The above headline is the theme for this year’s Amerindian Heritage Month and there are three things in September that fit this theme well.
On Monday we celebrate ‘Heritage Day’; the day Stephen Campbell made history and sat in one of those chairs in the National Assembly. Stephen who? Good grief! It’s sad when the majority of Guyanese forget their own culture.
Stephen Joseph Campbell was the very first Amerindian (from the Arawak tribe) to be elected to the Legislative Council of British Guiana on September 10, 1957. That elected position is equivalent to being a parliamentarian in present day Guyana! He is highly regarded as a hero by the nation’s indigenous people.
Thirty-eight years later on September 10, 1995, Guyana’s president Dr Cheddi Jagan, in deference to Campbell’s achievements, dedicated the whole month to honouring, respecting and recognising the Amerindians.
Campbell died on May 12 1966, just two weeks before Guyana saw her independence, never knowing the true legacy he left behind. He may not have lived to see the nation’s birth but he sure played a major part in her formation, her idea, her culture and her people.
Amerindian Heritage Month was then a motion and now a celebration. Very few people actually showed up at the first opening ceremony but now the iconic Umana Yana is filled with all races and ethnic groups. From dancing to food, music and arts this month is bursting with culture from a people considered lost in time – we all have a lesson to learn, and simplicity is always best at everything.
But who can forget the Amerindian exhibitions at GuyExpo! Yes! Guyana’s and the Caribbean’s grandest exposition commences on September 27. This major event brings more culture and diversity to the month.
This year’s GuyExpo theme is ‘Strengthening the Traditional, Embracing the New’. Traditions, Traditions, traditions… it’s what makes us people, it mixes in our soup pot we call culture. But I believe the ‘Embracing the new’ part is not well accepted by most older folks. For years I have been hearing people say GuyExpo is no longer what it used to be; how the music is loud and everything is a party; how it has become so commercialised and digitalised and about money. Well I do remember the old days around ten years ago and to me it was always about people walking in this huge park in a circular motion asking the prices of things they hardly buy.
I like the latter part of the theme because it speaks of change. The world is changing and Guyana is an important part of the developing world – young entrepreneurs, aspiring businesses, strengthening the economy; I guess it’s an adaptation process.
I consider September to be the most cultured month in Guyana! It should be celebrated forever. It is a very special one – loved by the indigenous people, because it’s their heritage month; hated internationally by school children, because it’s Education Month. But I have only mentioned two things that make this month memorable. The third? My birthday! Happy September, everyone! (Jairo Rodrigues)
