Naso (people)

Naso
Teribe

Location of Naso people
Total population
(3,005)
Regions with significant populations
Costa Rica,  Panama
Languages
Teribe, Spanish
Related ethnic groups
Boruca, Bribri

The Naso or Teribe people (also Tjër Di) are an indigenous people of Panama and Costa Rica. They primarily live in northwest Panama in the Bocas del Toro Province. There are roughly 3,500 people who belong to the Naso tribe. It is one of the few Native American indigenous groups or tribes that continues to have a monarchy.

The Naso (Teribe or Térraba) a or people have traditionally occupied the mountainous jungle regions of western Bocas del Toro where they continue to identify with the lands along the river that became known in the Spanish speaking world as the Teribe or Tjër Di in Naso. ‘Di’ means ‘water’ and 'Tjër' is their mythical “Grand-Mother” who was endowed by God with the secrets of botanical medicine (Instituto de Estudios de las Tradiciones Sagradas de Abia Yala 2001:68). Until as recently as three or four generations ago the Naso people led a remarkably autonomous existence. Dispersed among their clans and homesteads, and geographically isolated from most of the world, the Naso developed and nurtured their cultural self-sufficiency through the idiom and the institution of the family.

The Térraba, or Teribe, are an indigenous group in the Puntarenas region of southern Costa Rica with a rich cultural heritage. Located on approximately 34.7 square miles (9,000 hectares) along the Térraba River, the Térraba have survived off the land for more than 500 years. The river called Grande de Térraba is the largest river in Costa Rica, in the province of Puntarenas, also known as River “Diquís” that in their native dialect means “great water.” A significant part of the Térraba nation is living along the shores of the said river.

The Térraba are a warrior people that trace its roots back to the pre-Columbian Chiriquí civilization that dominated Costa Rica. The Térraba have a deeply spiritual relationship with the land and, especially, water. When the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in the early 1500s, they found Costa Rica to be a harsh country with few resources to exploit. In comparison to other pre-colonial civilizations, there were few indigenous to use for labor.

The Spanish brought Catholicism and smallpox, and many tribes were not able to survive both. Despite Spanish influence, the Térraba can trace their history back to specific events as early as the 1600s. The Térraba were able to maintain their culture, traditions and language in spite of the Spanish occupation and Catholic influence. They have recorded an extensive oral history to preserve it for future generations.