Dozens of residents from several North West communities and the coastland converged at Waramuri in the North West on Friday as the community hosted a variety of activities to celebrate Amerindian heritage month.
Waramuri was selected as the heritage village for this year’s heritage celebrations, which are being held under the theme ‘Promoting sustainable livelihood and cultural heritage while transforming our village economies.’
According to Toshao Bernard Laud, the community was happy to host the event and he noted that Waramuri, which is home to some 1,400 persons, has seen some amount of development over the years.
According to him, the area was poised for further development, as residents were prepared to work towards achieving their goals.
Laud and the village toshaos of the nearby villages also noted that while the celebrations may be short, residents should recognise the roles they play in preserving and maintaining the way of life of Amerindians.
The events on Friday got off to a scheduled start around 10 am with a welcome ceremony for a party of government officials which included Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai and Local Government Minister Kellawan Lall.
The ministers, along with Regional Chairman Fermin Singh, were received by a welcome party which included students of the Waramuri Primary School as well as some from other schools within the sub-region.
Several members of the Guyana Defence Force who had been temporarily stationed in the area several days before, were also on hand to welcome the government officials.
Several cultural items formed the highlight of the official opening ceremony, and among these was a song performed by local artiste Vic Ferreira, entitled “Moruca My Love”. Ferreira, a well-known local composer, had the crowd on hand in awe as he belted out smooth lyrics from his latest composition. Following his performance, the former school teacher was complimented by those in attendance with some describing his music as “phenomenal”.
The Urukatan Women’s Group, based at Santa Rosa and the Waramuri Indigenous Dance Group, also attracted the crowd’s attention as the women, some young and some who have been nurturing the art over the years, swayed to the instrumental music of the Moruca Banchikeli Band.
Regional Chairman Fermin Singh, while addressing the gathering, stated that the regional authorities were grateful to be given “the priority of celebrating our heritage.” He said that the administration had given the Amerindian people appropriate recognition as Guyana’s “first people.”
Minister Sukhai noted that the Moruca sub-region has seen improvements in the area of education over the years with several youths achieving high grades at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the National Grade Six examinations, with top students Carissa Kissoon and Travis Chu obtaining places at schools in the city.
She expressed the view however that the region should work towards “catching-up” with the other administrative regions in terms of cultural development, as she noted that the first people in Regions 7, 8 and 9 have been “keeping their culture alive.” She said that those communities have preserved their languages over the years and she encouraged residents in the Waramuri area to preserve the Warau language, charging that the village councils should initiate such efforts.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds highlighted several areas for development which the government has been working to address over the years, among them being the creation and maintenance of roads linking communities, the creation and development of health facilities and the advancement of the electrification programme. He also noted that of the 96 villages identified as Amerindian communities across Guyana, 74 have been demarcated.
Waramuri residents told Stabroek News that the community relies on farming as well as fishing as the main economic activities to sustain their households. Stafford Williams, who was born and spent all his life in Waramuri, noted that the area has seen advancement over the years, mainly in the areas of education and infrastructure. His cousin Rosamond Williams who returned to the riverain community on Friday to celebrate the day, noted that many persons left the area over the years as there were not many job opportunities available there.
However, she noted that persons would return to spend time and assist their families, since the area is closely connected to the coastland, being only a one-hour boat drive away from Charity on the Essequibo Coast.
The name Waramuri came from a species of black ants which were prevalent in the area years ago, The white-sand community was established in 1837 as an Amerindian mission by Anglican missionaries. It is situated along the left bank of the Moruca River, approximately 30 minutes by speedboat from the main administrative centre of the sub-region at Santa Rosa.
