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Indigenous Costa Rican Foodways

Indigenous

⚠ EIGHT RECOGNISED PEOPLES, AND COSTA RICA IS OFTEN WRONGLY DESCRIBED AS HAVING NONE. BRIBRI and CABÉCAR in Talamanca — the largest populations, with CACAO at the centre of their food and their cosmology; in Bribri tradition cacao is held as a woman transformed, and its preparation has been women’s work, which is recorded as publicly documented and no further. BORUCA (Brunca) in the south Pacific, known for the Danza de los Diablitos. NGÄBE and BUGLÉ in the far south, across the Panamanian border. MALEKU in the northern plains, a very small population. TÉRRABA/Teribe, related to the Naso of Panama. HUETAR and CHOROTEGA, whose languages are no longer spoken. Foods: maize, beans, PEJIBAYE, cassava, plantain, tubers, river fish and forest fruit.

Atlas — where and when

Where in the world

Communities and languages

  • Bribri community documented
  • Cabécar community documented
  • Boruca community documented
  • Ngäbe community documented
  • Maleku community documented
  • Térraba community documented
  • Huetar community documented
  • Chorotega community documented

Languages: Bribri, Boruca, Ngäbere, Buglere, Teribe, Huetar

What is recorded

  • Costa Rica has eight recognised Indigenous peoples — Bribri, Cabécar, Boruca, Ngäbe, Buglé, Maleku, Térraba and Huetar and Chorotega whose languages are no longer spoken — contrary to frequent characterisation of the country as lacking Indigenous population. Cacao holds documented cosmological significance in Bribri tradition, where its preparation has been women’s work; this is recorded as publicly documented and no further ceremonial detail appears. documented

Related foodways

This foodway relates to

  • related to Indigenous Panamanian Foodways documented

    Ngäbe, Buglé, Naso/Teribe and Bribri live across the Costa Rica-Panama border; the peoples are not divided by it.

Recipes

No recipes are filed under this cuisine yet.