Bishop Alleyne and Elders of the Santa Rosa community prepare to be the first to enter their newly refurbished church.

Santa Rosa celebrates 195 years of the arrival of the Spanish Arawaks

June 28, 2012 | By KNews | 

On June 24, last, the small village of Santa Rosa celebrated in a unique way the 195th year since the arrival of the Arawaks to their village.
Among their distinguished guests were the Roman Catholic Bishop of Guyana His Lordship Francis Alleyne and priests, and visitors from New York, Paraguay, Ecuador, Cuba, Peru and Argentina.
Another source of joy for the Santa Rosa community was their church, St. Rose of Lima or Santa Rosa Del Lima, which recently underwent rehabilitation works.
The celebration took the form of the re-enactment of the arrival of the first priest to Moruca in 1823, Fr. William Hynes, who travelled to Moruca River via Georgetown from Trinidad. This was in response to the Arawaks’ plea for a priest to minister to their spiritual needs.
When Fr. Hynes arrived in Moruca River he was met by the Arawaks at Hobo Island (further south along the River from Santa Rosa) and then escorted by the community, at night he made his way to Mariaba (which was the name then of Santa Rosa).
As word went out that the priest had finally arrived, villagers along the river’s bank greeted him with the booming sounds from their bamboo guns. The villagers lived in tiny villages such as Cart Market, Koko, Paloma, Tokopeter and Aquero. After immediately ministering to the people there was a consultation and the community requested permission to build a church.
Permission was granted, and they built a church which became duly consecrated in 1830 by Fr. Hynes who was now Bishop Hynes.
On Saturday June 23, 2012 Bishop Alleyne played the role of Fr. Hynes. He and his group of priests and members of the Catholic community gathered at Aquero to give prayers and thanks. They then sailed from Aquero to Santa Rosa (in corials and boats outfitted with outboard engines) where they were met by another group of parishioners.
After being greeted in Spanish by a parishioner, the Bishop and the group then walked along the pathway lit by flambeaux from the river to the newly rehabilitated church. As they marched they were greeted by the bamboo guns booming away.
A Mass was said, followed by a cultural activity. Members of the church’s choir sang Tribute to Region One, an entry in this year’s Salute to Guyana School’s Mashramani Programme.
On Sunday, Mass was held to celebrate the Feast of St. John, patron saint of the Santa Rosa Community. After Mass the parishioners were fed and treated to another round of cultural activities, this time featuring the Mariabo Players performing their repertoire of Banchikilli Music.

Roman Catholic Bishop His Lordship Francis Alleyne, left in picture, performing the role of Fr. William Hynes is transported along the Moruca River from Aquero to Santa Rosa.

According to the oral traditions of the Spanish Arawaks their foreparents fled Venezuela in 1817 after the Capuchin Monks lost to Simon Bolivar in the Bolivarian War of Independence. The Arawaks who fought on the side of the Capuchin Monks became hunted.
Villages were burnt and their people murdered. The leader of the Arawaks, Toushaou Juan Aguilera, brought together a group which was willing to leave Venezuela, and in 1817 set sail from Angostura, now Cuidad Bolivar.
After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, they sailed into the Barima River where a group settled in now Mabaruma; the others continued into the Waini, Baramanni and Biara Rivers before finally entering the Moruca River.
They settled along the river but the main body landed on the site where the church is now located – this place they called Mariabo, Arawak for guava because of the numerous plants they found. In 1830 when the Church was consecrated St. Rose del Lima the village, was also renamed Santa Rosa.

Educator and musician, Victor Ferreira MS, is a ‘Special Person’-April 1, 2012 | By KNews |

 Pull Quote: “I am so thrilled that those who I would have taught in my career have grown to love and cherish me for my contribution to their education, and I am humbled by the respect I have received in the various communities.”
By Rohan Sagar
Like many persons born in the hinterland of Guyana, Victor Ferreira was not expected to

Victor Ferreira MS

climb the ladder of success. His earliest vocations were in the streams of education and music, and as he moved gradually upwards, it was hard for him and others not to believe that it was a gift.
Many students have passed through the hands of ‘Sir Vic’ or ‘Teacher Vic’ as is common how persons like him in hinterland communities are addressed. These students have become successful in their own right, and whilst they have consistently thanked him for providing that platform, for ‘Sir Vic’ it was nothing else but his mission to transform young people into valued and productive citizens of their community, and by extension, the world.
He desires none of the trappings that are associated with his kind of success. He continues to live on the island of Mathurin, Santa Rosa, Moruca River where he has lived for many years. This is his story.
Victor Ferreira was born on March 16, 1949, at the Acquero Maternity Centre in Moruca River. His father Vincent Ferreira was a fisherman and small business owner. His mother Mary Agatha Ferreira had three children before marrying Vincent, and Victor was the second child in this latter union.
Victor’s father became ill when the youngster was only seven and died two years later. From then on life became harder for the family, his mother took to work at the Catholic Convent as a launderer, washing the clothes of some 200 children for the princely sum of five dollars per month.
The family had a farm about one mile behind Huradiah, a village immediately opposite Cabucalli, where the Ferreiras lived previously. Here the boys would accompany their mother to help prepare, plant and harvest the land before and after school. They would also glean copra from coconuts which they would sell.
There would also be the traditional kayaps which would be used to help generate and supplement much needed provisions for the home. Victor describes his father as a disciplinarian and his mother a staunch Catholic, which had instilled within them intrinsic values helping sustain the family even after the death of his father.
Perhaps the most enduring memory of his boyhood occurred in the evenings when he along with his brothers would lie on the floor and watch his mother iron the convent children’s clothes, and then they would fall asleep. After all, it was the only bed they knew. Victor, after becoming employed, undertook the role of father-figure, helping his younger brothers and sisters through school (in Georgetown) and at the same time becoming the breadwinner at home in Cabucalli.
Later in life, Victor met and married Patricia (also of Santa Rosa) in 1976, and they had seven children, two of whom have passed away.

