{"id":4471,"date":"2024-05-07T16:36:47","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T14:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/morphocostarica.com\/?p=4471"},"modified":"2024-11-26T16:25:42","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T16:25:42","slug":"stories-and-lifestyles-of-the-maleku-indigenous-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/morphocostarica.com\/en\/histoires-et-modes-de-vie-de-la-communaute-autochtone-maleku\/","title":{"rendered":"Stories and ways of life of the Maleku indigenous community"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a number of years, Morpho Evasaions Costa Rica has been working closely with the Malekus Amerindian community in the northern region of Guatuso. The Malekus want to show visitors their way of life and their rich culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Malekus are one of the few indigenous groups in Costa Rica to have succeeded in keeping their language alive, Malekus. <\/span>maleku-haika<\/span><\/i>The Malekus are also known for their traditional way of life, based on hunting, fishing, horticulture and gathering. The Malekus can build circular dwellings, conical huts for ritual purposes, as well as large rectangular houses - called <\/span>palenques<\/span><\/i> - for social and ceremonial use. Their handicrafts include engraved gourds and wooden masks depicting animals such as jaguars, monkeys, snakes and butterflies (Ceruti, 2010: 42).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We propose here to cross-reference information gathered in the community from the dean of a family with studies drawn from academic anthropological works that provide further details on the history and cosmovision of this community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I- Amerindian communities in Costa Rica\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Costa Rica<\/a> has 8 indigenous communities divided into 24 territories called <\/span>Reservas Indigenas<\/span><\/i> the <\/span>Bribris, Cab\u00e9cares, Malekus, Chorotegas, Huetares, Ngabes, Bruncas and Terrabas. Costa Rican Amerindians account for 2.4% of the country's total population (according to the latest census in 2011); they number around 104,000 and 34.5% live in <\/span>Reservas Indigenas<\/span><\/i> (Aguilar, 2022: 47).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Native law <\/span>(Ley Indigena)<\/span><\/i> of 1977 legally recognizes these territories established over the past 45 years. According to this law, indigenous territories are inalienable and imprescriptible, non-transferable and exclusive to the native communities that inhabit them. However, the lack of physical demarcation and enforcement of this legislation has allowed outsiders to appropriate lands and resources, leading to the destruction of native ways of life. Currently, only 60% of reserve land is in indigenous hands (Morales, 2015: 177).<\/span><\/p>\n

The map below shows the geographical distribution of the various Amerindian territories in Costa Rica (Aguilar, 2021: 24):<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Indigenous<\/p>\n

The Malekus community is the smallest Amerindian group in Costa Rica, with around 700 inhabitants nationwide (Aguilar, 2022: 48); they live mainly in the Guatuso Indigenous Reserve (<\/span>Reserva Ind\u00edgena de los Guatusos<\/span><\/i>) created in 1976. The reserve covers an area of 2,994 hectares and is located in the district of San Rafael de Guatuso in the province of Alajuela, with three main sites: El Sol, Tonjibe and Margarita (V\u00e1zquez, 2006: 28). <\/span>The reserve is located between the El Sol, La Muerte and La Cucaracha rivers, crossed from north to south by the national road known as the North Atlantic Corridor since 1983. <\/span>(Aguilar, 2022: 48). What's more, only 20% of Malekus territory is actually under indigenous administration; the remaining 80% are occupied by allochtones (non-Amerindian people) (Morales, 2015: 178).<\/span><\/p>\n

II- The Malekus during colonization and in the 19th century<\/b><\/h2>\n
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    Stolen territories and decimated populations\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Their ancestral territory stretched between the Tenorio and Arenal volcanoes, encompassing the Rio Celeste river and Cano Negro. According to Malekus legends, the Rio Celeste waterfall is bewitched, as gold offerings were once thrown into it. Even today, therefore, care should be taken when wearing gold jewelry when bathing there; a \"tico\" from the town of San Jos\u00e9, unaware of the warning, is said to have lost a very precious gold chain while bathing in the waterfall (Ceruti, 2010: 41)!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Oral tradition plays an important role, and the community's stories are passed down from generation to generation. Rigoberto, the oldest member of the family we meet, tells us:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"According to history, we were 22 communities, 22 peoples and 11,000 inhabitants. But then came the Spanish invasion. The settlers stole land, raped women and killed children. They brought ferocious dogs and started killing Malekus who wanted to defend their land. Several battles took place in the so-called River of Death (<\/span><\/i>El Rio de la Muerte<\/span>). People would fall into the river, and the water would run red with blood, giving it its name, the River of Death.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    Because of the war at that time, malaria, tuberculosis, snake bites and the invaders with their weapons, our population, who had only bows and arrows to defend themselves, was soon decimated. Many of the survivors left for Tenorio, others for Upala. When the conflict calmed down a little, our community was scattered all over the place. The division created by the invaders was the cause of the Malekus' demise as a large, united community. Because there are now 24 indigenous territories throughout Costa Rica. Amerindians were living in Costa Rica long before the invasion! After that, Christopher Columbus came and started intruding into our territories, but we are the original population! The core of the country! \"<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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    They mainly grew bananas, cocoa and corn. It's worth mentioning that some crops had multiple uses in the past. For example, pejibaye, used as food, also provided materials for roofing houses, making bows, arrows, spears and wooden machetes. Today, pejibaye is used solely for local consumption and sale (Vasquez, 2006: 33).<\/span><\/p>\n

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      \u00a0Lifestyle between the 19th and 20th centuries<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The Malekus' subsistence activities in the early 20th century, when they still had access to most of their historic territory and to their land and water resources, were based on the ability to combine production, hunting, fishing and gathering strategies:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n