February in Panama brings Carnival, a 5 day party where there is no shortage of loud speakers, non-stop dancing and devils with whips. Panamanians, adults and children alike dress up as “diablos” (devils). The costumes are homemade and come equipped with giant masks, some weighing over 20 pounds! The legs include bells which jingle as the diablos march and dance about town.
About a week before Carnival even starts, the masked devils will come out in the afternoon time and put on street spectacles where they dance and entice the willing to come up and be confronted with their “wipis” or whips. It would be foolish to test these demons without the protection of your trusty stick, which is what is traditionally used by the challengers to defend themselves from the wrath of the whips.
During carnival time, the street is diablo territory. If you happen to be between the white lines of the street, you are fair game for a whipping. Some are more than eager to square off against these demons; and one American man found out that if you show enough valiance, you just may be recruited. That’s right, the first foreigner to become a diablo.
Luke Haight hails from the United States (Chico, California) and he spent his first carnival antagonizing the diablos with such animosity that he has been given the honor to become the first “diablo gringo”.
“One of the reasons I gained their respect was I went out with shorts on the first two days. I wound up with over 50 welts on my legs. Months later one of the main diablo guys approached me about being one in the next carnival,” he says.
This year you will see Luke dancing and whipping away in the streets in his red costume, which is red with reason. The colors of the costume indicate rank, which is based on seniority. You begin in a completely red costume and you add a black piece every year. It takes 7 years to become a black diablo. After 14 years you can begin to add white pieces to your costume. The highest ranking diablos are black with many white pieces, however completely white diablos do not exist. As the colors indicate seniority, each diablo must honor his superiors each day of carnival with a dance in which ends in a kneel.
So where does this tradition come from and what is the significance of the diablos? Bocasdeltoro.com hit the streets to find out.
Some say the diablos are meant to represent the Spanish conquistadors and others say it stems from the days of slave masters whipping the slaves. What is known is that the tradition originated in the Carribean port town of Portobelo and in general the diablos are a representation of evil. When in the costume, the diablo is possessed. Ask them their name and they will tell you “Satanás” (Satan).
“Los diablos se burlan a Jesus Cristo,” explains Felix, a seasoned diablo, which is to say that the diablos mock Jesus Christ.
The day after the festivities end is Ash Wednesday and it’s the day when the diablos get a taste of their own medicine. There is a grand ceremony where people form a circle and the diablos are presented without their masks and all that had challenged them are there to capture them with ropes. A shaman priest woman then preforms an exorcism; followed by a blessing and baptism of each diablo. The newly baptized diablo is then subject to a gauntlet style whipping from all those that they had whipped the days before. After all is said and done, the diablos attend Ash Wednesday mass; because after all, they are good Roman-Catholic Panamanians; they aren’t really dark princes of evil.
Although Carnival is celebrated all over Panama, it is only Portobelo and Bocas del Toro that participate in the diablo tradition. Its exact origins are unclear in the minds of most Panamanians and those that do have ideas can’t seem to agree on exactly what the whole ritual really means. What is clear is that it is something to get excited about; just ask the many who gather in the streets every night of carnival to witness the whole diablo madness.
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