After he left primary school at Aishalton, South Rupununi, Tony James AA aka Chief, Kokoi, Toshao and Chief of Chiefs, was not certain what he wanted to do in life apart from riding horses.
“My passion was to be on a horse’s back all day long. I grew up among horses, enjoying the fresh air of the savannahs, running down deer, fishing along the creeks and rivers. So in a way I was unbridled in my love of nature and the environment,” James told Stabroek Weekend in a recent interview.
Given the name Kokoi, meaning visionary in the Wapichan language, by a late elder, Simon Marcello, James who is now 65 years old, said he taught for a week at Aishalton Primary. He then joined St Paul Seminary in Plaisance to see if the priesthood was his calling but dropped out after two years.