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Política y etnicidad en sociedades en transición en la zona sur de Costa Rica: Boruca y Talamanca siglos XVI al XIX
Vínculos : revista de antropología del Museo Nacional de Costa Rica • 24 (1-2) • Published In 1999 • Pages: 121-151 ill., map
By: Ibarra R., Eugenia (Ibarra Rojas).
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
[Para español, véase la primera página del documento.] This ethnohistorical study maps the contrast in the development of cultural identity between the Boruca of the Pacific lowlands and the “Talamancans” (Cabécar and Bribri) of the central cordillera, among the many other indigenous groups diminished by European conquest and colonization from the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries. The concepts of “gateway communities” straddling ecozones, of power conferred by goods obtained from distant, conceptually supernatural realms, and a consequent network of trade routes and shifting alliances manipulated by ruling elites—all in evidence prior to the Conquest—provide the framework for an analysis of the negotiation of identity and survival between the various cultures under pressure of colonialism. The Boruca suffered a stronger and almost immediate impact to their identity, due to the presence of an entrepôt at the intersection of major trade routes that attracted the immigration of the remains of other tribes, not to mention potent Spanish influence. The Cabécar-Bribri occupied a territory with a more diffuse network of trade routes and surrounded by a diversity of tribes that could serve as buffers in a game of shifting conflict and alliance (the Térraba of the Atlantic coast being notable among them), allowing paramount chiefs who doubled as religious leaders to access goods critical to maintaining power (especially iron tools and weapons) while keeping other cultural influences at bay, particularly the Spanish government and church. Intrigue within the ruling elite finally opened the door to the corrosive influences of missionaries and schools during the tumult of the early republic in the nineteenth century.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Sociocultural trends
- Cultural identity and pride
- Chief executive
- External relations
- Inter-ethnic relations
- Internal trade
- External trade
- Routes
- Missions
- Cultural revitalization and ethnogenesis
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Talamancans
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2012
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Middle America and the Caribbean
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Central America
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Historian
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Leon G. Doyon ; 2012
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- no date
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1502-1899
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- southern Costa Rica and western Panama
- NotesAdditional notes
- Eugenia Ibarra R.
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 150-151)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 76644036
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Boruca Indians
- Talamanca Indians