Pre-Colombian Costa Rica is full of mysteries. There is no proof of a written language and there are too few archaeological monuments left to tell us a story. Until the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1502, there is no recorded history to guide us. Colonization was slow at first, and it was almost another century before the Spanish settlers managed to find their way through the dense jungle. Sadly, the devastating results of a European invasion did not take long to show up, as was common when a country became colonized. The indigenous population soon started to die off, often due to their lack of immunity against European diseases, and there were too few of them to resist the colonists. Up to the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the Bribri People had lived in total harmony with nature. Columbus landed on what is today called “Isla Uvita”, in front of Puerto Limon, and was faced with more than a quarter of a million people and no less than eight different ethnic groups living in the area.
The Bribri live in the mountains of Talamanca, and along the coastal area of Costa Rica and Panama. They are the original inhabitants of Talamanca. Today there are approximately 5200 bribri who have managed to keep their culture and their language, and they have managed to keep themselves apart from the rest of the country. They live mainly from agriculture with a range of about 120 crops, wild and domestic, that they use for food. The women trade food with their neighbors. The bartering system is very extensive due to their isolation, as is poor education and there is virtually no healthcare.
As if this was not sufficient, they also have the lowest income per capita of Costa Rica. They have learned to rely only on themselves and have grown extremely independent and self-sufficient. One tribe, the Kekodi, have undertaken the unusual practice of iguana farming, and they have devised a very clever way of replenishing the iguana population that was coming close to extinction due to extensive hunting. Although the tribe is very small, about 200 individuals, the farm which has now been running for 11 years, has about 2000 iguanas now a good 2 million eggs! Once an Iguana reaches 5 years of age, it is released in the wild.
The little Bribri village is often by-passed, being so small. It is on the road to Panama. The people are very friendly; although they have kept their culture alive and their own language, they are always ready to show tourists a beautiful waterfall, a beautiful spot. The Bribris and the Cabecars are the only two cultures that have been able to keep their religious mythos relatively pure and intact, separated of the major influences from social and cultural changes. The very strength of “Sibú”, their supreme god and the creator of their universe, is running strong through the minds of all those who call themselves Cabecar / Bribri, after five hundred years of changes and over twenty generations of story telling in a world built around a the very much overpowering religion, Christianity. Their isolation is mainly to be thanked for this.
A small group of Bribri women created a Cacao business; they have started to export the cacao paste to Switzerland to make chocolate and wine, they have also exported cacao seeds to Italy. The funds help community projects; building a new school, buying canoes, buy clothing etc…Tourism plays a big part in the economy of the Bribris. People from European Countries and from the USA come on special expeditions. They stay in basic accommodations, share food with the locals and get the experience of their lifetime, learning to live like an indigenous Bribri in Costa Rica, where modern life is taking a bit more away from them everyday. For those interested in the indigenous people of Costa Rica, it may be a good idea to start with a tour of the museums; the National Museum, the Jade Museum and the God museums are full of information about the different tribes found in this country.