Costa Rica: Cultural Research

Cultural Research
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Cultural Research
The Republic of Costa Rica is a Central American country bordered on the north by Nicaragua, Southeast by Panama, west by Pacific Ocean, east by Caribbean Sea and south by Cocos Island. Since its independence, it has been identified as the most progressive, prosperous and stable Latin American nation. It boasts of a rich culture that was predominantly influenced by the Spanish Culture. Regardless of this, its culture has also been influenced by the Jamaican, Caribbean and other indigenous cultures (West, 2009). Though history dictates that the name Costa Rica was initially coined by Christopher Columbus during one of his voyages, archaeological evidence indicates that civilization was evident in Coat Rica even before the arrival of Columbus. This civilization is attributed to the four indigenous tribes that inhabited Cost Rica prior to Columbus’ visit and hence, the civilization constitutes one of the major factors that have shaped its culture.
Its state as a Spanish colony encompasses another major factor that has shaped its current culture. For this reason, Cost Rica’s official language is Spanish. However, such native languages as Ngabere, Bibri, Cabecar and Maleku are still spoken by some inhabitants. Along the Caribbean Coast, the most popular languages spoken include Jamaican Patois and Creole-English. The first major foreign language used in Costa Rica is English followed by German, French, Chinese and Italian (Daling, 2002). As per the demographic figures, 0.3% of the population speaks German or Portuguese, 0.7% French and 10.7% English. Religion-wise, the most predominant religion is Roman Catholicism that originated from Spain’s colonial influence. Approximately 70.5% of the Costa Rican population practices Roman Catholicism. This, however, does not obliterate the other religions being practiced in the country.
The rise of evangelical Protestantism marks the major challenge facing Roman Catholicism with a following of 13.8%. While 4.3% of the population belongs to other religions, 11.3% are not affiliated to any religion. 2% of the 4.3% is marked by Buddhism due to immigrants from Middle East and Asia. The remaining percentage is occupied by Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Baha’i, Taoism, Rastafari, Scientology, Neopaganism, Jehovah’s Witness and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mitchell, & Pentzer, 2008). One of the must-see religious landmarks in San Jose encompasses the Sinagoga Shaarei Zion. In addition, a variety of homes do display Jewish symbols and the Star of David. In august 2nd the whole country celebrates the National patron saint holiday of Our Lady of the Angels. This attracts pilgrims to the Cartago’s Basilica. While smaller local saints’ celebrations are sponsored by local churches, their magnitude cannot be compared with that of the national holiday.
Religious-wise, catholic burials take place after a church funeral. This is followed by the recitation of rosaries and masses. In addition, wakes are usually held in funeral parlors of the deceased’s home. One fundamental aspect of any culture encompasses the ethnic groups that make up the population of that country. In Costa Rica, the highest percentage of the population is made up of people originating from the Spanish ancestry (Palmer, & Molina, 2009). This is coupled with Greek, British, Italian, German, Italian and Swedish minority ancestry. 83% of the Cost Rican population is made up of castizos, mestizos and whites. The four major minority groups in Costa Rica include Amerindians, Mulattos, Asians and Blacks. The Chinese make up 1% of the population. 0.8% of the population is made up of indigenous or Native American inhabitants. These are divided into the eight ethnic groups of terraba, Boruca, Guaymi, Cabecar, Bribri, Maleku, Matambu and Quitirrisi. Intrinsically, the stability of the country has attracted refugees from a variety of the other Latin American nations.
In terms of family, marriage and Kinship, the domestic family unit is made up of the extended families inhabiting the same household, while the other relatives living close by. Among the poor, female-headed families are very common. The median age at which Costa Rican women get married at is 21 while that of men is 24. Separation and divorces are very frequent in the country. While premarital sex is predominant in both the men and the women. Infidelity is a vice that is common in Costa Rica with most men maintaining second families or mistresses (West, 2009). Descent is evidenced through the mother’s or father’s last names. Flexibility is highly practiced in inheritance and in most cases any property owned by unmarried couples is usually registered using the woman’s name. In terms o...