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33-608: The Huetares are an important indigenous group of Costa Rica , who in the mid-16th century lived in the center of what is now the country. They are also mentioned with the name of güetares or pacacuas . Huetares were the most powerful and best-organized indigenous nation in Costa Rica upon the arrival of the Spaniards . During the 16th century, various chieftains dominated from the Costa Rican Atlantic coast to

66-677: A lingua franca that was spoken or at least understood by most of the communities that inhabited the Costa Rican territory in the 16th century, especially in the Central Valley and the river basin Virilla and Grande de Tárcoles until its mouth in the Pacific. As common characteristics of these communities, it is worth mentioning relatively dispersed settlement patterns; agriculture based on corn, beans and other crops; great refinement in

99-688: A reserve or because their land is in danger due to mining and oil work being done. Indigenous peoples oppose the current El Diquís Hydroelectric Project that will flood some of the lands and affect many of the other groups. It will affect seven of the indigenous territories, including Bribi, Cabecar, Teribe, and Brunka. This will be the largest hydro-electric dam in Central America and will cut through nearly 200 historical sites and sacred grounds. Indigenous peoples of Costa Rica often do not receive adequate healthcare services due to lack of access: they are situated in difficult terrain, particularly in

132-642: Is a three-day festival that stages fights between the Boruca people (depicted as devils) and the Spanish conquistadors (portrayed as Bulls). The Bribri are an indigenous tribe that lives in Salitre, Cabagra, Tal Awari and Ujarrás . They are a voting majority in the Puerto Viejo de Talamanca area. The range of the population stretches from 11,000 to 35,000. The Bribri have a specific social structure that

165-641: Is attributed to the Spanish conqueror Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés , derived from the name of two chieftains: King Huetara, chief of Pacaca kingdom (now Tabarcia, east of Santiago de Puriscal) and Chorotega, chief of the area that occupied the Central Atlantic (territory that covered the plains of Esparza and those of the Tivives River). It has not been determined exactly which indigenous peoples of Costa Rica should be considered strictly as Huetares. The Huetar language seems to have been

198-546: Is evident in regards to their language and rituals, including human sacrifices. They are known as being the most powerful group of peoples during the conquest of the Spanish, as they were an organized military group and fought against the Spanish. There is evidence that they were a democracy and elected Caciques , or priests to be the leaders, and also that they were a hierarchical group. They are known for their agriculture, producing primarily corn and their ceramics/pottery today. There are about 3,305 Térraba people. As of 2007,

231-621: Is extinct, it survives in a large number of place names in Costa Rica such as Aserrí , Tucurrique or Barva . One of the greatest enemies of the Huetares were the Nicaraos , a Nahua branch that encroached and settled on part of its territory and displaced the Huetar people that inhabited Bagaces , which resulted in tribal warfare between the Nahuas and Huetares that lasted until the arrival of

264-479: Is organized in clans. Each clan is composed of an extended family. Women have a higher status in this society, because their children's clans are determined by whichever clan they come from . Women in the Bribri society are the only ones that can inherit land and prepare the sacred cacao drink used during the rituals. Men's roles are defined by their clan, and often are exclusive for men. The spiritual leader, or " awa "

297-492: Is very important to the Bribis, which men may have the opportunity to become. Just as it is important to many other indigenous groups in Costa Rica, Cacao holds a particular significance for the Bribri. They believe that the cacao tree used to be a woman and the god Sibú turned her into a tree. Only women may prepare the drink. There are many associations that produce handmade chocolate which help these women. The Cabécar are

330-521: The Americas . Costa Rica received its name from Gil Gonzalez Dávila when he arrived and thought he found the most gold he had ever seen; therefore naming it the "Rich Coast". To the Spaniards, it was less organized from other indigenous groups they had discovered, mainly because they lived in separate groups rather than one large group. During the colonization, Costa Rica was very poor, mainly because it

363-463: The San Rafael de Guatuso Indigenous Reserve. Before the Spanish colonization, their territory extended as far west as Rincon de la Vieja , and included the volcano Arenal to the south and Rio Celeste as sacred sites. Today their reserve is located about an hour north of La Fortuna. Although their land was much larger prior to colonization, they are now working on buying their own land back from

