Goodbye

This is not the end
This is not even the beginning of the end
It is, instead, the end of the beginning.


From Guyanabushtelegraph

AMERINDIANS – The First Guyanese

Amerindians are the original inhabitants of the Americas and the Caribbean. They are also called American Indians (from which the term “Amerindians” is derived) and Aboriginal Indians.

They were first called Indians by Christopher Columbus who, when he arrived in the New World, thought he had reached India. It is believed, however, that Amerindians were originally inhabitants of the continent of Asia and crossed the Bering Strait into North America during the last Ice Age.

The Amerindian population in Guyana is estimated to be over 29,000. This population is composed of 9 tribal groupings based mainly on language, but also on culture. The groupings are Carib, Arawak, Wai Wai, Akawai, Makushi, Warrau, Wapishana, Arecuna and Patamona.

Amerindians lived mostly in the Amerindian Reservations (occupying a total of about 6000 square miles). The reservation system was introduced in 1902. In 1910 the Aboriginal Indians Protection Ordinance made the Commissioner of Lands and Mines the Amerindian Protector, proscribed visits to the reservation without authorization, and generally regulated Amerindian affairs. In 1951 a new Amerindian Ordinance was introduced. It represented a policy of acculturation and brought Amerindian villages under the Local Government System.

The three administrative districts in which the majority of Amerindians live (the Mazaruni Potaro, North West and Rupununi) include 90 major Amerindian villages. Each political unit of the Amerindian society, the village, is headed by a Captain or Touchau elected by the people to maintain law and order in the village. In turn, the Captain, who is paid a monthly stipend by the Government, is responsible to the appropriate Government Officer.

With the inauguration of a new Government in October 1992, a Minister of Amerindian Affairs was appointed, and 10 Amerindian Members of Parliament were elected out of a total of 65 members in the National Assembly. In percentage terms, this indicated that although Amerindians comprised 6 per cent of the population, they held 16 per cent of the seats in the National Assembly. Although democratically well represented, the Amerindian MPs are divided along party-affiliation. Political agendas do not always pay the necessary attention to ongoing structural marginalisation of the Amerindian population.


(The photo on the left shows forests being bulldozed to expose bauxite deposits in a state-run mining operation.)

There are large deposits of aluminum and iron ore in Guayana, and the country has harnessed the Caroní River to power huge smelting operations. Widespread mining of gold and diamonds is destructive to the environment, due to mercury contamination and extensive erosion of riverbanks.

Useful information about Amerindians include “Focus on Amerindians”, edited by Dr. Walter Edwards and published by the Amerindian Languages Project of the University of Guyana.

Cesar Castellani

My article of 30 July mentioned Cesar Castellani and the buildings he designed in Guyana which included Brickdam Cathedral, Castellani House and Brickdam Police Station. I have now received these photos from my roving camera lady in Guyana, so enjoy.

Castellani House
Original design by Cesar
Castellani 1882

Castellani House
Residence of The Prime
Minister 1965


Castellani House
Home of the National
Art Collection 1993





Thank-you Reshma

Echoes of Rudolph Dunbar on BBC Radio 4

Pliable's article on the little known black Guyanese conductor Rudolph Dunbar (above), which I published here on May 07 2007, has attracted a large number of readers according to his server logs, including a number from the BBC. His story ran under the headline Berlin Philharmonic's First Black Conductor, and is also linked from Wikipedia.

Dunbar's inspirational story needs to reach a wider audience, so we were delighted to find BBC Radio 4 broadcasting the Strange Story of Rudolph Dunbar today (August 7 2007). Here is the BBC's blurb:

Strange Story of Rudolph Dunbar
Tuesday 7 August 2007 11:30-12:00 (Radio 4 FM)

Wayne Marshall tells the story of Rudolph Dunbar.

Born into poverty in British Guiana, Dunbar became a well-known jazz and classical clarinettist as well as having a European career as a classical conductor.

