The destination for today
was an indigenous community. Rafael, the Bri-Bri community organizer, greeted
us and gave us a run down about indigenous life. He spent an hour telling us
about how two tribes live in this reserve, and that each one has different
rules and regulations, but are governed similarly which is why it made sense
for them to be together. He told us a story about how Sibü (god) and the earth
were connected by a large tree, but this was too close for the indigenous
people so they asked white people to help cut down the tree. Therefore, their beliefs
prescribe a positive relationship between light skinned and indigenous people.
He told us that if a woman marries an external man, the kids will be part of
the tribe, but if a man marries an external woman their kids will not be part
of the tribe because it’s passed maternally.
After his talk, I asked Cris,
the TA, to stay back so I can talk to Rafael and Cris could help translate. I
asked Rafael to tell stories of their religion, and he told me about how Sibü
is from another universe and came to this one, sacrificed his niece Hiridia,
and created the Earth. Each tribe is represented by an animal or plant, the
tribes worship all together in a conical house that represents the layers of
the earth and underworld. There’s also a Dinamu (water jaguar), a demon, that
comes to Earth through the water to eat people.
Rafael was really touched
that I was interested in this culture, and offered to give me a book about the
Bri-Bri people. I told him I was interested in learning about his culture, so
he taught me words in Bri-Bri such as: Bure-bure
(good night/ tomorrow), chi-chi (dog),
cua-cua (butterfly), Wokie (boss), mamarkua (flower), wimbro (spirit).
Cris offered how I have my own culture I could share, Hebrew and Judaism.
Rafael asked me to speak Hebrew to him, which I did willingly, despite knowing
that he would not understand a word I said. I asked him if he wanted to know a
few words, and since he didn’t have a place to write down what I said, I went
to the whiteboard to teach. We started with common words and phrases, and
eventually got to the alphabet and writing people’s names. Two boys, probably
aged 17, who listened and chimed in when Rafael told me stories, became
fascinated when I got to the Hebrew part. They sat in front of the whiteboard,
asked questions, practiced pronunciation, and were invested in my lesson. At
the end Rafael thanked me for teaching him my culture, and I thanked him for
teaching me his. It was fascinating, honestly, how this night turned into a
total jumble of Spanish, English, Hebrew, and Bri-Bri and learning about
cultures and exchanging stories. I wish I could stay here for longer so I could
get to know the indigenous community better. The night was incredible,
fascinating, and unforgettable. Rafael ended up gifting me a limited-edition
book about indigenous clans in Costa Rica and a hand-crafted ornament, which will
always serve as a reminder of this night of cultural interchange and 4-way
language translations. 
No comments:
Post a Comment