BIRTH OF A TEACHER
Victor Ferreira attended Santa Rosa Roman Catholic Primary school, completing his education in Form Two, which was then the furthest he could have gone. He left Santa Rosa to attend the St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Seminary where he studied for two years. After completion of the two years he returned to Santa Rosa. As someone who was then, for his community, better qualified, he applied for a

Our ‘Special Person’ performing one of his compositions

teaching post through the Catholic Church (which managed the primary school) and he was accepted, though his first posting was at Santa Cruz, a place he had never heard of before. It was his first time so far away from home and when the boat dropped him off at Santa Cruz, he recalls “crying like a ‘lil child”. He taught at Santa Cruz for a year and a half.
Fr. John Britt-Compton, the Catholic priest met young Victor whilst still a teacher at Santa Cruz and told him there was a vacancy at a school in Moruca. The priest convinced him that he was most needed at this school and he accepted. The school was at Kamwatta, another island further upriver from Santa Rosa on the Moruca River. That it was much closer to Santa Rosa was of great comfort to ‘Sir Vic’ and he taught at Kamwatta Primary for seventeen years.
He recounted that when some of his students went to work in Berbice they were asked who was responsible for their education – ‘Sir Carl’ Rodrigues and his (Sir Vic’s) name were mentioned and the two were duly recognised with gifts from their employer.
Desirous of becoming a graduate teacher, at the ripe young age of 34, Victor entered the Teachers’ Training College and excelled at all the subjects. After graduation as a qualified teacher he applied to teach at Santa Rosa Primary. He did not receive an appointment letter, but was told that in such an instance he could report to the nearest school (which was Santa Rosa Primary). So he turned up at the school and the District Education Supervisor promptly paid him a visit with the news that he was on the next boat – his appointment was at Waramuri Primary! ‘Sir Vic’ jokingly recalls that both he and ‘Sir Carl’ would calculate the number of miles they each would travel to Waramuri from Santa Rosa.
Though he was saddened that once again he had to spend time away from his family (he was now married) today he is overjoyed with the development, since he was able to engage in a music project which he is still involved. At Waramuri many of his former students remember him and actually thank him for being responsible for making them the respected citizens they are.
His fame has even spread to the present generation of students both at Waramuri and Kamwatta. According to Sir Vic, “I am so thrilled that those who I would have taught in my career have grown to love and cherish me for my contribution to their education, and I am humbled by the respect I have received in the various communities.”

‘Sir Vic ‘talks about his life's work

After his tenure ended at Waramuri he returned to Santa Rosa Primary to teach and he felt that it was time for him to make a real contribution to his community. He insisted that his students try to exceed past landmarks. ‘Sir Vic’ identifies as one of his best students, the present Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett. According to him, Ms Rodrigues broke all the records whilst a student at Santa Rosa Primary.

THE SECONDARY EXPERIENCE
One of his main concerns was the lack of opportunity for students who had the necessary qualifications to access a secondary education, but whose parents could not afford to send them all the way to Georgetown. A survey which was done around the same time revealed that the community was not ready for a secondary school.
‘Sir Vic’ admits that when he began the conversation about a secondary school he was not the first, as other parents had mooted the idea before.
In 1989, ‘Sir Vic’ along with ‘Sir David’ James began a series of consultations with parents and other leaders of the community about constructing a curriculum for a secondary institution.
Two years later, in 1991, the Education Department in Mabaruma informed ‘Sir Vic’ that approval was given for a secondary school programme to commence.
He remembered: “The challenge now was to find teachers, but with a handful of teachers made up of both citizens and (foreign) volunteers, a curriculum consisting of English, Math, Science, Social Studies and Agriculture was established and the secondary school was piloted in the same building that housed the Primary school. The Santa Rosa Secondary school started with two desks and benches, one blackboard and no syllabus.”
After a determination that the environment at the primary school was inadequate, the school was later relocated to Acquero, which happened to be the seat of regional government in the colonial and immediate post-colonial era.
The underlying philosophy behind the establishment of the secondary school was “the liberation our people from ignorance and poverty” which in turn led to the school’s motto of ‘Aim for the Top’. According to ‘Sir Vic’ students were encouraged to do just that, and they were cautioned that a pass of 50 % was not good enough, and that70 % was acceptable.

Compañeros on a Mission - Victor Ferreira (right) and Basil Rodrigues stand next to the monument they constructed in honour of citizens who have made notable contributions to the community of Santa Rosa.

