Costa Rica Cultural Artifacts

In every culture there are artifacts that serve the same purpose, but they have different meanings because of their history. Baskets, weapons, bowls and various other artifacts are good examples of this. Costa Rica is a small country located in Central America. It was a peaceful place until the Spanish arrived around 1522 and started colonizing it (my trans.; Costa Rica Embassy). Many of the American Indian tribes that lived there were almost destroyed, like in many other places. Their heritage though, still lives on to this day as do many of their cultural artifacts. It is something that is a part of me and my culture. One of these artifacts that always had me frightened in childhood and later made me laugh were masks. Masks and the “Mascaradas” are a legacy left behind that says much of the Costa Rican culture and its history. In all the cultures of the world there is some type of mask, but all of these symbolize something different. A mask, like many other artifacts were used to communicate and convey a message that could be religious, ceremonial or of any other type (my trans.; Chang 17). In Costa Rica, the tribes used masks for funerals and they made animal masks to represent feelings and natural and social elements. Ceramic, jade, gold and stone were the materials used

A dance called “El baile de los diablitos” (The dance of the little devils) is one of the main ceremonies that contained these masks (my trans.; Vargas 139). It started with the “borucas”. An indigenous tribe that was at war with the Spanish. This dance consisted of two sides. The ones with masks of bulls that depicted the Spanish colonizers and the ones with masks of devils that represented the indigenous warriors (my trans.; Vargas 140). The dance takes place for three days. It depicts the defeat of the little devils, their resurgence, and then the defeat of the