Boruca
The Boruca (also Brunca or Brunka ) are an indigenous people in Costa Rica . About 2000 people belong to it, most of them live on a reservation in the province of Puntarenas in the southwest of Costa Rica. The ancestors of today's Boruca lived in several tribal principalities that ruled most of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
Like their ancestors, the Boruca are known for their art and handicrafts, especially for their weaving skills and their characteristic painted balsa wood masks , which are popular decorative elements among Costa Ricans and tourists. For the Boruca, the masks are an important part of the annual Danza de los Diablitos ceremony (dance of the devils), which has been celebrated every winter since colonization . The dance depicts the resistance of the Diablitos, who represent the Boruca, against the Spanish conquerors.
history
The Boruca belong to the group of Talamanca Indians of southern Costa Rica and Panama . They are a mixed people, because today, in addition to those who called themselves that before the Spanish colonization, there are also many neighbors and former enemies, such as B. the Coto , Turrucaca , Borucac , Quepos and the Abubaes , to the Boruca.
In 1939, a law passed by the national government made the land farmed by the indigenous people their inalienable property. In 1977, the Costa Rican Indigenous Law was passed, declaring the fundamental rights of the indigenous people. This law defined the term indigenous , introduced the self-government of the reserves and set limits for the land use within the reserves. Despite these laws, more than half of the indigenous land (including all of Costa Rica) is not in the hands of the indigenous population today. Reasons are e.g. B. Road construction and illegal land sales. The planned Boruca dam would also seriously affect the indigenous population, as 8,000 hectares would be flooded by indigenous land.
language
The Boruca have an indigenous language that is also called Boruca or Brunka. It is a member of the Chibcha language family . At the same time, it is also a product of the colonial era, because modern Boruca is a mixture of different languages. The language is almost extinct, there are only a few older people left who speak it fluently, 30 to 35 people speak it non-fluently. Younger members of the community usually understand the language but do not speak it. Children attending the local school learn Boruca there. For the vast majority of Boruca, Spanish is the mother tongue and also the only language they speak.
geography
The majority of the Boruca live in the Reserva Boruca . This reserve is located in the canton of Buenos Aires in the province of Puntarenas in the southern Pacific area of Costa Rica. The reserve is 138.02 km 2 and is located in the Talamanca Mountains. The city of Buenos Aires is approximately 20 km north.
economy
The population of the Reserva Boruca lives mainly from rural agriculture and the sale of indigenous handicrafts. They are best known for their masks that depict stylized devil faces. The masks are usually made of balsa or sometimes cedar and can be painted or unpainted. Textiles that women make with pre-Columbian looms and other handicrafts such as: B. decorated calabashes are also sold.
Individual evidence
- ^ Diana Vinding: The Indigenous World 2005 (Indigenous World) . IWGIA, ISBN 8791563054 (pp. 121–122)
- ↑ Synopsis of a Boruca terminal speaker ( Memento of the original from September 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=brn (English)
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from February 19, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Spanish)
Web links
- Brunca (Boruca) (English)
- Masks worn in the Danza de los Diablitos (English)