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396-682: The Spanish conquerors came in the sixteenth century. The Nicoya culture was the largest cacicazgo on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The central and southern portions of the country belonged to the Isthmo-Colombian cultural area with strong Muisca influences, as they were part of territories occupied predominantly by speakers of the Chibchan languages . The Diquis culture flourished from 700 CE to 1530 CE. Christopher Columbus arrived in Costa Rica in 1502 on his last trip to

429-982: The Atlantic Slope. The Spanish chronicles mention a myriad of towns and the kings that ruled them, among them the Garabito Empire , located on the Central Atlantic Slope and the Tárcoles River basin, to the Virilla River and the Cordillera Central ; the Kingdom of Pacaca , in the current canton of Mora , and the Lordship of el El Guarco , in the current Guarco Valley , in the Cartago Province , to

462-635: The Indigenous traditional ways. Some areas have built clinics, but doctors are available only two days of the week. King Garabito Garabito was an indigenous king of the Huetar ethnic group , who approximately between 1561 and 1574 was a monarch of the Western Huetar Kingdom and its surroundings , in the current territory of Costa Rica . A 1566 document indicates that in 1561 he succeeded his grandfather, although given that in

495-599: The Ngabe are the group of the most people in Costa Rica. They emigrated from Panama to Costa Rica in the 1960s. Their main source of income is based on agriculture where they grow bananas, rice, corn, beans and more. The Quitirrisi are located in Ciudad Colon and Puriscal in the Central Valley. They are known for handwoven baskets and straw hats. The Maleku are an indigenous group of about 600 people located in

528-479: The Pacific in the basin of the Jesús María and Gamalotal rivers. According to a document of 1569, the domains of Garabito extended inland and included the places called Coyoche Valley, Pereira, Barva, Yuruste, Coboboci, Abacara and Chucasque; The chiefs or lord vassals of Garabito were called Cobobia, Abaçara, Barba and Yuruste. Other sources add three communities that were tributaries of Garabito, such as those of

561-824: The Spanish. A small Huetar group has survived to modern times, composed of approximately 1000 individuals. They are located at the top of the Quitirrisí Indigenous Reserve , on the road between the canton of Mora and Puriscal . There is another Huetar settlement in Zapatón , in the canton of Puriscal, both in the San José Province . There are also scattered families in the area of Cerrito de Quepos and neighboring places. These individuals have lost their language, but still retain some of their traditional beliefs, crafts, cuisine and medicine. The name "huetares", as well as that of " chorotegas ",

594-612: The botos, located in the plains of San Carlos , the tises and the catapas , located in the current cantons of Grecia and Alajuela . Its main settlement would have been in the Valle de la Cruz, in the current canton of San Mateo , on the banks of the Surubres River. In some publications of the 20th century, King Garabito is confused with Coyoche, another indigenous monarch who, despite being his contemporary, belonged to another ethnic group, of Mesoamerican culture. King Garabito

627-519: The government taking over their land and ignoring the articles which protect them. While indigenous people have struggled for legal recognition of their rights, Costa Rica did sign the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007. Indigenous Costa Ricans belong to eight major ethnic groups. The first indigenous peoples of present day Costa Rica were hunters and gatherers , and

660-914: The government. Their economy is based on indigenous art and many tourists are welcome to watch them perform musical pieces in nearby La Fortuna . This reservation is in great danger and the Maleku no longer live in their traditional houses as the trees are also endangered. They are working hard to protect their language, as there are only about 300 speakers of it. The Matambú, also known as the Chorotega are located in Guanacaste . The Chorotegas translates to "The Fleeing People", as they fled to Costa Rica in AD 500 to escape slavery in Southern Mexico. They are related to Maya people . Parts of their Mexican culture

693-512: The indigenous kingdoms of the Intermediate Area of Costa Rica, matrilineal succession prevailed, it is more likely that his predecessor was a maternal uncle. At the time when he began to rule over the huetares, shortly after the arrival in Costa Rica of the mayor of Nuevo Cartago and Costa Rica Juan de Cavallón y Arboleda (1561-1562), his domains were located in the western region of the Central Valley, Costa Rica , extending towards

