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Panama

From Bahaipedia
 Panama
House of Worship, Panama City, Panama.
Location of Panama
National AssemblyPanama
Statistics:
Total Population
 -  UN 2021[2] 4,351,267
Bahá'í pop.
 -  Bahá'í source 60,000 in 2006.[1] 
 -  Non-Bahá'í source 51,230
History:
Firsts
 -  Bahá'í to visit Martha Root, 1919 
 -  Pioneers 1940 
 -  Local Assembly Panama City, 1946 
 -  National Assembly 1961 
Official Website http://www.panamabahai.net/
Related media
Categories: Panama • People

The Bahá’í Faith in Panama begins with a mention by then head of the religion, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in the book Tablets of the Divine Plan published in 1919 and the same year Martha Root's made a trip around South America and included Panama on the return leg of the trip up the west coast.[3] The first pioneers began to settle in Panama in 1940.[4] The first Bahá’í Local Spiritual Assembly of Panama, in Panama City, was elected in 1946,[5] and National Spiritual Assembly was first elected in 1961.[6] The Bahá’ís of Panama raised a House of Worship in 1972.[7] In 1983 and again in 1992 some commemorative stamps were produced in Panama[8][9] while the community turned its interests to the San Miguelito and Chiriqui regions of Panama with schools and a radio station.[10] One recent estimation of the Bahá’í community of Panama was of 2.00% of the national population, or about 60000, in 2006.[1]

Pre-history[edit]

‘Abdu’l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan[edit]

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the religion, wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the United States in 1916-1917; these letters were compiled together in the book titled Tablets of the Divine Plan. The sixth of the tablets was the first to mention Latin American regions and was written on April 8 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919—after the end of the First World War and the Spanish flu. The sixth tablet was translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab on April 4 1919, and published in Star of the West magazine on December 12 1919.[11] After mentioning the need for the message of the religion to visit the Latin American countries ‘Abdu’l-Bahá continues...

All the above countries have importance, but especially the Republic of Panama, wherein the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans come together through the Panama Canal. It is a center for travel and passage from America to other continents of the world, and in the future it will gain most great importance.....[12]

Martha Root's first trip was from July to November, 1919, and included Panama on the return leg of the trip up the west coast of South America.[3]

Following the Tablets and about the time of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's passing in 1921, a few other Bahá’ís began moving to or at least visiting Latin America.[5]

Early phase[edit]

It was in 1940 when the first pioneers began to settle in Panama.[4] The first Local Spiritual Assembly of Panama, in Panama City, was elected in 1946, and helped host the first All-American Teaching Conference.[5] One Bahá’í from this early period was Mabel Adelle Sneider (converted in 1946), who was a nurse at Gorgas Hospital for 30 years and then pioneered to the Gilbert Islands for many years.[13]

Shoghi Effendi, head of the religion after the death of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, called for two international conventions to be held at April, 1951; one was held in Panama City for the purpose of electing a regional National Spiritual Assembly[5] over the Central area of Mexico and the West Indies whose headquarters was in Panama and which was witnessed by represetatives of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States in the persons of Dorothy Baker and Horace Holly.[14] Circa 1953 Bahá’í Local Assemblies in Panama City and Colón had a community center. [15]

One notable Bahá’í from this early phase was Cecilia King Blake who on 20 October 1957 converted to the Bahá’í Faith and pioneered to Nicaragua and Costa Rica.[13]

Development[edit]

Ruth (neé Yancey)[16] and Alan Pringle had the first Bahá’í wedding to be legally recognised in Panama, and both were members of the National Spiritual Assembly[17] that formed in 1961.[6] Ruth served in several other positions, ultimately becoming a Continental Counsellor. The members of the 1963 National Spiritual Assembly of Panama were Harry Haye Anderson, Rachelle Jean E de Constante, James Vassal Facey, Kenneth Frederics, Leota E. M. Lockman, Alfred E. A. Osborne, William Alan H. Pringle, Ruth E. Yancey Pringle and Donald Ross Witzel.[18] By 1963 there were Bahá’í converts among the Cerrobolo, Guaymí, and Kuna.[19]

