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Written by Gabriela Rocha
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Tuesday, 22 June 2010 01:14 |
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BRIBRI INDEGENOUS GROUP
JUNGLES OF COSTA RICA ~ CARIBBEAN SIDE
  - The Bribri Indigenous Group lead by young women developed a Sustainable
Tourism Program dedicated to Rural Tourism and Human Development.
- The Bribri are a small indigenous tribe living in the Talamanca Canton
in Limon Province of Costa Rica.
- 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 (Theobrma
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.
- Cacao, as in most of the indigenous groups in
southern Costa Rica and northern Panama, has a special significance in
Bribri culture. For
them the cacao tree used to be a woman and Sibu (God) turned into a tree. Cacao branches
are never used as firewood and only women are allowed to prepare and
serve the sacred drink. Cacao is used in special occasions, ceremonies
and in certain rites of passage such as when young girls have their
first menstruation. Currently there exists several Bribri women's associations
that produce organic, hand made chocolate that helps them in their
livelihoods.
BRIBRI SUSTAINABLE TOURISM:
- Cacao Eco-Tours
- Sustainable Rural Living Eco-tours
- Lodging Eco-Cabins available
 Information:
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