Costa Rica Blog

From the people of Costa Rica only 1% is indigenous. Costa Rica’s history has presented the Indigenous people with lots of hardship. Many tribes, who dominated the entire region between Guanacaste and the Talamanca mountains in pre-Colombian times, are now pushed back in the twenty-two Indigenous reservations distributed all over Costa Rica. Six Indigenous languages have survived: Maleku, Cabecar, Bribri, Guayami and Brunca. From the remaining Indigenous tribes the Maleku are the smallest, with only 500 people, but also the one with the richest culture. It still is using their native language and their culture includes storytelling, songs and dance and other preserved customs. The Maleku Indigenous tribe lives in the area north of the Arenal Volcano in the Province of Alajuela and are open to receive foreigners to learn them about their culture, knowledge of medicinal plants and rituals. The Chorotega is an Indigenous tribe originating from the Northern part of Central America and have roots that lead all the way back to Mexico and therefore is different from the other tribes who originate from tribes that worked their way up geographically from South-America. They are now living in the Province of Guanacaste in the region of the Nicoya peninsula around the towns of Guatil and San Vicente. Although their original Indigenous language is not used anymore, they still master the traditional way of making pottery, including the use of ancient ovens. The Burucas live on the South-Pacific coast of Costa Rica in the Province of Puntarenas and are a mixture of several tribes once living in this area and decimated by the Spanish Conquerors. It is believed that the forefathers of these tribes produced the mysterious and stone spheres of Costa Rica. They are famous for their copper and gold handicrafts in a unique style called Diquis. The women are excellent weavers and make colourful textiles which are used for wide range of modern items, such as bags, hats, placemats, etc. On Indigenous festivals you can see the Buruca men perform the more than 400 year old Dance of Devils, depicting the struggle with the Spanish invaders, personified by a bull, killing members of the tribe. One of the Buruca Indigenous reservations is close to the city of San Isidro de El General. The Ngobe tribe is the only nomadic tribe and live in an area crossing the border into Panama. This Indigenous tribe prefers an existence in isolation and have preserved their culture well. Special arrangements have been made between the Panamanian and Costa Rican authorities to enable them to cross the border freely, especially in the coffee picking season when they are looking for jobs. The few villages that are left are found close to the Osa Peninsula and near San Vito. The Ngobe women still wear their traditional, colourful dresses and excel in the making of bright, beaded accessories. The Bribri, Teribe and Cabecar Indigenous tribes reside in the Talamanca Region in the south of the Province of Limon and share more or less the same culture. The Bribri tribes originally lived in the lowland areas on the Caribbean Coast, close to the towns of Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo, while the Cabecar have their territory higher in the inland mountains. After the arrival of the first colonist and the Afro-Caribbean people imported to work on the railroad, settled in the coastal areas, the three tribes were pushed more inside. Nowadays the town of Bribri is the centre of these Indigenous tribes, from where the more isolated communities can be reached.