The Umana Yana, ironically destroyed by fire during Guyana’s celebration of Amerindian Heritage Month, was a major visible symbol of Amerindian culture in the city. As the nation continues in its observance of that month, there are innumerable interesting examples of the ancient, deep and profound contributions that make up the robust Amerindian factor – the Amerindian presence, in the national culture. An attempt at a recap of these may be a fitting response to the meaning of the loss of that iconic building.
This factor is very well documented, despite huge gaps that are known to exist and the continuing loss due to language death, cultural diffusion, erosion, cultural intrusion and other forms of normal cultural change. Yet some of these factors have assumed a greater and more significant presence in recent years. Added to that are those areas that may be under-documented because of insufficient or unfinished research. To go further, this factor also includes the many inputs into folk life,