The bongo is a type of canoe, made of wood, typically found in the

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

regions.

Description

It is short and fat in shape, and is used for river transport and sea fishing. The canoe may be a dugout made out of a single tree trunk, or made of planks of wood put together, often

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae * Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona ...

. Due to its small size, it is versatile and easy to transport. Apart from propulsion by oars, small sails may also be used. The anthropologist Olaf Holm described the bongo in his book ''Cultura Manteño-Huancavilca''.

Locality

The boats are common in rural

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, for example, in the latter regions of Esmeraldas, Guayas, Santa Elena, Manabi, etc. Other common types of small craft in these waters are champan, piragua, and

canoes A canoe is a lightweight, narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ''canoe'' ca ...

References

{{reflist Boats