Ocean , whose surface dips as much as 106 m (348 ft) below the global mean sea level (excluding minor effects such as tides and currents). Precise determination of

3456-407: The ripples of the river, or dragon scales. Men typically wear collared cotton-and- polyester -blend shirts and polyester trousers. Some men wear farmer's hats made out of pita leaves, but most wear baseball caps adopted from urban residents. For most of the year, both genders wear "chancletas" (sandals) or rubber boots when moving about, due to Panama's heavy rainfall and the lack of infrastructure in

3520-648: The roads in Panama. The Ngäbe women make many traditional crafts, both for their own use and their families', but also to sell as extra income. These include handmade bags from plant fibers called kra , colorful dresses called nagua , and beaded bracelets and necklaces. The men weave hats from plant fibers. Many of the coastal-living Ngäbe men, such as those living on the Bocas del Toro islands or on Punto Valiente, rely on ocean resources to provide for their families. They go spearfishing and lobster diving. They both consume and sell what they catch, depending on their circumstances at

3584-506: The rugged geography, building roads and new infrastructure to Ngäbe reservations has been expensive and difficult for the government. Some Ngäbe choose to live secluded from modern societies. In the early 21st century, most Ngäbe work as subsistence farmers and agricultural laborers. On the Pacific slopes, the main crops are rice , corn , yucca , otoy, ñame , and several species of beans. Small-scale livestock production of chickens and pigs

3648-424: The three westernmost provinces of Panamá: Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui and Veraguas. Altitude varies from about 350 feet above sea level to over 7,000 feet in the central mountains; only about half of this land is arable. A few Ngäbe have acquired solar electricity (through an electrification project), as well as cell phone service. Most still live below the poverty level and do not own modern technology. Because of

3712-568: The time. In the province Bocas del Toro , the Changuinola Dam was completed in 2011 as a project for flood control and production of hydroelectric power. The government took over great areas of the Ngöbe reserve , flooding it under waters of the reservoir behind the dam. According to a 2012 documentary by Al Jazeera , Panama: Village of the Damned , no compensation was made to the people whose land

3776-411: The weight of cooling volcanos. The subsidence of land due to the withdrawal of groundwater is another isostatic cause of relative sea level rise. On planets that lack a liquid ocean, planetologists can calculate a "mean altitude" by averaging the heights of all points on the surface. This altitude, sometimes referred to as a "sea level" or zero-level elevation , serves equivalently as a reference for

3840-410: The women's culture and to encourage traditional midwives to come to the hospital. After a death, the immediate family will stay up all night with the body for several nights, drinking cacao and coffee, eating, and talking. Candles must remain lit all night. On the days leading up to the funeral, neighbors and friends will visit to offer their condolences; they will sit with the family members for part of

3904-419: The worst effects or, when populations are at extreme risk, a process of managed retreat . The term above sea level generally refers to the height above mean sea level (AMSL). The term APSL means above present sea level, comparing sea levels in the past with the level today. Earth's radius at sea level is 6,378.137 km (3,963.191 mi) at the equator. It is 6,356.752 km (3,949.903 mi) at

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3968-424: Was also told that her people's failure to adhere to these principles within five years would result in the death of all Ngäbe. Mama Chi's preaching affected a great many Ngäbe, who adopted the principles to varying degrees of strictness. Not all complied within five years and the apocalyptic prediction proved false. These original orders have been combined with Christian principles. Mama Tada is now considered more of

4032-518: Was so feared by the Spaniards that they avoided combat with his forces. When Urracá died in 1531, he was still a free man. The Ngäbe lived in two large groups: those of the lowlands along the Atlantic coast, and those of the tropical forest in the highlands of Veraguas and Chiriquí Province . They never surrendered and fought until the collapse of the Spanish Empire in the nineteenth century. When Panama broke away from Spain and joined Colombia in

4096-575: Was taken. In the territory of the Ngöbe, the Barro Blanco project is planned on the Tabasara River . Many townships along the riverbanks will be flooded, adversely affecting an estimated 5000 Ngöbe farmers. The Barro Blanco project is financed by European banks from Germany ( German Investment Corporation , DEG) and the Netherlands ( Netherlands Development Finance Company , FMO) and counts toward

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