A Morning with the Bribri Community

By Destiny Ho

One of my favorite experiences this semester was our visit to the Bribri indigenous community. In order to even get to the community is a journey in itself. First we took the coaster to a spot by the river, where we all strapped on life vests, and took a short boat ride to the other side of the river. Once we were on the other side of the river, we hopped on an old yellow school bus and took a 30-minute bus ride to our destination. When we got to our destination, we were all welcomed into the community and we were able to buy small souvenirs. There were handcrafted necklace/water carriers that were incredibly beautiful, bracelets, and earrings.

            After shopping, we all sat down and were given a brief introduction to the community. The community is comprised of all indigenous people, where around 95% of the elders still speak the local language, Bribri, but many of the school children are learning Spanish in schools. One of the most important things for the community is to take care of the forest, which is their pharmacy, hardware store, water, and food source. When the introduction was over, we all introduced ourselves, in Spanish, stating our names, where we are from, what we study, and a few of our hobbies. In order for us to communicate with the community members, one would speak in Bribri, which was translated into Spanish and then the Spanish was translated into English.

            After a short break, we went into one of the conical houses with a traditional healer, who works on a local and national level, as well as a translator. Within the conical house we learned about the Bribri’s cosmovision. While we learned a lot about their cosmovision, one of the key points was the symbolism of the conical house, in which the door faces the East, where the sun rises as well as being where the door to the universe is located; there are eight columns within the house to represent the eight clans within the Bribri; and there is four sections of the walls to represent the levels of the universe – the first level where we are located, the second level where the good spirits dwell, the third level where the bad spirits dwell, and the fourth level where Sibü, their God, dwells with his King Vulture that helps keep watch over the universe. We also learned how within their cosmovision, the importance of protecting the forest comes from not only its uses, but as a mutual relationship between the forest and the Bribri facilitated through Sibü, while the Bribri protect the forest, the forest will provide for the Bribri.

            After learning about the cosmovision, we had the opportunity to shoot a homemade bow and arrow before eating lunch. Lunch was delicious rice, beans, heart of palm, and plantains served on banana leaves as the plates. After eating lunch, we were shown how they use a large stone to grind corn and other foods, we all got to try it ourselves and it was a lot harder than one would think. Overall the experience was incredibly special and I felt extremely grateful to have the opportunity to learn about the community from the community themselves, as well as, be welcomed with such open arms. 

The conical house, where we learned about the Bribri cosmovision   

A beautiful and delicious lunch.