Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MALEKU
The Maleku (colloquially referred to as the Guatuso) are one of the few remaining indigen-
ous groups in Costa Rica. Historically, they were organized into 12 communities scattered
around the Tilarán-Guanacaste range and the Llanura de San Carlos. Although their num-
bers dwindled following the arrival of Spanish colonists, the population survived relatively
intact until the early 20th century. With the invention of the automobile, the US rubber in-
dustry started searching for new reserves to meet the increasing demand for tires. With
the aid of Nicaraguan mercenaries, industry representatives scoured Central America for
stable rubber reserves, which were found on land inhabited by the Maleku. The resulting
rubber war virtually wiped out the Maleku population, and confined survivors to a handful
of communities. Today, the Maleku number around 400, and live in the threepalenques
(settlements) of Sol, Margarita and Tonjibe.
As is the situation with most indigenous groups in Costa Rica, the Maleku are among
the poorest communities in the country, and they survive by adhering to a subsistence
lifestyle. Their diet revolves around corn and thetipuisquiroot, a traditional food source
that grows wild in the region. Fortunately, since the Maleku have a rich artisan tradition,
they are able to earn a small income by selling traditional crafts to tourists. Historically,
the Maleku were renowned for their impressive jade work and arrow craftsmanship.
Nowadays, their crafts primarily consist of pottery, jewelry, musical instruments and oth-
er small trinkets for the tourist market.
The Maleku are also famous for their unique style of clothing made fromtana(tree
bark that has been stripped of its outer layer, soaked in water and then pounded thin on
wooden blocks). After it has been dried and bleached in the sun, tana can be stitched to-
gether like leather, and has a soft texture similar to suede. Although today it's rare to see
Maleku wearing anything other than Western-style clothing,tanaarticles are often
offered for sale to tourists.
Despite being small in number, the Maleku have held on to their cultural heritage, per-
haps more than any other indigenous group in Costa Rica. This is especially evident in
their language, which is one of the oldest in the Americas and linguistically distinct from
the Amazonian and Maya dialects. Today, the Maleku still speak their language among
themselves, and a local radio station, Radio Sistema Cultural Maleku, airs daily programs
in the Maleku language. The Maleku have also maintained their ceremonial traditions,
such as the seasonal custom of crying out to Mother Nature for forgiveness through ritu-
alistic song and dance.
