The Stabroek News editorial of August 6, 2019 remarked at the multiethnic nature of the crowds of people who visited the National Park to take in the Emancipation Festival that is held there annually on August 1. Guyanese turned out in large numbers throughout the day-long event, and what was impressive, according to the editorial, was the appearance of people of different races, the significant number of mixed-race couples and groups, the large numbers of youths reflecting this ethnic mix, and the very strong suggestion that the younger generations in Guyana care less about the narrow racial prejudices than their elders.
The turnout at the park, it was argued, showed new thinking. It gave hope that as a nation Guyana is not condemned to the divisive racial attitudes of the past and the present. There is a more progressive outlook to be expected than ethnic entrenchment and the conflicts that ignited tragic violence in the country’s history. Some of these were partially fueled and the flames fanned by colonial factors and policies, as well as by western anti-communist manoeuvres. A good work of literature that tackles this directly is the play Two Wrongs by Harold Bascom, Guyana Prize Winner in 1994.
The new, fresher trend is led by the younger generation, the editorial theorises, who are breaking the mould of tradition fixed among the generations of their grandparents. So, on Emancipation Day in the National Park it was not only Africans. Guyanese of other ethnic persuasions took an interest in what is an expression of freedom from African slavery in the Caribbean. So much in Guyana’s social and political life is determined by race, that the colourful displays at the park were encouraging. It was not only Africans who were celebrating emancipation or were sufficiently interested or curious to be out in significant numbers.
This kind of suggested integration is an important factor pertinent to the prevailing attitudes to emancipation. It is generally held that the emancipation anniversary is an African thing – that it is only of concern to the black population; and this belief is also perpetrated by black people themselves. There are usually advertisements and greetings in the press wishing a happy anniversary to the “African brothers and sisters” or to the black community.
This narrows it down and reduces its depth, its import and its impact. Yes, it is an African thing because Africans are, indeed, at the core of it, and the festival certainly has that identity, and there are (have been) countless cultural expressions and traditions arising out of it with the African identity. But emancipation’s impact on the world, its influence, its relevance to Europe and America, and the fact that it was responsible for bringing most of the other immigrants to Guyana, with the enormity of the national and social development that followed, and the all-reaching colonial implications make it universal.
It is the celebration, therefore, of all the people. Emancipation in Guyana is about nation, and about nations. There has been a strong theme of nation building and social development since 1838. In addition to those freed from slavery, it includes the various peoples who came through indentureship. Emancipation, according to the history, was responsible for opening the gates for that. Then, several post-emancipation factors contributed to social development. It is about nations because of the different nations to which the Africans belonged, based on their origins in Africa and the ethnic and cultural divisions that existed among them. (The word “tribes” is sometimes used.) These groups have left a legacy of rich cultural and linguistic traditions among their descendants.
The building of a nation also includes the multicultural or plural society that developed. Emancipation is the root of all this, and so its commemoration is relevant to the various nations and immigrants. At the international level, trans-Atlantic slavery impacted the world from America to Asia; the drain of Africa, the building of Europe, the beginning of the Indian diaspora and Chinese migration, along with colonialism. We are, therefore, looking at an institution with wide international resonance.
It is therefore quite fitting for a multiethnic presence to be on the increase at the National Park event. More important than multiracial involvement is the concept of a cross-cultural society. As Sir Wilson Harris explains it, multiculturalism is the presence of many cultures in the same space. But they do not necessarily mix; and may even be in conflict with each other, as he shows in a number of novels, including The Guyana Quartet, whose tour de force is Palace of the Peacock. A much more profound concept is cross-culturalism, in which he was interested. Here there is crossing-over and integration – the cultures /races do not just co-exist, they mix and share common characteristics and produce much more of one society with multiple ethnic sources, inputs, origins.
Multiculturalism can have negative spinoffs. This is one of the factors at the root of post-colonial literature, as described by Edward Said and Gayatri Spivak among others. Said expounded on ‘Otherness’, in which minorities are oppressed as “the Other” in a society dominated by one culture. Contrary to that, a cross-cultural society can create social cohesion and infinite exciting possibilities as in Harris’ Carnival Trilogy. Is that what promises to develop in Guyana?
It is Harris, too, who in those novels suggests the one culture of mankind who through the course of history, would don different costumes (cultural disguises/camouflages) the masks of different cultures, and confront each other in a theatre of wars and conquests resulting in massacres and genocides. The difference between the two concepts then, can be the difference between annihilation and infinite creativity. Is that what faces Guyana?