Six conferences held in October 1967 around the world presented a viewing of a copy of the photograph of Bahá’u’lláh on the highly significant occasion commemorating the centenary of Bahá’u’lláh's writing of the Suriy-i-Mulúk (Tablet to the Kings), which Shoghi Effendi describes as "the most momentous Tablet revealed by Bahá’u’lláh".[20] After a meeting in Edirne (Adrianople), Turkey, the Hands of the Cause travelled to the conferences, 'each bearing the precious trust of a photograph of the Blessed Beauty, which it will be the privilege of those attending the Conferences to view.' Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khánum conveyed this photograph to the Conference for Latin America at Panama. During this event the foundation stone of the forthcoming House of Worship for Latin America was laid.[21]

Since the 1960s the concerns of the Panamanian Bahá’ís have multiplied to cover internal and external issues. One of the Houses of Worship was built in Panama. In 1985-6 the "Camino del Sol" project included indigenous Guaymí Bahá’ís of Panama traveling with the Venezuelan indigenous Carib speaking and Guajira Bahá’ís through the Venezuelan states of Bolívar, Amazonas and Zulia sharing their religion.[22] Meanwhile a variety of philately products were offered by the government of Panama starting in 1983 and again in 1992 - a stamp and several stationaries[8][9] and Panamanian Bahá’ís became active in a number of issues among the poor regions of Panama - notably Panamá and Chiriqui/Ngöbe-Buglé districts.

Bahá’í House of Worship[edit]

The Bahá’í temple in Panama City was dedicated in 1972 with Hands of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khánum, Ugo Giachery and Zikrullah Khadem representing[7] the Universal House of Justice, head of the religion after the death of Shoghi Effendi, and serves as the mother temple of Latin America. It is perched on a high hill, la montaña del Dulce Canto ("the mountain of Beautiful Singing"),[23] overlooking the city, and is constructed of local stone laid in a pattern reminiscent of Native American fabric designs. Readings in Spanish and English are available for visitors.[24]

Efforts among the Guaymí[edit]

The first Guaymí Bahá’í dates back into the 1960s and since the 1980s there have been several projects started and evolving in those communities.[10] The Bahá’í Guaymí Cultural Centre was built in in the Chiriqui district (which was split in 1997 to create the Ngöbe-Buglé district) and used as a seat for the Panamanian Ministry of Education's literacy efforts in the 1980s.[25] A two-day seminar on literacy was held by the Bahá’í Community in collaboration with the Panamanian Ministry of Education in Panama City on 23-24 April 1990. The Bahá’ís were specifically asked to speak on "spiritual qualities" and on "Universal Elements Essential in Education." The Minister of Education requested that the Bahá’ís present their literacy projects to the Ministry of Education, in support of International Literacy Year - 1990.[26] The Bahá’ís developed many formal and village schools throughout the region and a community radio project.

Bahá’í Radio[edit]

The Bahá’í Radio is an AM broadcasting station from Boca del Monte[27] with programs and news in Guaymí native language, Ngabere, leading to maintaining the usefulness of the language and in the telling of stories and coverage of issues to the support of Guaymí traditions and culture.[10]

Schools[edit]

In Panama's remote indigenous villages (some requiring three hours by bus, three hours by boat, and then three hours on foot, a trip made twice a week) Bahá’í volunteers run ten primary schools where the government does not provide access to a school. Later a FUNDESCU stipend of $50 per month was made available for 13 teachers and the MInistry of Education added funds for a 14th. As subsistence farmers, the villagers have no money or food to offer. Instead they take turns providing firewood for an outdoor kitchen or build small wood-framed shelters with corrugated zinc panels and a narrow wooden platform for a bed. The teachers and administrators do not seek to convert the students. Some of the villagers are Bahá’ís, some are Catholics, some Evangelicals, and some follow the native Mama Tata religion. In all, about half the students are Bahá’ís (about 150). Nevertheless there is a strong moral component to the program including a weekly class on "Virtues and Values." Over the years, some training for the teachers has been provided but many have not finished the twefth grade including some women who have faced difficulties getting even that much education.[28][29]

Among the formal schools established there are:

  • Bahá’í Elementary of Soloy which was in process of registration with the Ministry of Education as of 2007.[30]
  • Molejon High School[31] which was registered with the Ministry of Education in March 2007.[30]
  • Soloy Community Technology & Learning Center[32]
  • Ngöbe-Buglé Universidad[33] which began having classes and was processing accreditation with the University of Panama in 2006.[34][35]

