Indirect etiquette patterns in bribri everyday life

Sumario: This article proposes the category of indirect etiquette patterns as a construct that makes it easier to organize collective behaviors of the Bribri and Cabecar indigenous groups of Costa Rica. Therefore, it informs about frequent patterns in everyday life designed to avoid confrontation with people or their surroundings. The authors gathered data through ethnographic field work carried out at different times, most recently between 2014 and 2017 (by Pozo), and the earliest ones between 1970 and 1980 (by Bozzoli). Data also comes from reviewing literature. The concept was discussed with elderly people of the community (Këkëpa), who expressed their interpretation according to Bribri thought. The discussants are residents of the Lari and Coen valleys of Talamanca. Indirect behavioral patterns of communication turned out to be classifiable into subcategories: indirect conversation, use of substitute codes and protocols of respect. Indirect etiquette is a descriptive category which has not been used in previous ethnographic literature; it was found to facilitate organizing indirect observances and their possible explanations. Indirect patterns avoid conflict and preserve meaning related to identity and worldview; knowing about them helps the outsider to Bribri customs to establish better relationships with the Bribri communities.