Wild myths: Costa Rican animal legends

 From The Tico Times:

 Wild myths: Costa Rican animal legends

The Bribrí people from Costa Rica’s south believe that this and all tapirs are actually spirits of a larger god tapir.

Lindsay Fendt/The Tico Times

Long before hordes of tourists and biologists began flocking to Costa Rica for its amazing biodiversity, the country’s native peoples were the area’s first wildlife experts. Through close observation during frequent close encounters with animals, Costa Rica’s indigenous populations built up extensive mythologies surrounding the country’s wildlife. These beliefs are best preserved among Costa Rica’s Bribrí and Boruca; animals feature prominently in their legends, healing ceremonies and even their dreams.
Creature clairvoyance
Shamans use the appearance of certain animals in dreams to predict the possible fate of the dreamer. A vulture (Cathartidae) in a dream signals that the dreamer is sick with a parasite, while a child who dreams of parrots (Psittacidae) will likely grow up to become a healer. A pregnant woman who dreams of a motmot (Momotidae) is likely to have a miscarriage.
Another traditional belief is that the traits of certain revered animals can be bestowed on children while they are still in the womb. Placing the right foot of a water opossum (Chironectes minimus) in the hut of a pregnant woman can ensure that the child will be born with greater fishing skills; doing the same with the claws of a northern tamandua (Tamandua mexicana) can endow a new baby with resilience.
Animals also play a significant role in beliefs about death. Both the common opossum (Didelphis marsupials) and the naked-tailed armadillo (Cabassous centralis) are seen by the the Bribrí people as harbingers of death. This belief is still embodied in the modern Spanish name of the naked-tailed armadillo, madillo zopilote, which means vulture armadillo. Another animal, the silky anteater (Cyclopes didactylus), is believed to carry the Bribrí’s souls to heaven.

Boruca painter Marvin González uses jaguars and other animals in many of his paintings due to their importance in the myths and culture of the Boruca people.

(Courtesy of Marvin González)

Creation
Usually depicted as scary and violent, a vampire bat (Phyllostomidae) is the unlikely hero of the Bribrí’s creation myth.
The story begins on an earth without soil or plants. Only rock and gravel covered the planet’s surface until a vampire bat flew into the center of the earth to feed off the blood of a baby jaguar (Panthera onca). With that nourishment, the bat was able to return to the earth’s surface and fertilize it. Using the guano left behind by the bat, the Bribrí god Sibú was able to plant the world’s first tree.
Spirit animals
Though many of the Boruca traditions have been lost over time, every year since the Spanish conquest, the Boruca have put on the Juego de los Diablitos (Little Devils’ Game), where the performers often dress in animal masks. Usually depicting strong animals, like the jaguar, or wise animals, like an owl or parrot, the masks represent the inner traits of the wearer.
Both Boruca and Bribrí legends also include the belief that certain animals on earth carry the spirit of gods.
In Boruca legends, quetzals (Pharomachrus mocinno) carry the spirit of the great warrior Satú. According to the legend, Satú was born to a great chief; on the day of his birth, a quetzal came down to the village to sing. As a tribute, the villagers made Satú a medallion shaped like a quetzal that would protect him. Satú was never hurt in battle while he wore the medallion; in battle, quetzals protect the Bocura. But one day in a fit of jealousy, Satú’s uncle stole the medallion while he slept. The next day, while Satú was unprotected, his uncle killed him in the forest, but a quetzal flew down and sat over Satú’s body, it then flew away to live in the mountains where it stayed forever, carrying Satú’s spirit.
The Bribrí people believe that all the world’s tapirs (Tapirus bairdii) are spirits of a tapir god, the sister of Sibú. Legend has it that Sibú planned to marry off his sister in exchange for a wife of his own, but because she can tell the future, Tapir could see her brother’s intentions and could also see that if she married, it would end unhappily. Tapir refused to get married, so her brother sent some of her spirit to earth for the Bribrí to hunt.
Because of their beliefs, Bribrís have extensive ceremonies surrounding tapir hunting. Only certain sects of Bribrís can hunt tapirs, and only one woman per village is trained to cook the animal properly. Any violations of the ritual will incur the wrath of the Tapir god.

Read more “Into the Wild” columns here

“Into the Wild” is a monthly wildlife column from photojournalist Lindsay Fendt. Stay tuned each month for more glimpses into Costa Rica’s extraordinary biodiversit

 

Most Visited National Parks of Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s Six Most Popular National Parks

Peter Majerle | February 4, 2015

Taken from the Tico Times

 Uvita en Ballena,

With nearly 2.5 million visitors in 2013 (the latest statistics available), Costa Rica’s diverse national parks system is the main reason many people travel here. Whether you’re looking for mountain landscapes, active volcanoes, virgin rainforests or white-sand beaches, you’ll find something in the country’s protected lands. Here are the six national parks that received the most visitors.