Efforts among the Kuna and Embera[edit]

In the Panamá district the Bahá’ís established a Bahá’í inspired school in San Miguelito,[36] a city with widespread poverty, and a native population of Embera and Kuna peoples.[37]

K-12 School[edit]

The Badí School was founded in 1993 and began as a kindergarten with 12 students. In 2007 there were 290 students serving K-12, a waiting list of 1500, and six of the first seven graduates earned the highest grade on the Panama University entrance exam and were accepted with full four-year scholarships. Badí School also developed a two-story community library, and added a classroom and computer lab in 2006.[38]

University program development[edit]

Badi School is attempting to extend its services with college-level degrees. Some level of registration was completed in June 2007.[39] Further accreditation is being sought as a university program in 2008[40] but already has had students taking college work such as commercial artist Jessica Mizrachi Diaz.[41]

Demographics[edit]

The World Council of Churches estimates the Bahá’í population at 2.00%, or about 60000 in 2006[1] and another estimate of some 8,000 Guaymi Bahá'is,[10] about 10% of the population of Guaymi in Panama.[42]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Panama". WCC > Member churches > Regions > Latin America > Panama. World Council of Churches. 2006-01-01. Archived from the original on 2008-07-08.
  2. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Yang, Jiling; Under the direction of Ian Fletcher. "In Search of Martha Root: An American Bahá’í Feminist and Peace Advocate in the early Twentieth Century" (pdf). Electronic Version Approved. Office of Graduate Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, Georgia State University. Retrieved on 2008-06-30.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Comunidad Bahá'í de Panamá". Official Website of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Panama. Comunidad Nacional Bahá’í de Panamá. Retrieved 2008-06-30. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Lamb, Artemus (1995). The Beginnings of the Bahá’í Faith in Latin America:Some Remembrances, English Revised and Amplified Edition. 1405 Killarney Drive, West Linn OR, 97068, United States of America: M L VanOrman Enterprises. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location (link)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hassall, Graham. "National Spiritual Assemblies statistics 1923-1999". Assorted Resource Tools. Bahá’í Library Online. Retrieved 2008-04-02. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 House of Justice, Universal; compiled by W. Marks, Geoffry (1996), Messaged from the Universal House of Justice: 1963-1986: The Third Epoch of the Formative Age, Wilmette, Illinois 60091: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, p. 212, ISBN 0877432392{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 maintained by Tooraj, Enayat. "Bahá'í Stamps". Bahá’í Philately. Bahá’í Library Online. Retrieved 2008-06-30. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 maintained by Tooraj, Enayat. "Bahá'í Stamps". Bahá’í Philately. Bahá’í Library Online. Retrieved 2008-06-30. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 International Community, Bahá’í (October–December 1994), "In Panama, some Guaymis blaze a new path", One Country, 1994 (October–December){{citation}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  11. ↑ Abbas, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1919). Tablets, Instructions and Words of Explanation. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  12. ↑ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1991). Tablets of the Divine Plan (Paperback ed.). Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust. pp. p. 31-32. ISBN 0877432333. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Universal House of Justice (1986), "In Memorium", The Bahá’í World of the Bahá’í Era 136-140 (1979-1983), Bahá’í World Centre, XVIII: Table of Contents and pp. 705-7, 723-5., ISBN 0853982341{{citation}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  14. ↑ Jackson Armstrong-Ingram, R. "Horace Hotchkiss Holley". Draft for "A Short Encyclopedia of the Bahá’í Faith". Bahá’í Academics Resource Library. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  15. ↑ Effendi, Shoghi (1950). Bahá’í Faith, The: 1844-1950. Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing Committee.
  16. ↑ International Community, Bahá’í (2003-08-22), "Standing up for the oneness of humanity", Bahá’í World News Service
  17. ↑ "In Memoriam - Ruth Pringle, Costa Rica", Journal of the Bahá’í Community of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 20 (05), Jan/Feb, 2004 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  18. ↑ Rabbani, R. (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá’í World Centre. ISBN 085398350X.
