This past weekend we visited the Bribri tribe in Talamanca. It is always touching how these indigenous groups, poor in material wealth, but rich in human spirit, receive us so warmly and openly. A group of young Bribris put on a theatrical presentation for us entitled “Donde Esta Pablo Presbere?” Pablo Presbere, or Pa-Blu, was a cacique who lived in the area in the early 1700’s. He led an indigenous uprising against the Spanish and was hunted down and captured. He was then taken to Cartago and executed, with his head raised on a pole to serve as a warning to other Indians who might consider further insurrection. The young Bribris put much emotion into the presentation and I was likewise emotionally impacted. The scene where Presbere and others returned from a hunting trip and found a young Indian girl, perhaps Presbere’s daughter, lying dead from a Spanish gunshot was particularly moving. The young actors adequately captured the anguish and despair that their ancestors must have felt. They also displayed the rage that prompted Presbere to lead an insurrection that cost the Spanish many lives. While watching it dawned on me that the human race is infected with the ability to subject itself to irrational cruelty for the sake of material things, like land, gold and other natural resources. Just like in the U.S., the indigenous peoples had been living in harmony with nature long before the colonists and the conquistadors arrived. They could not be satisfied with what their native land provided for them, so they set out to take what was not theirs. To make matters worse they tried to subject the native inhabitants to their ways of thinking and believing, thus wiping out thousands of years of ingrained culture. The Bribris of Costa Rica are holding fast to the last remnants of that culture and this young theatrical group is an inspiring example of that noble attempt. The closing song they sang spoke of the pride they felt to carry Bribri blood in their veins. Costa Rica should stop turning a blind eye to them and take steps to assure that their culture does not become a forgotten relic of the past. Young ticos should know who Pablo Presbere was and what his memory means to a group of people who called Costa Rica home long before Juan Santamaria set fire to the Mesón.
Video of Our Bribri Visit
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