The environment at Acquero was so passionate that students could be seen at any time of the day with a book, either in a corner of the school class, or even up in a tree!
‘Sir Vic’ counts as the prime of the student crop such individuals as Murphy DeSouza, Steven La Rose, Graham Atkinson, Charlene Rodrigues, Bruce Rodrigues, and his daughters Ramona and Nadia Ferreira.
The secondary also became a nursery for teachers in the region, and all the present teachers in the nursery, primary and secondary schools are graduates of the secondary school. In 1998, ‘Sir Vic’ was transferred to Kamarang where he continued effectively imparting his expertise.

THE GUITAR MAN
As a teenager, Victor Ferreira got his inspiration to play music from a cadre of musicians such as guitarists – the De Souza Brothers (Marco and John), Carl Rodrigues and Eddie Jarvis. It was a tradition that these musicians would gather every weekend at the then Catholic Convent in Kokal, where they would entertain villagers.
Since they were all males, it goes without saying that a significant majority of the audience were females, and this provided even greater incentive for ‘Sir Vic’ to become a proficient musician. Not wanting to be left out after attending his first weekend concert and after observing how the guitarists would move their fingers as they held their chords  he went home and practised his first song, ‘The Green, Green Grass of Home’. Though he did not reach instant popularity, his first outing was good enough for him to be accepted into that fraternity.
Later he would receive formal training from the renowned Guyanese music educator, the late Enid Peters. Initially, Ms. Peters was not too enamoured with having someone who was older (he was still in his mid-thirties) than she wanted, but Sir Vic was to later impress Ms Peters with his drive by becoming an accomplished player with the guitar, piano and recorder.
At the end of his tenure as a student with Ms Peters he proudly recalls her saying to him “I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again but I want you to go on and teach so many people. You have so much talent”.
When he returned to Santa Rosa, his first task was to form a choir at the secondary school. ‘Sir Vic’ has written some 40 songs and he has also written and composed the school songs for Kamarang Primary, Waramadong Secondary, Santa Rosa Primary and Secondary, Waramuri Primary and Kamwatta Primary.

PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATION
There was more to Victor Ferreira’s existence. In the 1990s, a German national, Mr Hartgun Kruger, attended a Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) conference which was also attended by Sharon Atkinson, a Moruca resident. At this conference, Kruger indicated that he wanted to do a project in a Third World country. Sharon Atkinson suggested that he visit Santa Rosa, and when he did, Kruger got a firsthand look at the water source, food, and the general conditions of life and other places in Moruca.
Kruger was also especially interested in the way the people of Santa Rosa lived and in the Banchikilli music, which he recorded. In 2001 at Mr Kruger’s initiation, a pen-pal club was started between the students and people of Santa Rosa, and towards the end of that year ‘Sir Vic’ received an invitation (and ticket) to visit Germany.
He visited four cities in Germany – Dusseldorf, Hayden, Cologne, and Chemitz – and in each he delivered lectures on the traditional ways of life of the Amerindian Peoples of Guyana. The objective of the visit was to allow the Germans to learn from Santa Rosa how the people co-existed with their environment, and in exchange the Germans would fund a library, fund the purchase of school texts, and furniture for schools in the Moruca region.
The Germans were very impressed with each of his lectures and with each passing success the project first envisioned by Mr Kruger and immediately grasped by the Santa Rosa community was beginning to bear fruit. To ensure sustainability there was a school exchange programme where students from Germany visited Moruca and Shell Beach and in return eight students from the secondary school visited each city in Germany where they learned from the Germans and shared with them their own life stories.
Additionally, the Germans wanted to bring the (Santa Rosa Secondary) school into the modern world of technology and communication. In return, Santa Rosa had to commit to preserve the forest and the marine life, and build conservation clubs with a curriculum within the schools.
In order to bring Santa Rosa into the modern technological world, there was need for support systems like electricity, and the village and school did not have the resources to acquire generators and gasoline – in any case a generator would go against the very grain of what was being discussed. So the Germans agreed to fund solar systems, a satellite phone, computers and a television set for the school. Using the lesson taught to him by then Parish Priest Fr George Vanderwood SJ, when he was asked what assistance was needed by the secondary school, ‘Sir Vic’ had with him a prepared list of needs.
You wouldn’t expect anything less from a ‘Special Person’ would you?

106-year- old Patamona mother honoured by her community - April 2, 2012 KNews

 Very little is known of the history of the Patamonas who have resided in parts of the Pakaraima Mountain, Region Eight, for a very long time.
Patamona is an Amerindian tribe that is mostly found in mountainous areas. An early contact between them and Europeans was made in the early nineteenth century when they were described as mountaineers.
On January 01, last, Paramakatoi’s oldest Patamona resident, Madeline Simon, turned 106-years-old.
She was honoured at a special ceremony that coincided with the launching of a new church in the community
Residents of Paramakatoi, Monkey Mountain, Kato, Taruka, Kaibarupai, Kopinang, Chenapau, Kurukubaru and many more communities were in attendance at the function during which she was thanked for the services she rendered to the community in her youthful days.
Many more senior citizens were also recognised, including Simon’s deceased husband, John Simon who was the first local Pastor of then, Pilgrim Holiness Church and who was responsible for bringing over two hundred Brazilians to reside at Taruka during his missionary stint.
The Simons reared eight children, three of them- Calvin Simon, Kathy Sue Belle and Gregory Simon still live in Paramakatoi, while, Ashton Simon, Michael Simon, Nancy Perreira live on the Coast and another, Cheryl Arneaud lives in Trinidad.

Madeline Simon speaks about her early life at a special ceremony to honour her on her 106 birth anniversary.