In Guyana the different groups don the costumes of Emancipation, or of Eid al Adha, or Phagwah or Diwali. These Islamic and Hindu festivals are based on scriptures, and despite the cultural differences, the similarities with Christianity are striking. When the Christian Easter and Christmas are added to these, a certain oneness of theme, messages and mythical associations is startling. There are stories, myths, beliefs and sacred principles that form a notable pattern among them. Everyone includes the triumph of good over evil. That is an overwhelmingly common motif. Others are sacrifice, piety, obedience, submission to the will of God and some form of martyrdom.
Further, the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice (Eid al Adha), which incidentally, is being celebrated today, shares the same story with one found in the Christian bible. Ibrahim obeys the command of God to sacrifice his only son Ishmael. But just as he was about to complete the act, God intervenes to stop him and provides him, instead, with a ram to offer as sacrifice. It is the exact story of Abraham and his son Isaac in the Holy Bible. One of the themes and motifs is the supreme obedience to the will of God and the willingness to sacrifice. It is the same with the story of Jesus Christ, and with that of the Hindu Prince Prahalad in the story of Phagwah, who was willing to be a martyr in defence of his worship of the true God in defiance of his father the King. Then there is the story of the god-king Lord Ram, sacred to the Hindus, in the story of his triumphant return from exile at Diwali.
Further evidence of cultural oneness resides in folk cultures and traditions. The Hindus practice a wedding ritual known as Matikoor/Matichore – the spelling is not standardized – or Dig Dutty. It derives from “mati” (earth) and “koor” (dig). The Dig Dutty is remarkably similar in many ways to the Guyanese African pre-wedding ritual known as Kwe Kwe/Queh Queh – there is no standard spelling. Both cultures believe in chastity, bridal purity, and propriety. Both rituals promote those qualities, often in exact fashion. One difference is that the Dig Dutty has religious ties and sacred rituals, while the Kwe Kwe is secular. However, there is an element of spirituality in it not now widely known or practiced. Also, while the Matikoor is restricted to the wedding, Kwe Kwe has a wider social context and prescribes a way of life in the village at all times and is used as a means of social control. Interestingly, though, the Matikoor assumes a way of life to be followed by the bride, which speaks to social control, as all young ladies are expected to practice propriety, of course, not only when they are about to marry.
This brings us back to the National Park on Emancipation Day. It was a very colourful day, not only because of the presence of different races, but due to the dress of the multitudes. It is customary for persons to wear African dress on August 1 and many did that using different styles, even if, in some cases, it was just clothes made of African-print fabric. There was an atmosphere of the culture. Additionally, there was a variety of African or Creole food and snacks on sale, reflecting the African contribution to Guyanese cuisine.
What was also of interest was the demonstration of a cultural industry. That is, the making and sale of craftwork often associated with things African. It is certainly local craft offered for sale on that day, but these items are available at various stalls, arcades or on the street at all other times. This includes forms of jewelry, other accessories, bags and leather items.
On the same note, there is the annual participation of black Guyanese in festivals belonging to the East Indians. All races make up the multiple thousands of people who line the streets and roadways from Campbellville, Georgetown, along the East Coast to La Bonne Intention to see the Diwali Motorcade and Float Parade. The lighting of diyas on Diwali night is also a major attraction for all who look on at the spectacle.
But while the multitudes at Diwali are spectators, the involvement at Phagwah is participatory. “Playing Phagwah” is a Guyanese expression used by and known to a variety of races, several of whom will take to the streets for the sport. Outside of the large numbers of Hindu celebrants and others at the National Stadium, the largest gathering of participants on Phagwah Day is found in in Albouystown and Alexander Village. This large spread of revelers celebrate the Spring Festival spontaneously on the streets. The emphasis is secular, but it is multiethnic with a majority of blacks from unprivileged communities. A second, more recently formed conglomerate of celebrants is to be found in Kitty – on Station Street in Georgetown. Revelry and drink are the attractions, but it is a significant multiracial crowd.
The Emancipation event at the National Park, however, having attracted this encouraging conglomerate of different races, does not have too much of African culture to offer anyone outside of the array of clothing and things for sale. The society has lost the depth of African vestiges and survivals. Traditions, culture, customs have faded away. The performances on stage at the Park are ordinary and arbitrary, sometimes at best pseudo-African. Performances are diluted and uninformed, exhibitions are general with little of traditional value. The once famous soirees held in places like Hope Town and Litchfield are unreliable, but at any rate nowadays, are merely street fetes with dance hall and soca music. The village libations and performances have similarly faded.
Guyana does not compare with most of its Caribbean neighbours where the survival of African traditions and performance acts are concerned. The reasons are many, not all really known, and would have to be the subject of a separate presentation. Bright clothes decorated the National Park and were also worn by the staff in commercial banks, ministries and other offices around emancipation time. But except for a handful of adherents, few Guyanese bother to wear them at other times in the year.
