Costa Rica’s Indigenous Tribes

Costa Rica’sIndigenous TribesJeannette O’ToolePCM-445

Indigenous Tribe Overview

Costa Rica is one of the most racially homogenous countries in Latin America.24 indigenous reservationsMajority are Spanish and Native American –

or European heritageEight indigenous tribes

Eight Indigenous Tribes

1) Bribri 2) Cabecare 3) Brunca (aka Boruca)

4) Ngöbe Bugle 5) Chorotega 6) Huetares 7) Maleku 8) Teribes

Bribri (bree-bree)Tribe

Population = approximately 13,000 Live in mountainous coastal Carribean areasLive off of the jungle rain forest – most

without running water or electricitySelf-sustaining lifestyleVery knowledgeable on medicinal plants

Cabecare (cah-beck-car) Tribe

Population = approximately 6,000 Live in the Talamanca mountain range of east

central Costa RicaShy people who consider eye contact with

strangers overly forwardNo electricity or running waterThe only people in the world who speak the

Cabecare language

Brunca (broon-ka)Tribe

Also known as the Boruca Tribe as that is where they live

Population = approximately 600Native language is all but extinctSelf-sustaining community: farming corn,

coffee, beans, cassava, papaya, pigeon peas and rice

Choose to live in isolation, raising money through sales of carved wooden masks and woven articles

Ngöbe (na-gaw-bee) Bugle Tribe

Live on the southern border of Costa Rica (extending into Panama) emmigrated from Panama

Known for their chaquira beads

Partnered with Citizens of Chocolate to sustain their community

Chorotega (chore-o-ta-ga) Tribe

There aren’t any pureblooded Chorotega’s remaining and the language is extinct

The Chorotega tradition of making exquisite pottery continues – the raw material is the sand from where iguanas lay their eggs

Huetares (hew-tare-ez) Tribe

Only a small community of native Huetares has survived to this dayLive in the Province of San JoséCultural identity has been mostly lostThe native land is relatively unfertile and corn

is one of the only products grown by Huetares.Crafts: products based on palm leaf, fodder

and vegetable fibers

Maleku (mal-i-koo) Tribe

The Malekus are one of the smallest indigenous groups in Costa Rica Inhabit the northern plains of Costa RicaMaleku is still spoken as a second language next

to SpanishResources: agriculture (cacao, pejibaye [peach

palm], palmoil), freshwater fishingCrafts: manufacture of figurines, ceramics,

making rafts, bows and wooden arrows

Teribes (tare-a-bas) Tribe

Very few Teribes remain in Costa Rica Reside in the Canton of Buenos Aires in the Reserve

of Boruca-Térraba Although the Teribes have preserved their cultural

identity, the original language Terraba is no longer spoken today

Resources: agriculture (corn, beans, rice, bananas, citrus fruit)

Today their territory is populated by many non-indigenous peasants