1    Poás Volcano National Park

Poás Volcano National Park. Andrés Madrigal/The Tico Times

Costa Rica’s most visited national park owes part of its popularity to its proximity to the urban centers of the Central Valley. But closeness itself is not reason enough to draw so many visitors. Poás Volcano, which sits at around 9,000 feet above sea level, boasts one of the largest craters on Earth. When the clouds lift, as happens often, the crater reveals a myriad of colors and delicate landscapes. Several safe trails snake throughout the park, leading to the emerald-colored Botos lagoon, which is an old crater. Poás has a new visitor’s center complete with museum, parking area, picnic area, and a small café.

2    Manuel Antonio National Park

Manuel Antionio National Park. Andrés Madrigal/The Tico TImes

Foreigners flock here for a chance to live a day in a postcard-like setting. Manuel Antonio National Park’s beaches are the epitome of tropical perfection, the kind of place where the only distractions from the crashing surf come from monkeys swinging in the palm trees.
Morning is the best time, for sunny skies and to avoid crowds (only 600 people are admitted during weekdays; 800 on weekends). Hike to the third beach within the park; it may be the most spectacular beach in Costa Rica, with verdant, coconut palm-lined white-sand shores. Check out the tombolo, which is a deposit of sand built up by millenniums of crashing waves, connecting an island with the mainland. A trail will take you to the top of Cathedral Point, offering spectacular vistas of surrounding beaches and cliffs. The trail is steep and muddy; take care and go with a partner.
Snorkeling is excellent, as is observation of sea life. Sponges, corals, various crustaceans, algae and fish all share the coast. Dolphins and whales sometimes frolic off the islands, and at low tide you can see ancient turtle traps set by the local indigenous population over a thousand years ago.

3    Irazú Volcano National Park

Irazú Volcano National Park. Andrés Madrigal/The Tico Times

If you can beat the buses, which usually start to arrive around 8:00 a.m., you’ll have the entire park to yourself. After you park, head back towards the bus parking area to the observation point. If it’s early and the day is clear, you may be able to see the Caribbean and Pacific at the same time. The view is astounding.
Then head down and observe the craters. You’ll feel like you’re on another planet. The huge, ashy crater upon which you stand stands in stark contrast the Costa Rica’s green reputation, and the awesome potential power of the volcano makes anyone’s heart race. Check out the various craters: the main crater is a kilometer across and over a thousand feet deep.

4    Tortuguero National Park

Tortuguero National Park. Andrés Madrigal/The TIco TImes

Giant sea turtles nest on these beaches every year from March to mid-October. Of the world’s eight species of sea turtles, six nest in Costa Rica, four of which you can find in this park. But even if you don’t come for the turtles, there is still plenty to do. You can travel the main highways: canals lined with rainforest, teeming with wildlife. You’ll glide along on a placid waterway, the Caribbean just 100 meters away on one side, the rainforest on the other, where three species of monkeys (howler, spider and white-faced) dwell, as well as some 60 species of amphibians and 400 species of birds (including toucans and great green macaws).
If you do come for the turtles, the best time to see green turtles is from July to October, when the arribada brings in thousands of the reptiles en masse.

5    Cahuita National Park

Cahuita National Park. Andrés Madrigal/The Tico Times

A walk along this park’s easy-to-hike trails will almost certainly afford glimpses of local wildlife, including tropical birds, countless insects and, if you have a sharp eye, sloths and monkeys. Even if you don’t see the monkeys, you’ll probably hear them: that loud, bellowing call is from the howler monkey. The howler’s call can be heard more than a kilometer away – even through dense rainforest.
Not only does Cahuita have some of the country’s best swimming beaches, but it also boasts Costa Rica’s greatest living coral reef. Just off the shore (200 to 500 meters) is a living underwater habitat full of colorful tropical fish (over 120 species) and 35 species of coral. Snorkeling is good, especially during the dry season, but the clarity and quality has diminished in recent years due to runoff from banana plantations and silt caused by logging.

6    Ballena National Marine Park

Ballena National Marine Park. Andrés Madrigal/The Tico TImes

Time your visit to Ballena with the low tide and cross the river estuary, heading towards the tombolo on Punta Uvita, which is a natural sand bridge between the shore and an island. Here the beaches are a tepid 88 degrees, waves are minimal and the current won’t take you for a ride. Cut open some coconuts, have a drink, catch some rays and understand what Pura Vida really means.