Martina Rodrigues – early years
Born at Cabucalli, Santa Rosa, Moruca on November 11th,
1916 – to Georgina and Emmanuel Ferreira – one of six children who lived to
adulthood. She married Eleutherio Esteban Rodrigues at an early age – on 24th
July, 1932 - she was all of 16.
Santa Rosa is a community in the Barima-Waini district of northern
Guyana. It’s population is approximately 10,000.
It is the largest Amerindian village in Guyana. This
predominantly Arawak village is located on the Moruca river, 29 km from
its mouth. The village is actually a collection of at least ten settlements
spread out in the Savannah wetlands along a ten mile stretch of the Moruca
River. Santa Rosa is one of the earliest Catholic Missions in Guyana. Its name
is in Spanish (in English… Saint Rose).
Martina was the mother of 7 children, two died as babies but of the five
remaining children, two live in Guyana with their families and three migrated
to Canada where they live with their families.
She was known as Aunty Bissy – she told us once that as a child she was
always doing something and was told she was like a busy bee and later became
known as Aunty Bissy.
A major
contribution to the life of the Amerindians of the Rupununi and Pakaraimas was
the establishment and running of a network of primary schools. Teachers for
these were largely recruited from the Arawak Amerindian community at Santa Rosa
. Fr Bernard MacKenna operating out of Sand Creek was the priest largely
responsible for this work among the Wapishana of the Rupununi., while John
Quigley worked with the Macushi of the central Rupununi and Wilson-Browne with
the Patamona in the Pakaraimas. Martina
was one of the teachers who left Moruca in 1952 to teach in the Rupununi.
On a tribute to her after her death, she was described as a “talented
poetess, artist and seamstress who was best known for her contribution to the
teaching profession. She worked among
the Caribs at Red Hill, Barama in the late 1940s, at Achawib Village, Rupununi
among the Wapisianas in the 1950s and finally to Dora on the Demerara in the
1960s. Old Santa Rosa folks will
remember her witty, jovial and culturally centred letters she wrote in the
Catholic Standard. They were likened to
the contributions of the late Sister Theresa.”
The school at Achawib where she was Head Mistress is the village at the
most southern tip of Guyana – the nearest village and airstrip was fourteen
miles away and Martina made many a trip on her
bicycle once a month, accompanied by one or two schoolboys to lead the
way – in order to post her letters and receive her mails, which included a much
cherished Reader’s Digest.
She sewed her children’s clothing on her trusty Singer sewing
machine. This model was purchased in
1953 and was very high end at the time as it had a foot pedal instead of one
turned by hand. She proudly had her
machine transported from Georgetown all the way to Achawib and up to this day,
this machine still exists in working order and is kept by her eldest daughter,
Elsa Barker at her ranch in the Rupununi, where she resides with her husband,
Bob Barker, who is also a legend in his own way !!
She moved away from her beloved Rupununi to be closer to her children,
the younger three were teenagers by then.
She taught at Dora, on the Demerara River in the 1960s.
She eventually retired in the mid 1960s and moved to Georgetown to really
be close to her younger children who were schooling in the city at the time.
In 1976 she emigrated to Canada after the death of her husband Stephen in
1975. She lived in Canada quite
independently in her own apartment,
until her death in 1992 even though she made frequent visits back to
Guyana. She diligently sent off boxes
and barrels to the family in Moruca and she never forgot her roots as she
always visited Santa Rosa where her mother and older sister still lived. She never forgot to bring some goodie or the
other for the elderly and frequently gave away her clothing to someone who
admired it or seemed to be in need !!
She loved going to Bingo and every evening she would dress and take the
bus to Bingo – even in winter when we might have told her it was too cold and
snowy she dressed in her warmest –
including hat, gloves and boots and off she went – who could stop this
indomitable force who was fondly known to all as “Aunty Bissy” !!
by: Regina Rodrigues
November 2013