  19. ↑ Compiled by Hands of the Cause of God Residing in the Holy Land. "The Bahá'í Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Bahá'í Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963". pp. pp. 19. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  20. ↑ Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust. pp. pp. 171. ISBN 0-87743-020-9. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  21. ↑ House of Justice, Universal (1976). Wellspring of Guidance, Messages 1963-1968. Wilmette, Illinois: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. pp. p. 109-112. ISBN 0877430322. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  22. ↑ "Historia de la Fe Bahá'í en Venezuela". La Fe Bahá’í en Venezuela. National Spiritual Assembly of Venezuela. Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  23. ↑ E. Otero, Lidia (2005-08-26), "¿Conoce la montaña del Dulce Canto?", Panamá América-EPASA
  24. ↑ Central America on a Shoestring -. Lonely Planet. 2005. pp. p. 661. ISBN 1741040299. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  25. ↑ International Community, Bahá’í (May 1990), "Report on the Status of Women in the Baha'i Community" (PDF), Response to a questionnaire received from the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, Vienna, Austria: Bahá’í International Community, BIC-Document Number: 90-0613
  26. ↑ International Community, Bahá’í (2001-02-08), "Activities in Support of International Literacy Year - 1990", seventh meeting of the International Task Force on Literacy, Bonn, Germany: Bahá’í International Community
  27. ↑ E. Escoffery, Carlos (2007-04-28). "Radiodifusión AM, Provincia de Chiriquí, República de Panamá". Radiodifusión en la República de Panamá. Carlos E. Escoffery, Ingeniero Electrónico. Retrieved 2008-07-02. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  28. ↑ Gottlieb, Randie (2003-01-03), "In Panama's remote indigenous villages, Baha'i volunteers provide much needed educational services", Bahá’í World News Service
  29. ↑ Gottlieb, Randie (Nov/Dec, 2002), "Victorino's Story - The establishment and rise of the first indigenous academic schools in the Ngäbe-Buglé Region of Chiriqui, Panama", Journal of the Bahá’í Community of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 19 (06) {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Regional de Chiriquí" (pdf). Centros educativos particulares. Ministry of Education, Panama. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  31. ↑ "Ngobe-Bugle Schools - Ngobe-Bugle Area, Chiriqui Province, Republic of Panama". Our Projects. Mona Foundation. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  32. ↑ "Soloy Community Technology & Learning Center Ngobe-Bugle Area, Chiriqui Province, Republic of Panama". Our Projects. Mona Foundation. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  33. ↑ "Ngabe-Bukle Universidad - Ngabe-Bukle Area, Chiriqui Province, Republic of Panama". Our Projects. Mona Foundation. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  34. ↑ López Dubois, Roberto; E. Espinoza, S., Eduardo (2006-09-21), "Educarse en la comarca no es tarea fácil de completar", Comarca Ngöbe Buglé
  35. ↑ "Mona Leaves First Footprints in an Immovable Ngobe-Bugle Vision" (PDF), Mona Foundation Quarterly Newsletter, pp. p. 9, March 2006 {{citation}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  36. ↑ "PANAMA, Category 3. Badi". Proyectos de Desarrollo Económico y Social. Oficina de Información - Comunidad Bahá’í de España. Retrieved 2008-07-01. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  37. ↑ "Panama: Poverty Assessment: Priorities and Strategies for Poverty Reduction". Poverty Assessment Summaries — Latin America & Caribbean. The World Bank Group. 1999. Retrieved 2008-07-01. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  38. ↑ "Badí School & University, San Miguelito, Panama". Our Projects. Mona Foundation. Retrieved 2008-07-01. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  39. ↑ "Listing of Colleges" (pdf). Regional de San Miguelito. Ministry of Education, Panama. Retrieved 2008-07-05. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  40. ↑ "Badi University in the Making". Our Projects. Mona Foundation. Retrieved 2008-07-01. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  41. ↑ "Biography and History". Jessica Mizrach. 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-02. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  42. ↑ "Guaymi". Data Map > All Affinity Blocs / People Clusters > Affinity Bloc: Latin-Caribbean Americans > People Cluster: South American Indigenous. Joshua Project - A ministry of the U.S. Center for World Mission. 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-07-06. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

References[edit]

  • Kazemipour (née White), Whitney Lyn. 'Binding Together: Guaymi Resistance and Construction of Religious Identity through the Baha'i Faith', M.A. Thesis, UCLA, 1993, vii, 71 leaves. On the Guaymi Indians of Panama.

External links[edit]


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