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726-519: The kingdom of Pacaca, and the vast domains of El Guarco and Correque kings, which extended from the banks of the Virilla River to Chirripó. Indigenous peoples of Costa Rica In 1977, the government passed the Indigenous Law, which created reserves. There are a total of 24 indigenous territories located throughout Costa Rica. After only gaining the right to vote in 1994, they are still fighting for their rights, particularly regarding

759-570: The largest Indigenous group in Costa Rica and are considered to be the most isolated. They have been pushed up to the Chirripo Mountains, which requires a few hours long hike to reach. Therefore, the Cabécar have not been exposed to many basic items, and few of them have been exposed to education. They are very traditional and have preserved their culture. They speak mostly their own language rather than Spanish. The Guaymís, also known as

792-437: The mountains. Only about 26% of the Indigenous population have access to clean water. Therefore, the Indigenous peoples tend to rely on traditional medicinal practices. Groups like CONAI (National Commission for Indigenous Affairs), working to improve socioeconomic situations of the Indigenous peoples, have tried to integrate the two medicinal practices. This has been unsuccessful, as it resulted in bias and little acknowledgment of

825-540: The plains of the Central Caribbean and Chirripó . Their culture belonged to the Intermediate Area , and it stood out mainly for their works in stone, such as metates , sculptures , tables and ceremonial altars ; and the non-practice of anthropophagy or cannibalism . Its language, the Huetar language , one of the so-called Chibcha languages , became the Lingua franca of the country. Although this language

858-482: The regional poverty rate was 19.3% while for the whole country it was about 3.3%. It is so high, because their forest land has been cleared over the years, which was used for their agriculture and predominant economy. They have not preserved their language as much, as mainly only the elders speak it. However, another, larger group of Teribe in Panama do use the language and the two groups are in contact. A larger group from

891-488: The students aren't given the same resources to learn. As for the universities, the indigenous are fighting to gain qualifications so that they can earn higher paying jobs. Of Costa Rica's 50,900 km area of land, 3,344 or 5.9% of the land is labeled as indigenous territories. The major issues facing the indigenous groups of Costa Rica today mainly relate to land. The farmers and ranchers are not in charge of their own land that they work because they are considered to be on

924-612: The territory was divided in two cultural areas due to its geographical location in the Intermediate Area , between the Mesoamerican and the Andean cultural regions. Its indigenous peoples have lived in Costa Rica for what stretches back to at least 10,000 years before the arrival of the Spaniards . The northwest of the country, the Nicoya Peninsula , was the southernmost point of Mesoamerican cultural influence when

957-445: The tribe living in Panama does use the language and there are visits between the two groups. There is a conflict over indigenous teachers and students are not receiving the same opportunities as the non indigenous peoples. There were two cases in Boruca and Teribe in which qualified indigenous teachers were not given jobs in the local schools. There is also the fact that the schools which the indigenous attend are not funded properly, and

990-400: The work of objects in stone (metates, sculptures, tables and ceremonial altars, etc.), absence of anthropophagy, etc. However, there was no political unity between them, and rather there seems to have been a wide variety of relationships, ranging from subordination and alliance to enmity and warfare. Some of the main Huetar kingdoms seem to have been those of King Garabito , on the Pacific side;

1023-525: Was isolated from the majority of colonies of the Spanish Empire . The initial colonies that were set up were unsuccessful because of disease, as well as the weather of the tropical rain forests. Costa Rica did not become a province of Spain until the 1560s, when a community was created that used the volcanic soil for agricultural purposes. By the time that Columbus arrived, there were about 20,000 Costa Rican natives, but this number greatly declined. That

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1056-488: Was primarily due to disease, particularly smallpox as well as the fact that many indigenous people were enslaved to work and oftentimes escaped from them. About 2,660 people are in the Boruca tribe. They live in the Puntarenas area of Costa Rica on one of the first reservations that was established for indigenous Costa Ricans. They are popular for their crafts, particularly masks made for the "Fiesta de los Diablos" which

1089-411: Was the most important leader of the indigenous resistance against Mayor Juan de Cavallón y Arboleda (1560-1562), and he also did not submit to the authority of Juan Vázquez de Coronado (1562-1565), his successor. Garabito is perhaps, along with Pablo Presbere, the best known of the indigenous kings of Costa Rica, mainly because he was the one who most resisted the conquest of the country by the Spaniards in

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