The week before Thanksgiving, Kathy and I made the journey to San Jose to participate in the annual meeting of the American...

We arrived in Panama City some days ago and it feels like a different world from the rural area we spent the last 11 days in. Due to our...

Since Thursday, the town of Ocú has been in festival mood, and the party went on through today Sunday. We're a bunch of happy but...

It is now Thursday afternoon. Tonight, the Manito festival will officially be opened. During our interviews, we have learned more about...

Yesterday we started the day visiting Santiago, a larger town about an hours drive from Ocú. We did go there on the first night for an...

It is now Sunday morning and we're resting at what will be our lodging for the next 11 days, Hotel Finca La Guindavela. It is rural, part...

After a hiatus, I'm back at the blog and this time, at my new website, set up by Jason Lee. I'm getting ready to leave for Panama again,...

For the last few months, one of our talented Anthropology majors has been working on our Panama project. Mr. Jason Lee has assisted with...

The holiday season has started, but that does not mean anthropologists have signed off for the year. Right after Thanksgiving, we headed...

It has now been a while since we returned from Panama. Life has returned to the normal grind, which for me means teaching, developing...

Now we are getting to the central part of Corpus Christi: the mass, the dancers in the church, the procession of the host, and the dance...

Dancing Devils from the Colonial Past: The Corpus Christi festival in Parita, Panama Over the next weeks, this blog will take you with...

I promised to share a bit of background on what the Corpus Christi festival is, so here we go. Corpus Christi means the body of Christ,...

Arrived - Who has the sunscreen - or was it the umbrella we needed? The first day in Panama City is coming to a tired, but successful,...

It has been a morning of entering field notes and getting provisions (read, water, lots of it) for our drive to Chitre this afternoon....

We have now spent two days in Parita and Chitre. In that time, we witnessed the division of the sun ceremony, participated in the Corpus...

Would you want this creature to be the owner of your soul? The Spanish colonialists thought you would rather not, and used that thought...

Sunday, Time to take a Deep Breath Today Sunday is a day of at least some relaxation and record keeping. One thing about field work is...

Research Updates: Returning to Panama After a hiatus, I'm back at the blog ! I'm excited to announce that we will be conducting more...

Almost Ready to Depart We are now almost ready to leave for Panama. The flight is tomorrow morning, far too early. The last week has been...