The Simons’ eldest son Ashton Simon in brief remarks told the gathering, “I cannot ever remember experiencing anything out of the ordinary. My dad was an expert hunter; my mom is a hard working farmer, so between them we were never out of food. My mom prays every day for her children and their families and the villagers, maybe that has kept us on safe grounds over the years. I am proud to be one of her many children whom she raised under careful guidance of the church and never spared the rod – that was an important element of my childhood upbringing. During my recent visit back home, I walked to the local shop bare feet and found it to be surprising to some youths, but little do they know, I and many others ran up the Paramakatoi Mountain from our humble dwellings, bare feet to get to school.”
When asked the reason for the longevity among Patamonas, Ashton Simon said “we are mountaineers and exercise is an important element for health. Patamonas climb every day. Clean air, organic foods, lots of cassiri and a healthy system does play an important element too, particularly the educational component.”
Special mention and recognition was also showered on Papai and Amai Agness Williams, father and mother of Ovid and Ian Williams.
Agness Williams was the only known person who spoke English to the Missionaries during the mission’s initial visits to Paramakatoi. She subsequently became their interpreter and so, many accolades were bestowed on her and family.
Her contributions as an English speaker became the bedrock for the missionaries during the latter 40’s and onwards.
Papai Williams, the longest serving Toshao was highly respected and showered with the fullest of cooperation on matters that benefitted Paramakatoi and other villages.

Canadian-Amerindians making a difference

by Shaun Michael on Friday, February 10, 2012 at 9:07pm ·

by Shaun Michael Samaroo  |  Stabroek News  |  Ways of Looking & Feeling | Thursday, February 9, 2012

Moruca-born sisters Stephanie Wall and Jean Rodrigues travelled from their Canadian homes in the heart of winter to traverse their beloved Guyana with one hope: to bring joy to the hearts of Guyanese children.
For over a decade the retired sisters have raised money in North America to import toys and other goodies for kids in development-starved hinterland communities.
On this month-long trip they shipped half a dozen barrels loaded with toys for kids in Moruca. They also committed to raise funds and other resources to restore the church building at Santa Rosa, which was in an awful state of disrepair.
They also saw to it that the community come together to build a house for an elderly Moruca resident, a wonderful cooperative effort that saw the men volunteer on a rainy day to build a wooden house for this lonely old lady.
Jean and Steph inspire people with their zeal, their zest for life and their commitment to make a difference for future generations.
Though they migrated from Guyana to Canada several decades ago, they maintain a close tie to their homeland.
They travel to Pomeroon, Moruca and Rupununi (where they maintain a house and have family in ranching) every year. They spend little time in Georgetown.
The hinterland’s sprawling green beauty is rugged but beautiful. With huge rivers and massive forests, the hinterland really is a daunting and imposing landscape. These ladies have no qualms about tackling its challenges. They love the lifestyle, and plan to one day move back home.
Born in Moruca, their parents moved them early to Rupununi, where their Mom was a teacher. Steph won a scholarship in the ‘60’s to study at a high school in Georgetown, and moved away for school.
But the love for Moruca, Rupununi and other hinterland communities stayed with them to this day.
They have both retired from successful careers in Canada. Now they dedicate their days to make a difference for these marginalized communities.
They operate a couple of Facebook pages, titled ‘Moruca’ and ‘Santa Rosa – White Chapel On A Hill’, and blogs and newsletters, with the simple goal of networking people from the hinterland through the Internet. The Internet is bringing together Amerindians from all over the world, who were born in this country. Many have migrated and done quite well. But even in local communities like Moruca, the young people are networking online with these overseas communities.
Moruca’s beauty queen Simone Fredericks and her father, a well-known local leader, both frequently post pictures and news from the Moruca community. Through their Digicel Blackberries, they post instant pictures, videos and news.
The Internet is in fact bringing the world to these once remote, inaccessible hinterland communities, circumventing the harsh, undeveloped landscape.
US-based Donna Stoll also plays a key role online to network this country’s hinterland with the global village. Stoll, Wall and Rodrigues, though working on separate projects, have grandiose dreams for projects in these remote communities. This writer toured many of these communities a couple months ago, and people everywhere complained about poor living conditions, lack of development and of scarce State input in their lives. Complaints about the government not caring for these communities ring across the hinterland. People everywhere feel left out of their governance, and even local government officials are distrusted and accused of corrupt practices.
Many of our hinterland residents rely on trade with Brazil and Venezuela to survive.
One man told this writer that fuel boats traverse the Barima River frequently bringing in fuel from Venezuela, which is way cheaper than locally purchased fuel shipped in from the coastal area.
These communities have learned to survive with little or no input from Central Government. Even in mining communities such as Port Kaituma, the town looks like an ancient village caught in an 18th century time warp. Pure water is shipped in from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, as the heavily populated town never got potable water development.
Who cares about the human capital development of the hinterland? People who go on to higher education either leave for the coast or migrate.
Even Mabaruma, which was once identified as a possible town, lacks any paved road, and its development seems ad hoc and unplanned. Yet, this community boasts a stunning landscape, with  spectacular scenery.
Who cares for these communities?
Through the Internet, a global network of Amerindians, and others who care, are coming together to play a dynamic role, and to make a difference. They work quietly, not sounding any drumbeat about their work.
Generation after generation of people in these communities were lost to gross poverty, poor education systems, lack of even the rudiments of basic society. Today, the younger generation look outside of their country, to those who have migrated and can afford to lend a helping hand from overseas, and to Venezuela and Brazil, for their sustenance and hope.
Despite the Government’s Amerindian Affairs Ministry, many Amerindians feel Government plays politics with them rather than commit with serious plans to develop their communities.
Land in many of these communities remain under collective ownership, and Amerindians are denied the ability of owning private titles so they could access banking capital to develop their communities. This policy of communal land ownership undermines the development of our hinterland and Amerindian people. For folks like Steph and Jean, there is a lot of work to be done.
They could easily enjoy their comfortable life in developed Canada.
Instead they leave their posh homes to travel through some of the roughest terrain in this country, to bring hope and joy to the hearts of our nation’s kids, the future generation.
Their commitment, their belief, their humility, their graciousness come out of hearts that care. They don’t seek anything in return – just to give. Blessed, they feel they can be a blessing.
The hinterland communities are starting to wake up to see the potential inherent in a global network of Amerindian people, with Steph Wall and Jean Rodrigues pioneering a new path to development, outside of dependence on a foul State structure.
In connecting with the global village, our hinterland communities may very well find their future.

