We typically frame the decline of any indigenous people in this part of the world in the context of Spanish colonisation. In fact, though, the Maleku were almost unknown to the Spanish until the mid-Eighteenth Century. Even then they successfully resisted attempts to conquer them. The principal decimation started a hundred years later at the hands of powerful rubber barons from neighbouring Nicaragua.

At this same time the Maleku were first contacted by Catholic missionaries. Not only had their numbers declined at the hands of the rubber barons, many Maleku men had been captured, taken prisoner, enslaved and trafficked for labour. In contrast, the missionaries provided the possibility of a lifestyle that the remaining Maleku had never known. They introduced them to “modern” items such as metal tools and woven clothing. They also gave them guns to fight off the rubber barons. Following the victory, they encouraged the Maleku to farm crops such as maize and cacao for cash economics. Of course, they also introduced Christianity. Thus began the gradual loss of Maleku culture.

Like most indigenous peoples, the Maleku have their own creation mythology. Toca is the name of their god of creation. Few Maleku worship Him these days — except during re-enactments of ancient ceremonies staged for tourists.

Tourism is a significant part of the Maleku economy these days. While few outsiders visit the reservation for more than a few hours, many visit the nearby town of La Fortuna, from where it is a convenient bus ride. Many Maleku women have become skilled artisans, making and painting a variety of items for sale to tourists such as balsa wood masks, gourds and musical instruments. These are now sold at most tourism destinations in Costa Rica as well as internationally.

The Maleku Indians comprises of approx. 800 members, who live on a government reservation, about 70 km from the Arenal volcano. The Maleku explain to us the origins of the earth: “Our ancestors said that at the beginning Toca a large stone opened - from that stone came a person, he said you are the people Maleku. Toca also created a large bird, the Red Ara, the holy bird. He said this bird would represent the symbol of my creation, the Great Spirit in you.”

The Maleku are proud of their indigenous roots and strive to preserve and retain their inherited culture. Although they live very closely with other Costa Ricans of European extraction, they, unlike the tribes of the Bribri or Borukas in the more inaccessible mountains of the Talamanca region, succeed in the upholding of their traditions whilst living in the modern age.