OBCR’s Natalia shares teachings from her time exploring the Boruca Indigenous Community with our Residential Gap Semester Program.
Keeping indigenous cultures alive is a challenge in today’s westernized world. That’s one of the many reasons why OBCR integrated the Indigenous Art & Culture module into our Residential Gap Semester and it is a program highlight for many of our students.
There are a total of eight indigenous tribes that still exist in Costa Rica, five of which are congregated in the southern part of the country. They all live very close to each other and, as a result, share a similar dialect. This fall, I joined our Residential group to visit one of these tribes in the Reserva Indigena Boruca, located in the depths of the Talamanca Mountain range in the Puntarenas Province.
Following 300 years of Spanish colonization in Costa Rica, the Boruca tribe takes great pride in the preservation of their culture and, to this day, express this through their arts and traditions. The tribe also prides themselves on being self-sustained, living off the land, and giving back as much as they take. They welcome tourists into their home all year round, with great joy in knowing that they are able to teach them the depths of their long-standing history and hope that they gain a better understanding of their identity.
On arrival to the community, we were greeted by Lourdes: a mother of four, an educator, and the president of SoCagru. This women-led association in the community aims to empower women economically, socially, and educationally. It provides a space for women to unite and share their art and craftwork, as well as generate projects for the betterment of their community.
During our four days with SocaGru, I truly felt how intrinsic art is to the culture of community and to maintaining their identity. Women talked about how they expressed themselves through art and healed through creativity. Lourdes, the leader of the association, welcomed us into her home and, from day one, treated us like family. I could sense how much passion and heart she put into everything she did, from her cooking to her teachings about her culture and her art.
I witnessed how art deepened the conversation about their history, how it increased inclusivity amongst women and how it provided a safe space for self-growth. A particular highlight of mine was when our students were immersed in the Lourdes’ teachings about mask-making, an art that holds over 500 years of history.
The masks were first created during the Spanish conquest, carved intricately with devil-like features, hopeful to scare the Spanish conquistadors away. Their fierce resistance to colonization is now celebrated between December 30 and January 2 during “La Fiesta de los Diablitos” or “Festival of the Devils.” The day of the festival is filled with dances and music performed by Borucan-born men, dressed in burlap material and meticulous hand-carved devil masks, symbolizing the various sacred spirits in which they believe guided them and protected them throughout the fight.
Over the years, Borucans have become masters of the art of mask-making and began integrating new designs, using the flora and fauna of their country as their inspiration. The designs are carved in balsa wood or tropical cedar, types of wood that require up to 50+ years to be fully mature before they are cut down and carved into intricate artwork.
We learned that there are three types of masks:
- Diablito: the design is in the name, carved with a devil-like features
- Ecologica: represents their cosmovision, featuring fauna and flora of their country which they view as older siblings who need to be treated with respect
- Tradicional: made with cedar wood, they use the heart of the tree because that’s where the burgundy color is found, but they need to wait 50+ for it to be ready to cut
The time, effort and creativity that is involved in creating every mask is truly amazing. We had the opportunity to put our artistry at work and come up with our own designs!
Coming to the end of an amazing week spent with the Residential group, there are a number of things that I learned along the way:
- As the world is continuously changing and evolving around us, there is a greater need to become interconnected and immerse ourselves in cultural experiences that will open our eyes to parts of the world that contribute to humanity. Parts of the world that are sacred, that hold years of history, and that have been the source of the world’s biodiversity. We can learn so much from indigenous communities, where living in harmony with nature is a fundamental part of their core values and beliefs.
- Coming on a Residential Program with Outward Bound Costa Rica is an adventure not to be missed! Participants are here to have fun, be challenged, develop a new sense of confidence, learn about their capabilities, and broaden their perspectives about the world around them and the communities they serve. I mean…how frequently do you get the opportunity to be completely immersed in an indigenous culture that has over 3,000 years of history tied to it?