Collection ID: 0002 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Authors

• Lebkowitz

Other related names

• Berendt, C. Hermann 1817-1878, former owner
• Brinton, Daniel Garrison, 1837-1899, former owner

Call number

Alternate identifiers

• bibid: 9947422323503681
• http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/537308740
• http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/4742232

Publisher

Language

Origin

Date

ca. 1874

Summary

C. Hermann Berendt's handwritten transcription of a list of 147 vocabulary entries (p. 1-2, 10) in Spanish, with the equivalent in an unspecified Indian language (or dialect) of the Talamanca region in southeastern Costa Rica, probably Bribri, but possibly including Cabecar; accompanied by a 4-leaf questionnaire (p. 3-6), with 90 numbered questions and responses, concerning Indians of the Talamanca region identified as Viceitas (Biceitas, Biseytas), a designation that is often associated with the Bribri Indians but sometimes with both Bribri and Cabecar Indians. The questions are in the hand of Berendt, and the responses, although having a different appearance, are probably also in his hand. The vocabulary entries appear to be numbered 1-137 but, due to a repetition of the numbers 110-119, actually amount to 147; the last 11 vocabulary entries, numbered 126 to 137, are written at the end of the questionnaire (p. 10). According to the title page, the vocabulary was recorded by Lebkowitz in Moin, in the Limón province of Costa Rica. A note by Berendt (also on title page) explains that the (original?) manuscript was obtained by Charles N. Riotte and brought by him to Washington, D.C., in 1867, where, later on, in 1874, it was transcribed and sent to Berendt; Philipp J. J. Valentini is mentioned, perhaps as intermediary. (Riotte served as the U. S. ambassador, or minister resident, in Costa Rica from 1861 to 1867.) The vocabulary list has the heading: Republic of Costa Rica / Name of tribes / Queun, Bribri, Cabecar, & San José Cabagra. In another note (title page) Berendt identifies the person responsible for the notes (noticias) referred to in the title (meaning, evidently, the material in the questionnaire) simply as a Costa Rican. The first question asks, what do the Talmancans (Talamancas) call their tribe? The response is: Biseyta (possibly written initially as: Viseyta). The second question asks: what do the other Indian tribes in the vicinity call them? The response lists: Cuen; Orosi; Bribri; Uren; Tiliri; Cabeceros de Tiliri, San José Cabeguer; la Estrella; Jabui; Cabeceras de Blanco; Chirripo; Terebes (Teribe, Terraba). (The language of the last-named group, Terraba, is considered to be distinct from Bribri and Cabecar.) The questions are grouped under headings, roughly: names of the tribes; geography of the territory they inhabit; numbers of them; physical appearance; dress and basic way of life; dwellings; trade and interactions with other tribes; social life; war; medicine; literature; calendar and astronomy; history; and antiquities. For approximately 10 questions the responder indicates that he does not know the answer.

Notes

• Ms. codex.
   
• Title from title page (p. i).
   
• This was the fourteenth of 19 manuscripts formerly bound together, probably by Daniel Garrison Brinton, and now disbound (Items 129-136, 143, 145, 146, 151-155, and 157-159). The bound volume had the spine title: Languages of Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
   

Extent

Foliation

Support

Binding

Layout

Script

Provenance

• From the collection of C. Hermann Berendt, later acquired by Daniel Garrison Brinton (ex libris stamp on the verso of front free endpaper in the bound volume that once contained the present item).
   

Subjects topical

• Bribri dialect--Glossaries, vocabularies, etc
• Cabecar language--Glossaries, vocabularies, etc
• Terraba language--Glossaries, vocabularies, etc
• Indians of Central America--Costa Rica--Languages
• Bribri Indians
• Cabecar Indians
• Terraba Indians
• Talamanca Indians

Genres

• Glossaries
• Manuscripts, Spanish--19th century
• Manuscripts, Latin American

Licenses

• Text

  These images and the content of Rare Book & Manuscript Library Ms. Coll. 700 Item 157: Vocabulario y noticias de los biceitas, indios de Costa Rica are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

• Text

  Metadata is ©2019 University of Pennsylvania Libraries and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode