Dear Editor,
I’ve seen a Guyana television report in which some Mahaicony residents are asking for Halfway Tree, the prominent silk cotton tree in the middle of the East Coast Highway in Perseverance Village, with the traffic passing on either side of it to be removed. I hope that the relevant authorities never consider such action.
The residents claim that vehicular accidents and deaths occur in the vicinity of the tree due to speeding drivers losing control of their vehicles. They are right to blame speeding drivers for the accidents and deaths. That means the tree they call ‘Dutch Tree’ is not responsible. I suspect, though, that the residents are superstitious and think that some Dutch ‘thing’ is taking lives.
I wonder whether Perseverance residents are also bothered by strange people conducting ceremonies under the tree. I knew of one Better Hope Kalimai Pooja Temple that conducted poojas there. I could not confirm with the church whether it still does that. However, when I last visited the tree in 2009, there were several empty plastic cups at its base, suggesting some type of ceremony had taken place there. When I asked a few residents, they confirmed that someone from Berbice sometimes took some of his devotees to the base of the tree to conduct a religious ceremony. I am left to ask whether Perseverance residents have been unnerved by any ceremony under ‘Dutch Tree’, which they think is claiming lives. However, I’ve read that the Ashanti refer to the silk cotton as ‘God Tree’. This means that it is sacred to them. I encourage Perseverance’s African descendants to research the ‘God Tree’, as it might be of significance to them.
From visiting Halfway Tree, I believe that the road area by the tree is adequate for traffic. In fact, although I appreciate the tree having to be pruned from time to time by the responsible authorities so as not to impede traffic, I am disappointed that it cannot grow to its full magnificence.
There are lots of tales about ‘Dutch Tree’, some of which I wrote in my novel Halfway Tree, but I’m sure that I missed some of them. Removing the tree could cause the tales that I missed and tales in the future to be lost from Guyana’s literary bank. I encourage sketchers, painters, historians, essayists, poets, novelists, dramatists, singers and storytellers to produce work on Halfway Tree that would keep it a true national treasure.
The current Halfway Tree, or ‘Dutch Tree’ as Perseverance residents say, was planted in 1986 as a replacement for an older tree that fell in 1985. The gentleman who replanted the current tree was Gordon D’Aguiar, a Perseverance villager. When I asked him why he had replanted a silk cotton after the old one had fallen, he said simply that he liked the idea of it being a half-way landmark between Georgetown and Rosignol. Maybe, the Perseverians who want the tree removed should talk to Gordon about his love for it.
I am not able to say when the old silk cotton was planted, but a silk cotton could live for a few hundred years. Rather than wanting Halfway Tree removed, Perseverians can try to answer when the original silk cotton was planted there, why it was planted on that particular spot, whether it was the only one planted in the area (someone had told me that there might have been others.), and why when the East Coast Highway was being built, the road builders left the tree in the middle of the road.
I can arrange for copies of my book Halfway Tree to be donated to Perseverance, as I’d like the villagers to be inspired. I can be reached at roybrumm@verizon.net by email or 646-229-3781 by text.
I strongly oppose removing Halfway Tree, which is not the cause of the accidents the residents are complaining about; reckless driving is! I am willing to join Perseverians to appeal to the responsible minister of government and the police to put all measures in place – humps, signs, speed cameras, etc. – to prevent the accidents and deaths close to the tree that are rightly troubling them.
Yours faithfully,
Roy Brummell
