Summary.
The bill seeks to highlight, revitalize, safeguard, and promote the spiritual, intangible, and traditional values of the Ngabe Buglé people associated with devotion to and faith in MAMA TATA. It proposes establishing its symbols as expressions of the unity, worldview, and ancestral knowledge of the Ngabe- Buglé people. It designates September 22 of each year as a comarca day of reflection called the “Day of the Spirituality of the MAMA TATA Religion” in the Ngabe-Buglé comarca. It provides for commemorative and devotional activities dedicated to MAMA TATA within the comarca on that day.
The bill recognizes the symbols of the MAMA TATA church and requires respect for them in the Ngabe Buglé Comarca. It requires the church’s flag to be flown at every facility where the traditional authorities of the Ngabe Buglé Comarca meet. The flagpole must be one meter shorter than the National Flag’s flagpole, and the church flag must always be positioned to the right of the national flag from the observer’s perspective. The bill also prohibits adding graphic or heraldic elements to the symbols, using them disrespectfully, and displaying them in places not authorized for that purpose.
The Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo), through the Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura), the Tourism Authority (Autoridad de Turismo), and the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación), would be responsible, in coordination with comarca authorities and representatives of the MAMA TATA congregation and within their respective powers, for celebrating and promoting this cultural expression. They would also establish academic spaces and activities for education, research, and transmission of culture, spirituality, and ancestral knowledge. The Ministry of Education would include the history, meaning, and use of the symbols of the Ngabe-Buglé Comarca (Comarca Ngabe-Buglé) in school textbooks and curricula. It would also adapt the religion curriculum in the Ngabe-Buglé Comarca School Region to include the history and concepts of the Mama Tata religion. The bill allows one year from promulgation for that curricular adaptation.
The Ministry of Culture and the Tourism Authority, together with comarca authorities and representatives of the MAMA TATA congregation, would encourage and organize events related to the designated day to promote tourism and the economy in the Ngabe-Buglé Comarca. The proposed law would take effect one year after promulgation. Its provisions concern the Executive Branch, the Ministry of Culture, the Tourism Authority, the Ministry of Education, traditional and comarca authorities, the MAMA TATA congregation, the comarca’s educational community, and the tourism and cultural sectors.
What it proposes.
- Designation of a comarca day of reflection devoted to MAMA TATA.
- Recognition and use of the symbols of the MAMA TATA church.
- Education and promotion concerning Ngabe Buglé culture, spirituality, and ancestral knowledge.
Who it would affect.
- Traditional authorities of the Ngabe Buglé Comarca.
- The MAMA TATA congregation.
- The Executive Branch and public institutions responsible for culture, tourism, and education.
- Schools in the Ngabe-Buglé Comarca School Region.
Key points.
- Proposes highlighting, revitalizing, safeguarding, and promoting the spiritual, intangible, and traditional values of the Ngabe Buglé people associated with MAMA TATA.Art. 1
- Establishes the symbols of MAMA TATA as expressions of the unity, worldview, and ancestral knowledge of the Ngabe- Buglé people.Art. 1
- Designates September 22 of each year as a comarca day of reflection called the “Day of the Spirituality of the MAMA TATA Religion.”Art. 2
- Provides for commemorative and devotional activities dedicated to MAMA TATA in the Ngabe-Buglé comarca on that day.Art. 2
- Recognizes the symbols of the MAMA TATA church and requires respect for them in the Ngabe Buglé Comarca.Art. 3
- Requires the MAMA TATA church flag to be flown wherever the traditional authorities of the Ngabe Buglé Comarca meet.Art. 4
- Sets the relative height of the flagpole and the flag’s position in relation to the National Flag.Art. 4