Moruca sisters giving back to their community February 3, 2012

I was blown away by this post - Reg and Seph in Moruca

Regina Rodrigues and Stephanie Walls are two sisters who hail from Moruca but now living in Canada. Both have recently retired. Young retirees. Now they dedicate their lives to giving back to the community. They raise funds throughout the year from family and friends which they use to buy toys for the children and other stuff to make life a little more enjoyable for a community that nurtured the good folks these two women are.  They have fun doing it. Regina has active profile on Facebook dedicated to connecting Moruca folks all over the world and it is thriving.
I am inspired by the work of these two women. Guyana has many pockets of poor and needy people and children. Not everyone has a relative to send them barrels every year or send them a little money to help out now and then. We have to find those pockets and make a difference like Regina and Stephanie are doing.
Adopt a village. If your own village do not need you try another one that does. Your contribution does not have to big but enough to make a difference in the lives of those who need.
The sisters are in Guyana at this time and here is an observation made by Stephanie in Facebook:
They (the women in Moruca)  endure a lot. They work the fields, they take care of their families. They cope with lack of money, the rainy weather and everything else and they laugh out loud. We were pulling up at Kumaka one day last week (in the rain) and two ladies were chatting on the pier and laughing out so loudly that I had to smile as well. Laughter is infectious and perhaps it helps people to cope. They welcome visitors with open arms. They are generous and they share the little they have and cannot do enough to make visitors feel welcome. They get old and die and are buried in the cemetery at Santa Rosa and the young ones become the old ones – and they keep on going. Moruca has not changed a lot, except there are now motorized vehicles – and cell phones. EVERYONE has one (lol). The above is a tribute to the Moruca women – women like Minerva, Whanita, Lena, Carol, Toolie, Bonnie, Thecla, Tr. Atty, Dolly, Elaine and the younger women like Natalie, Simone Fredericks, Donette, Whanita’s Amy, to name a few.

Santa Rosa secondary school

Guyana Times - Sunday January 15th, 2012 

Santa Rosa Secondary turns Eighteen

By Indrawattie Natram
Prior to 1994, residents of the North West District village of Moruca had no access to secondary education unless persons left their homeland to pursue this higher level on the Essequibo Coast.
But the persevering efforts of parents and the community of Moruca led to the Jan 3, 1994 establishment of the Santa Rosa Secondary School.
Five pioneering teachers: Victor Ferreira, David James ( now attorney at law), Yolanda Ferreira, Ronda James and Renna Van Doggen ( VSO) worked with the first batch of 14 students who sat CXC ( Caribbean Examination Council) in 1995.
In celebrating eighteen years of existence, major achievements were highlighted and exciting new initiatives were established.
The anniversary celebrations, which were held Jan 6, 2012, saw many outstanding individuals being honoured in academic and extracurricular activities.
In sports, the Heligars – a brother and sister - were recognized for their achievements in swimming. In the 2011 National Athletic Championship, Dominic Heligar, the youngest brother, captured gold at the 50 M breaststroke.
Bara Holder was also recognized for her participation in the Caribbean Teacher's Union Athletic Championship in Trinidad, where she captured a bronze medal in the high jump.
Eighteen persons were awarded and placed in the school’s 2012 Hall of Fame.
The individuals were chosen from among best performers at the CSEC from 1995- 2011.
A previous reporter for Guyana Times , Ruben Stoby, is one of the journalists appearing in the Hall of Fame, while others include teachers, aspiring lawyers, politicians and engineers.
Two Hall of Fame special awardees for academic achievement were Jed Vasconcellos, who achieved an award for most number of grade ones at one sitting ( 6 grade ones, 2 grade twos and 1 grade 3). Nicasie Richards was awarded for the most outstanding performer, with 3 grade ones, 6 grade twos and 1 grade three.
Another of the Richards' was also honoured for a being a graduate teacher.
Nigel Richards, now dis trict education officer for Region One, was recognized as the oldest serving teacher of the school, ( 12 years four months) he was jointly recognized with Marti De Souza, a graduate teacher who also served for same number of years. Sarah De Souza was awarded for being the youngest teacher of the school, and Errol Chapple the oldest.
Speaking to Guyana Times Sunday Magazine , Marti De Souza, who is also a product of the Santa Rosa Secondary School, said he feels happy to teach his fellow brothers and sisters at the school. He said he is very happy that children in the area are being afforded the opportunity to pursue an education within their community.
He however said that his wish is for the school to become a grade A school. He said for the twelve years he served, children are performing excellently at the CSEC examinations, which is affording them scholarships to pursue tertiary education in various countries.
He said students that have attended the school are presently in Cuba studying to become doctors or agriculturalists.
Gylnn De La Cruz, Headmaster of the school, said that he is also happy to serve his fellow Amerindians at the grassroots level. He too confessed that his fervent wish is for the secondary school to become a Grade A institution, pointing out that the school has a population of 738 students, making it a potentially “ super ‘ A’ one”. He stated that over the years, the population has increased, and it is among the largest schools in Guyana.
He said that as the school continues to " blaze its trail", the success stories would no doubt increase as the students and teachers together continue to aim for excellence.
The school's motto is, " Aim for the Top'. The school has a dormitory where children from the far- flung areas are housed to help them also benefit from higher education.
Persons on the Hall of Fame 1995- Paul Atkinson 1996- Nadia Ferreira 1997- Gilbert Rebeiro and Ruben Stoby 1998- Vernon Jaime 1999 Marti De Souza 2000- Natalie Matthews 2001 - Cassandra Rodrigues 2002- Deanna Vieria 2003- Racheal Abraham 2004- Shuriland Viverous 2005- Andrew Marks 2006- Marlyn Harris 2007- Jed Vasconcellos 2008- Sarah Browne 2009- Daniella Da Costa 2010- Nicasie Richards 2011- Marcus Atkinson

Trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania

...to attend the International Contest & Convention (IC&C) in Hershey, Pennsylvania.   We left Toronto on Wednesday morning around midday - we had great plans to leave first thing in the morning but after realizing we had a bit of running around to do - not to mention packing !! - we decided that we would have a late breakfast and then hit the road - was a long drive - border crossing was uneventful - we arrived at the Hershey Lodge around 11 p.m. - everyone was extremely tired -

Basil Rodrigues M.S. is a ‘Special Person’

October 2, 2011 | By KNews |

Folklorist, Musician, Educator and highly respected Elder
 
Pull quote: “I was respected by persons in the communities in which I resided, and I was chosen for many leadership roles.”
By Rohan Sagar
Born at Bullet Tree, Waini River, Basil Cuthbert Rodrigues, affectionately known as Uncle Basil in all Santa Rosa and Moruca, traces his heritage back to Venezuela where his forefathers lived in Angostura or modern Cuidad Bolivar. They escaped the aftermath of the ‘Big War’ – the Bolivarian War of Independence as it is known in the Oral Traditions of the Spanish Arawaks – and later resettled in Paloma, a tiny community further inland from the banks of the Moruca River. Paloma is accessible by a narrow dirt road from Cabucalli and Kokal.
Soon after Uncle Basil was born (in 1932) his family, minus an older brother and sister who remained in Santa Rosa to attend school, relocated to the Waini where his grandfather, Antonio Rodrigues called Papita, lived and where Basil experienced in real time the traditional way of life commonly associated with Indigenous Peoples on the Atlantic shorelines. These included farming and all that went into the preparation, planting and harvesting. Then there was fishing, an activity that can last sometimes for days as Papita would explore tiny creeks where the fishing grounds were the more attractive.

Basil Rodrigues

The reason for moving to Waini in the first place also was based on local superstition – some of his younger brothers and sisters did not survive very long and died quite young. Basil’s parents, believing that there were evil spirits around the home, moved.
Papita’s illness at age 75 prompted Basil’s parents to return to Moruca along with Papita. Now it was time to return to Kokal. Basil continued attending school at Kokal, then administered and taught by Roman Catholic nuns.
Like most musicians who came out of Guyana’s hinterland, he began his musical life whilst experiencing the richness of his traditional culture. At this time in its history the community of Kokal formed a part of the wider Santa Rosa village (along with Cabucalli where Basil’s mother came from, Paloma where his father originated, and San Juan). Kayaps and the coming together of the community to indulge in the traditional ceremonial way of life fused with Roman Catholic ceremonial rites such as baptisms, weddings, Christmases as well as others that enriched the lives of the community’s population.
And there was a justification, as the Arawaks were also devout Catholics and it was they who caused a Roman Catholic priest, Fr Thomas Hynes, to travel from Trinidad, to bless a local and newly constructed Church in 1830.
As a young man Uncle Basil was deeply influenced by two persons who caused him to pick up the guitar as his musical instrument – his father who was a violinist in demand and later Aloysius La Rose, who was another violinist and cultural visionary. Incidentally, it was at this time that the Arawak language began to experience a decline in use and this affected the music which resulted in less emphasis on the singing of the lyrics, and so the violin became the pre-eminent instrument that carried the melody of the traditional music of the Arawaks.
Additionally, the music of the Arawaks of Santa Rosa was unique – it was not the usual traditional 2/4 common to Indigenous music, in fact, Banchikilli which in Arawak means to ‘dance to the violin and banjo’ evolved as a hybrid of the Venezuelan Joropo and the melodic form of the Mari-Mari.
Basil loved music, and his favourite was of course his people’s Banchikilli – and then there was the Country & Western. This love for Country & Western was not unusual as it was a common characteristic of rural and hinterland populations of Guyana.
Basil’s favourite artist was Hank Williams Snr and he remembers paddling down the Moruca River in the bright moonlit night singing and playing his guitar to the tunes of Hank Williams. He was partnered by his friends, and these extraordinary performances often ended in the local bars.
Basil Rodrigues’ moonlit performances did not find favour with one section of the Kokal population – the nuns who live at the convent overlooking the Cabucalli and Hurdiah communities along the Moruca River. In fact, this activity was deemed to be quite harmful to young Basil’s prospects of “entering the Gates of Heaven” whenever that moment should arise, and the nuns duly informed his parents that he ought to be engaged in activities that were more constructive and purposeful. This was to decisively reshaped Basil Rodrigues’ future and impacted another population in a very significant way.
At the age of 18, in 1952, Basil Rodrigues stepped off a DC Dakota plane at Lumid Pau to commence his second life – as a teacher. This was the culmination of the discussions between his parents and the nuns of the local convent, and the outcome of his serenading activities on the Moruca River. This new phase was not quite different in that it was quite common then for young Amerindian males to gravitate towards the forestry or mining industries. Basil did, too, and he worked in the North West (as a miner) as well as doing camp duties both there and in Linden.
Fr. Bernard McKenna, who he calls the educationist priest, was instrumental in seating Basil on the plane. He then assigned him his first school and for the next 40 years, except for periodic visits to Georgetown and Moruca, Basil Rodrigues lived and taught in the Rupununi.  During this time he married Delores, and together they parented four children, two sons – Wally who is a malarial microscopist at Aishalton, Curtis (attacked and killed by a tiger in the Marudi Mountains), and two daughters Beverly and Kay, who live with him in Kokal today.