Despite becoming the first black man to conduct at the Royal Albert Hall and having conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra just days after the end of the Second World War, Dunbar ended his life in obscurity in Britain, convinced that the BBC in particular had barred his way to greater things.

You can to listen to the BBC programme on demand until August 15 here. Following my article as you listen to the broadcast is really quite interesting.

Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Posted by Pliable at Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Labels: alfred w pollard, ayne marshall, BBC, bbc radio 4, berlin philharmonic orchestra, guyana, racism, rudolph dunbar

What is Love?

This question was posed to a group of 4 to 8 year olds. Below is a sample of their responses.

Rebecca - age 8 - When my Grandmother got arthritis she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my Grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.

Billy - age 4 - When someone loves you the way they say your name is different. You just know your name is safe in their mouth.


Karl - age 5 - Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.

Terri - age 4 - Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.

Danny - age 7 - Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him to make sure it tastes okay.

Emily - age 8 - Love is when you kiss all the time then when you get tired of kissing you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.

Bobby - age 7 -Love is what's in the room when you stop opening Christmas presents and listen.

Nikka - age 6 - If you want to learn to love better you should start with a friend who you hate.

Tommy - age 6 - Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.

Elaine - age 5 - Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken.

Chris - age 7 - Love is when mommy sees daddy all sweaty and smelly and still says he's handsomer that Robert Redford.

Lauren - age 4 - I know my sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.

Mary Ann - age 4 - Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.

Ken - age 84 - Love is when you do a 7 page printout of an e-mail and retype it so it won't be full of broken lines and the page won't have a lot of << on it.

Love is a little old woman


Author and lecturer, Leo Buscaglia, once talked about a contest where he was asked to find the most caring child. The winner was a 4 year old boy whose neighbour was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Seeing the man crying the boy went into the man's yard and climbed on his lap. When his mother asked him what he'd said to the old man, the boy replied. Nothing, I just helped him cry.

Contributed by Mala via one of her former readers

Summertime and the living is...

New Amsterdam

New Amsterdam (Nieuw Amsterdam in Dutch), located in the East Berbice-Corentyne Region, 62 miles from the capital, Georgetown, is one of the largest towns in Guyana. It is located four miles upriver from the Atlantic Ocean mouth of the Berbice River, on its eastern bank, immediately south of the Canje River (6°15′N, 57°31′W). New Amsterdam's population is approximately 33,000.

New Amsterdam has its origins in a village which grew up alongside Fort Nassau in the 1730s and 1740s. Before the 1763 uprising it comprised a Court of Policy building, a warehouse, an inn, two smithies, a bakery, a Lutheran church and a number of houses, among other buildings. Built in 1740 by the Dutch, New Amsterdam was first named Fort Sint Andries. It was made seat of the Dutch colonial government in 1790. In 1803 it was taken over by the British.

The little township was a pioneer in several by-laws; it boasted the first sanitation regulations on record (no privies near the public path, drains to be dug and places kept weeded) and the first price controls in the only hostelry in town. The serious imbibers in this society would be happy to learn that many of these applied to alcoholic beverages, including madeira, genever (Dutch gin), kilthum (the forerunner of rum) and even a drink made by the Amerindians. Of course, alcohol was not considered an indulgence in those days, but rather a necessity, since it was erroneously believed that it warded off diseases like malaria, which it was claimed came from exposure to 'miasmas'.

The New Amsterdam Public Hospital, is outstanding example of timber architecture, and one of the two surviving architectural masterpieces designed by Cesar Castellani, an architect employed in the Public Works Department of British Guiana. Construction commenced in late 1881 with funds provided to the Public Works Department by the colonial administration. The hospital was built in stages, the central pavilion being completed in 1881 and the hospital was occupied in 1885.

Cesar Castellani designed other buildings in Guyana, includes, Brickdam Cathedral; Castellani House; the Brickdam Police Station.