Book

The Talamancan tribes of Costa Rica

The Peabody Museum43 (2) • Published In 1962 • Pages: x, 108

By: Stone, Doris.

Abstract
This source is a general ethnography of Talmancan peoples, focusing almost exclusively on the Bribri and Cabécar groups. The data presented include geography (divided culturally into the Chirripó river valley [both upper or Central Plateau, and lower or Caribbean coastal plain], upper and lower Talamanca [canton], and the adjacent Pacific slopes), historical orientation, the language, subsistence activities, houses and house types, dress and ornamentation, transportation, manufacture, the life cycle, recreation and leisure activities, religion and magic, mythology and native arts (dance, songs, etc.). Information on medicine men and their activities is of particular interest. The author presents translations of native texts pertaining to various myths and songs. There are three appendices: first deals with cultivated foods and domestic animals; the second has scores of two Bribri songs; the third, written by Carlos Meléndez Ch., is presented as a separate document in this collection. The author was an ethnologist and archaeologist with a special interest in Central America.
Subjects
Literary texts
Texts translated into english
Burial practices and funerals
Mourning
Clans
Kinship terminology
Shamans and psychotherapists
Diet
Dwellings
Normal garb
Ornament
Traditional history
Music
Texts in the speaker's language
culture
Talamancans
HRAF PubDate
2012
Region
Middle America and the Caribbean
Sub Region
Central America
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 1961
Field Date
1956-1959
Coverage Date
1956-1959
Coverage Place
Bribri and Cabecar peoples,southern Costa Rica
Notes
Doris Z. Stone
Includes bibliographical references (p. 107-108)
LCCN
62052039
LCSH
Talamanca Indians