The Mariaba Players performing the Banchikilli at Moruca

As a teacher, Basil impacted profoundly, mainly in the Wapishana communities of the Southern Rupununi. A gentle people, whose gift of communication was ultra-conservative, provided him with opportunities to connect with techniques that were outside the standard Teachers’ Manual. He used both music and sports (drama as well) to help build the students’ confidence and was so successful that his school Shea Primary had the best drama and cricket clubs for years.
In cricket, Shea defeated schools that were two or three times larger its size, and when he used music, he noticed an aura of excitement amongst his pupils, and as he sang, his students would sing along – the children of the Rupununi loved to sing!
Basil Rodrigues taught in many communities such as Karaudarnau, Shea and Aishalton amongst others. And though he lived in these communities (he spent the longest in Shea) in the latter part of his forty years he spent in the Rupununi, he decided that he would permanently settle in Aishalton. The Toshao gave him a piece of land that no one wanted, as it was infested with rattlesnakes. The place was called Drummaud, which he renamed Drums.
He cleared and cleaned the land, built a house, and invested in a few head of cattle that were to later increase many fold. For Uncle Basil the Rupununi was special – he remembers the many moments as he stood in awe of the grandeur of the Kanuku and the savannahs. The beauty and serenity was inspirational for his many compositions. One particular place he remembers most fondly was Shea Rock. With an elevation of about five hundred feet, Uncle Basil would walk to the summit, and sit and gaze into the far distance. It was moments like these he believes that inspired the lyrics of his songs, and these came to him as if carried directly by the gentle savannah wind.
Although Basil Rodrigues was a school teacher he was also given and accepted roles as counsellor and community leader, and with the respect given unto him as a teacher, he was able to guide his fellow citizens towards a greater collective sense of responsibility.
“I was respected by persons in the communities in which I resided, and I was chosen for many leadership roles,” he reflected.
Whenever there were projects to be done, however big or small, he would encourage the Toshao to kill and cook a cow or pig, and have the women prepare the Parakiri (local beverage from cassava) and invite the community to come out and perform collective labour. It was an embedded value amongst the many Amerindian tribes, and one that reminded Uncle Basil of his own experiences at home in Kokal many years before. These projects helped to deepen social and communal cohesion within the community.
Another of his experiences was the cultural habits that were both strange and instructive from the communities that he interfaced: Amongst the Wapishanas, any festivity often would last for many days, sometimes as much as seven days. Here, the community gathers at a central place, and when the celebration commences persons would dance and eat as often as one was able to and when tired sleep, and then awake to carry on more dances and eating.
The dancers do not stop unless the musicians do and some individual dances can last for hours. As in most cultures beverages, especially the fermented ones these can be debilitating, and with that comes unnatural behaviour. This was so amongst the Wapishana and Uncle Basil speaks of fights that would occur occasionally.
But these were not the fights that would grace the newspapers of today; in fact at that time fights in the Wapishana community were more of a pushing and shoving contest. So in a specific contest, the antagonists would be engaging each other in the centre of a crowded assembly. The first combatant to fall ends the fight and then the party resumes. In the Wapishana collective there are no winners and losers, and blood spilling was rarely seen.
On December 25, 1992, Basil Rodrigues gathered his family together and informed each that with the natural aging process of both himself and Delores, and with the given fact of a barely functioning health system at both Lethem and Aishalton, a decision was made that he and his wife would return to Kokal, Moruca River (he was already retired). He offered his children the option of deciding their own future then and both his sons determined that they would remain in the Rupununi. His two daughters decided that they would accompany their parents back to Kokal (though one did so after a brief sojourn in Brazil).
When he arrived at Kokal, Basil found his family plot in a depressed state, and his community sharing a similar experience.
He was soon invited to rejoin the teaching service and taught in the local Santa Rosa Primary School. He worked together with a Roman Catholic nun Sister Jacinta and with this collaboration he caused local community health centres to be built. His third project after arriving in Kokal was to relink with his old buddies (Frank and Basil Hernandez, Emmanuel Cornelius, Antonio Torres, Vincent Sookhan, etc – the latter two now deceased) and formed a cultural group, the Mariaba (which means guava in Arawak after the fruit trees found in abundance then) Players.
Mariaba, incidentally, was the name given to the site just outside Cabucalli, settled by the arriving Arawaks in 1817; this name was later changed to Santa Rosa (in honour of their patron Saint Rose of Lima or Santa Rosa del Lima) after the consecration of the local church in 1830.
Uncle Basil lives a very unassuming life and a visit to his home is an experience – his cherubic face awaits his visitors and with the most disarming of smiles his anthemic ‘Hello there, I was waiting on you’ greets you at his doorstep, before sitting his visitor to his lifetime experiences punctuated with his guitar strumming and singing his compositions.
Steeped in the traditions of his people, Uncle Basil enriches his life experiences through music. He was a main feature at the initial Amerindian Heritage celebrations when first launched (with his entourage of young singers), and continues to be the mainstay of the Mariaba Players (his and the members of the Mariaba Players are the last of the Banchikilli exponents). He continues to be inspired by and through the folkloric narratives of the Arawak/Lokono traditions, which he is quick to point out is the root and foundation of all his musical and poetic compositions.
An awardee twice of the Medal of Service, in 1989 and in 1994, Basil Rodrigues is considered a legend in a rapidly disappearing cultural legacy.

