Boruca

The Boruca (also known as the Brunca or the Brunka) are an indigenous people living in Costa Rica. The tribe has about 2,000 members, most of whom live on a reservation in the Puntarenas Province in southwestern Costa Rica. The ancestors of the modern Boruca made up a group of chiefdoms that ruled most of Costa Rica's Pacific coast, from Quepos to what is now the Panamanian border, including the Osa Peninsula.

Like their ancestors the Boruca are known for their art and craftwork, especially weaving and their distinctive painted balsa wood masks, which have become popular decorative items among Costa Ricans and tourists. These masks are important elements in the Borucas' annual Danza de los Diablitos ceremony, celebrated every winter since at least early colonial times. The Danza depicts the resistance of the "Diablito", representing the Boruca people, against the Spanish conquistadors.

History

The Boruca are a tribe of the Talamanca Indians of southern Costa Rica and Panama. The tribe is a composite group, made up of the group that identified as Boruca before the Spanish colonization, as well as many neighbors and former enemies, including the Coto, Turrucaca, Borucac, Quepos, and the Abubaes.

The population of the tribe numbers around 2,000, most of whom live on the Reserva Boruca or the neighboring indigenous reserve of Rey Curré. The Reserva Boruca-Terraba was among the first indigenous reserves established in Costa Rica in 1956. The lands currently on the reservations were named baldíos (common lands) by the General Law of Common Lands, passed by the national government in 1939, making them the inalienable and exclusive property of the indigenous people. The subsequent law of the Institute of Lands and Colonization (ITCO), passed in 1961, transferred the baldíos to state ownership. The Law No. 7316, the Indigenous Law of Costa Rica, passed in 1977, laid out the fundamental rights of the indigenous peoples. This law defined “indigenous”, established that the reserves would be self-governing, and set limitations on land use within the reserves.

Language

The Boruca have an indigenous language, also known also as Boruca or Brunka. It is a member of the family of Chibchan languages. Nevertheless, this indigenous language too is a product of the colonial period, and is actually a mixture of the speech of the several peoples that make up the modern-day Boruca. The Boruca language is nearly extinct, having only six elderly terminal speakers surviving, who speak the language fluently. Younger members of the community generally understand the language, but do not speak it. There exist 30 to 35 non-fluent speakers. It is also notable that the language is taught to the children who attend the local school. The main language in Boruca is Spanish. It is the native language and the only one spoken by the vast majority of the population.

Location and geography

The majority of the Boruca tribe lives on the Reserva Indígena Boruca. This reservation is located in the canton of Buenos Aires in the Puntarenas Province of the south-pacific zone of Costa Rica. The reservation extends 138.02 km² in the Talamanca mountains. The reservation lies about 20 km south of the city of Buenos Aires.

In archaeological terms, Boruca (and all of Costa Rica) lies in the culture area known as the Intermediate Zone (after Willey, 1971) or Circum-Caribbean culture area (after Steward, 1949). It is called the Intermediate area because of it’s location between “the two areas of highest New World culture: Mesoamerica and Peru” (22 Willey).

Economy

The population of the Reserva Indígena Boruca subsists mainly on small-scale agriculture and the profits reaped from the sale of indigenous crafts. They are best known for masks made for the “Fiesta de los Diablitos” (or “Danza de los Diablitos”). The masks, depicting stylized devil faces, are worn by the men of Boruca during the fiesta. The masks are usually made of balsa wood or sometimes cedar, and may be painted or left natural. Women weave utilizing pre-Columbian back-strap looms. Woven items and other crafts, such as decorated gourds, are also sold.The majority of the indigenous population throughout Costa Rica makes their living from agriculture, and for this reason the reduction of indigenous lands and its occupation by non-indigenous people has a serious effect on the livelihood of those who live on the reservas.

Article Three of the Indigenous Law of Costa Rica specifically states, "Non-indigenous [people] may not rent or buy … lands or farms included within these reserves."According to Article 5, the ITCO (the Institute of Lands and Colonization) must relocate the non-indigenous land owners of good faith in the Reserves, or expropriate and indemnify them."

Despite this, large portions of the population on the reserves are non-indigenous, and large portions of the land are not owned by indigenous people. Specifically, only 43.9% of the land in Boruca was in indigenous hands in 1994, while indigenous individuals made up only 46.9% of the population. The situation was worse yet in the neighboring reserve of Rey Curré, where only 23.3% of the land was owned by indigenous people, while a full 58.9% of the population was indigenous [5] . The Indigenous Law defines indigenous people as those who “constitute ethnic groups descendant directly from pre-Columbian civilizations that conserve their own identity” [6] .

Political Structure

According to Doris Stone, as of 1949, “ [m] ost traces of political organization [had] disappeared” (Stone 1949: 23). The main authority in the town at that time was the police officer, who was appointed by the government of Costa Rica. His power, however, was dependent to some degree on a council of elders, consisting of the four to six oldest men in the town. This council had the authority to approve or disapprove the appointment of the officer. The council was at one point “all-powerful” (Stone 1949: 24), and was currently at the top of a minimized cargo system. The council chose men to fill the two mayordomo positions, and two women to cook for the church. The mayordomos had certain responsibilities during fiestas and visits from the priest, and were appointed yearly.

Article 4 of Law No. 7316, “the Indigenous Law” states, “The Reserves will be governed by the indigenous people in their traditional community structures or by the laws of the Republic…”.

Involvement with the Peace Corps

During the mid 1990's the Peace Corps had an active presence in Boruca and the surrounding villages.

References

*Quesada, J. Diego (2000). [http://www.vjf.cnrs.fr/celia/FichExt/Am/A_25_04.htm | Synopsis of a Boruca terminal speaker] . Retrieved on November 4, 2007.
*Stone, Doris (1968). "The Boruca of Costa Rica", Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University ; v.26 no.2, Kraus Reprint, ISBN: F1545.2.B6S7
*Willey, Gordon R. (1971). "An Introduction to American Archaeology, Volume Two: South America", Peabody Museum, Harvard University; Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. ISBN: E61.W68.v.2
*"Los pueblos indígenas de Costa Rica: Historia y situación actual" by the Fundación Coordinadora de Pastoral Aborigen – FUNCOOPA and Instituto de Estudios de las Tradiciones Sagradas de Abia Yala – IETSAY. (November 1997). San José, Costa Rica, C.A. ISBN: F1545.P84 1997
* [http://www.kytkascostarica.com/tribes.htm "Indigenous People and Places"] . From Kytkascostarica.com. Retrieved January 7, 2006.
* [http://www.galerianamu.com/feature_artwork/dance_of_the_devils/2004-2005/ Danza de los Diabolitos] . From Galeria Namu. Retrieved January 7, 2006.
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=brn] . From Ethnologue.com. Retrieved November 4, 2007.
* [http://www.icer.co.cr/pec/boruca/boruca.htm] . From icer.co.cr. Retrieved November 7, 2007. Page in Spanish.