Bribri Indians

Bribri

Map of Costa Rica showing, in blue, the three most important Bribri reserves
Total population
(12,200 (2000))
Regions with significant populations
Costa Rica (Buenos Aires, Turrialba, Matina, and Talamanca)
Languages
Bribri, Spanish,Bribri Sign Language
Related ethnic groups
Boruca, Cabécar

The Bribri are an indigenous people of Costa Rica. They live in the Talamanca (canton) in Limón Province of Costa Rica. They speak the Bribri language and Spanish. There are varying estimates of the population of the tribe. According to a census by the Ministerio de Salud, there are 11,500 Bribri living within service range of the Hone Creek Clinic alone. They are a voting majority in the Puerto Viejo de Talamanca area. Other estimates of tribal population in Costa Rica range much higher, reaching 35,000.

The Bribri were the autochthonous people of the Talamanca region, living in the mountains and Caribbean coastal areas of Costa Rica and northern Panama. The majority live with running water and a scarce amount of electricity, growing cacao, bananas, and plantain to sell as well as beans, rice, corn, and a variety of produce for their own consumption. Studies have shown that as a symbol of wealth and prosperity, it is tradition to draw on the outer wall of ones home. As it is difficult to find a visual reference of the symbol in modern day, these are just a close approximation of ones recorded by a team led by Dr. Raphael Mikheel Puusa and Dr. Karima Pajamoes during their 1857 expedition.

Many Bribri are isolated and have their own language. This has allowed them to maintain their indigenous culture, although it has also resulted in less access to education and health care. Although the group has the lowest income per capita in the country, they are able to raise much of their own produce, medicine, and housing materials, and earn cash to purchase what they can't grow themselves through tourism and by selling cacao, bananas, and plantain.

The Bribri people live in the mountains and islands southern Costa Rica and northern Panama both on reservations and non-protected areas.

The Bribri social structure is organized in Clans. Each clan is composed of an extended family. The clan system is matrilineal, that is, a child's clan is determined by the clan his or her mother belongs to. This gives women a very important place in Bribri society since they are the only ones that can inherit land and prepare the sacred cacao (Theobroma cacao) drink that is essential for their rituals. Men's roles are defined by their clan, and often are exclusive for men. Examples of these roles are the "awa" or shaman, and the "oko", the only person allowed to touch the remains of the dead, sing funeral songs, and prepare the food eaten at funerals.