to preserve it for future generations. Language The traditional language, Teribe, is only spoken by a handful of people in the community. However, the efforts to recover it are supported by the Teribe of Panama, another group that shares its culture and history with the Térraba of Costa Rica. The Panamanian community has been able to entirely maintain the native language, and has assisted the smaller Costa Rican community by sending a professor to the area to help teach the language. Historians cannot tell why and how those native tribes visited Cocos Island. However, Heyerdahl (1966) and Lines (1940) support the old statement of (Gonzalo Fernandez de) Oviedo regarding such early visits. (See more under Timeline.) The work of Arroyo (1966) is probably the best linguistic work and dictionary of the Térraba language but more recent publications may exist. For a short bibliography on the Térraba language please refer to The Newberry Library’s Indian Linguistics in the Edward E. Ayer collection, Volume 2. Timeline 1610 The Térraba participated with the indigenous groups Ateos, Viceitas and Cabecares in the rebellion that destroyed Santiago of Salamanca. The Spaniards wrote of Cocos Island, “Allí se hallaron ciertos ídolos labrados de piedra”. Lines (1940) claimed the same. That is, “certain idols were found there [on Cocos Island], worked out of stone.” This indicates the visits of some native tribes before (or at the beginning of the) colonial era. The archaeological findings in Heyerdahl (1966) confirm that the Galapagos Islands, at about the same distance from the continent, had similar visits by South American Indians. It is possible that the temporary homeland or a base port of one of the tribes was on Galapagos Islands in those decades. There is no detailed data about the Térraba before the year 1697. They numbered between 500 and 2000 persons then. Their men were described as being naked and distinct from other Costa Rican tribes by their fame as diligent workers. Their mortal enemies were the Changuenes that were mentioned in Spanish documents at least from 1680, as living on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. In 1708-1709 the Térrabas also lived on the coast at Diquis, later called “Grande de Térraba.” They became very faithful Christians. 1710 Missionaries led by Fray Pablo de Rebullida and the Spanish military moved part of the Térraba population to the southwestern region of Costa Rica, near Boruca and the Térraba River.