Warrior customs

Colonial sources provide some data about the way in which the Huetars fought. One of the most complete accounts of these practices is offered by the aforementioned Jerónimo Benzoni, when he describes the struggle of the indians of Suerre, who were joined by the Huetares of Tayutic to destroy the group of Spaniards led by Governor Diego Gutiérrez in 1544:

"with frightful cries and noise, making a racket with horns and drums, all painted red and black, with plumage and gold jewelry around their necks and other trappings, as is customary in all these nations of the Indies when they go to war... We were soon killed with rocks and batons, and run through with spears made of palm wood... We passed through more than twenty-five Indians, and they were all lords, who each carried only one spear in their hand and a cloak thrown over one shoulder, and they had no paint like the others… we found out that they had cut off and taken the head, feet, and hands of the Governor [Diego Gutiérrez], as well as of two black men, and all the others had been stripped down and thrown into a stream, and that everything had been taken except the oil and the soap". (In L. Fernandez 1889, 89-90).

The following observations are inferred from the previous text:

1. shouting and musical instruments (wind and percussion) accompanied the fighters,

2. they got painted and decorated (according to Benzoni, it was general),

3. they used rocks, batons and spears as offensive weapons,

4. a hierarchical boss-soldier order was established, marked by external behaviors,

5. the winners cut off the head and other members of the body as a trophy (see details on page 65).

In 1563, the chieftain of Tayutic communicated to Juan Vázquez de Coronado that the chieftain of Suerre «has the clothes and weapons of Diego Gutiérrez and of his people» (Vázquez de Coronado 1964, 61), so that not only did they cut limbs, but that they also took precious objects. In this particular case, the weapons of the Spaniards must have caused some kind of admiration among the indians of Suerre, since they took them and kept them for almost twenty years. But the Huetares also did the same with the Spaniards they killed in the Atirro rebellion in 1564:

[Juan Vázquez de Coronado] was received with armed hands and the insignias of the said dead men (M. Peralta 1883, 337).

Finally, and according to the documentary sources, the Huetar women didn't accompany the men to war, as the Coctu indian women did, in the South Pacific of Costa Rica. Juan Vázquez de Coronado recounts that these indians had such a custom, «for which they are called by the Güetares and other nations, Biritecas» (Vázquez de Coronado 1964, 50), In the opinion of E. Ibarra (personal conversation) the situation of Coctu was particular, because they were kept in large and enclosed rooms since they were threatened. Hence the women had to help.

Source:

Quesada-Pacheco, M. (1996). Los huetares: historia, lengua, etnografía y tradición oral, pp. 58. Editorial Tecnológica de Costa Rica.