The Shamans of the Bribri Indigenous Tribe at Cordillera de Talamanca
The Bribri Indigenous Tribe from Cordillera de Talamanca is one of the few remaining indigenous groups in Costa Rica. The Cordillera of Talamanca is the most rugged and unpopulated area of the country. The centerpiece of this mountain is the great mountain of Chirripó.
The Bribri social structure is organized in Clans.
Each clan is composed of an extended family. The clan system is matrilineal, which means; the child’s clan is determined by the clan his or her mother belongs to. This gives women a very important status within the tribe. For example, they are the only ones who can inherit the land and prepare the holy cacao drink, which is a sacred part of their rituals.
The Shaman or “awa” holds a very important place within the Bribri society.
To this day, all the knowledge is transmitted orally from an older The Shamans to the apprentice. Some of those valuable pieces of knowledge are the healing practices; they combine herbal medicine and spiritual healing. In order to heal, the shaman must learn a special song that allows him to connect to the trinity represented by the spirit of the plant being used, the disease, and the person. The shaman establishes the perfect connection with the three spirits, initiates the conversation, and with the aid of the plant spirit, convinces the illness to leave the person.
The Bribri spiritual center is a conical house. These cone-shaped houses can also be found in many Amazonian groups. The conical house is a symbolic representation of the Universe; it is supported by pillars, symbolizing the animals that help Sibu (God) in the building of the Universe.
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