When the Miss Deep South 2019 pageant was held during the annual August Games at Shea, the northernmost of the Deep South Rupununi’s indigenous villages, there were only two contestants vying for the headdress.
Nonetheless, Emily Antone, of Karaudarnau, and Naomi Foo, of Shea, kept the audience guessing as to who would claim the title until the very end.
Every year, the six villages participating in the games are expected to field at least one contestant for the title. However, only Karaudarnau and Shea managed to do so this year.
Unlike many pageants that incorporate modern gowns, the contestants were only allowed traditional clothing. They were both required to give their introductions in the Wapichan and English language and were judged based on their fluency in both. The two contestants were also judged on their introductions, traditional wear and talent pieces.
For her talent piece, Antone did a dramatic poem about the Wapichans in English. Foo, on the other hand, demonstrated how to make Sao’rao, a local Wapichan drink.
Foo picked up her dopau’ai and then retrieved some cassava roots. She then scraped of the skin and grated the cassava. She proceeded to “matapee” the cassava, then chew it and put it into a container, where it was mixed with black potato. The mixture then turned pink. Foo then drank the sao’rao
While the two contestants always seemed to be trading the lead at various segments, the Question and Answer segment proved the deciding contest.
Foo was asked to state three things she would do to develop her community should she become the next toshao. She said that she would try to convince the youths to be involved in more sports and cultural activities and that she would make sure that the villagers are comfortable enough to voice their concerns to her so she could address them to the best of her abilities.
Antone, ask to suggest three ways to learn the Wapichan language, advocated use of the Wapichan bible, the Wapichan dictionary and the recently developed Wapichan website. She cited herself as the perfect example of preserving the Wapichan language because she wears the traditional clothing and teaches the language at the Karaudarnau Nursery School.
Based on her answer, Antone snagged the most points and emerged as Miss Deep
South 2019. The nursery school teacher had been a contestant for the title over the past two years and so was very happy about her win.
Meanwhile, the Mr Deep South Pageant featured a lone contestant in Richard Caitan, who nevertheless entertained the crowd with his Wapichan skills.
For his talent piece, Caitan showed of his and his dog’s hunting skills. With his arrow and bow he went along a path with his dog, who was sniffing the ground. When the dog strayed, Caitan whistled and it came running back. The dog soon caught the scent of something and from a good distance Caitan let an arrow fly.
In the question and answer segment, Caitan was asked what he would do to reduce teenage pregnancy. His answer was that he would go around the Rupununi to educate persons, especially teenagers, about the social issue and encourage them to abstain from sex.
Caitan was also the winner of the animal imitation contest.
The pageant judges were Stephanie Sears, of Aishalton, and Mariam Edwards, of Maruranau.