Elderly Arawak Indians watch slow extinction of native tongue

Published: Sunday, July 29, 2001

Associated Press

KABAKABURI, Guyana {AP}— At 86, John Peter Bennett is blind and nearly deaf, but he's still sharp enough to detect a dropped syllable in his beloved native tongue.

Living in the village where he was born, in the forests of Guyana, Bennett is one of a shrinking number of Arawak Indians who still speak their language, and he has noticed a tendency to drop the first syllable of "akorakali," the Arawak word for thunder, leaving "korakali."
"Everybody wants to do it in a faster way," Bennett says. "Speed has a great influence on all things."
Some experts predict that in the next century, more than half the world's 6,800 living languages could disappear. From the Indian language of Salish in the northwestern United States to Ibu in Indonesia, endangered tongues that thrived in isolation are fading as the outside world creeps in.
"These languages evolved over thousands of years, and they're being snuffed out over the order of decades," said Doug Whalen, a linguist who leads the Endangered Language Fund at Yale University. "It's an entire heritage that's being lost."
Even in the age of the Internet and jet flights, however, something of Arawak is sure to survive, thanks to a dictionary Bennett spent 25 years compiling.
Published in 1989 and updated in 1994, "An Arawak-English Dictionary with an English word-list" reflects the remoteness of Arawak life from the global mainstream. The dictionary offers no word for "computer" but has five for "frog" and four for "snake."
It doesn't even have "hurricane," even though the word derives from "hurakan," a god of the Caribbean island Arawaks. The reason for the omission: Hurricanes don't generally reach Guyana.
It does, however, define "bororo, n. — a frog, a large kind that spends its time on or in the ground," and "shiparari-kodibiu, n. — aeroplane, metal bird."
At night, Arawaks usually mention snakes with caution, according to Bennett, lest a snake's spirit overhear them and take offense. To be on the safe side, they speak of "madunarobe," or the "armless ones."
When Christopher Columbus reached the New World, Arawak in various forms was spoken from South America to the Florida Keys. It's the language from which came such words as hammock, tobacco and canoe.
The Arawak tribes largely died off under the enslaving, disease-importing Spanish. But they survived on the northeastern coast of South America, and an estimated 17,000 remain in Guyana and Suriname.
Only about 2,200, most of them elderly, still speak Arawak — or Loko, as it is called here.
In Kabakaburi, a predominantly Arawak village of more than 1,000 people on Guyana's Pomeroon River, children understand a few words of Arawak, but they communicate in the English brought by the British more than 150 years ago, and in an English-based Creole.
The village embraced Christianity with the founding of an Anglican mission in 1840, and teachers encouraged villagers to speak English. Bennett, born in 1914, recalls teachers forbidding the use of Arawak and flogging offenders.
Gloria Lowe, a 60-year-old teacher who helped run the class, said Arawaks seem largely uninterested. Few Guyanese today know that some rivers bear Arawak names, such as the winding Orinoco, which means "snake mouth," and the Maichony, which means "the song of trees' leaves when the breeze blows."
"It is sad to know that this Arawak language is dying," Lowe said.

Tribute to James Dean - Legend

James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was a cultural icon , best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause (1955), in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark. The other two roles that defined his stardom were as loner Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955), and as the surly ranch hand, Jett Rink, in Giant (1956). Dean's enduring fame and popularity rests on his performances in only these three films, all leading roles. His premature death in a car crash cemented his legendary status.


Dean was the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award  nomination for Best Actor and remains the only actor to have had two posthumous acting nominations. In 1999, the AFI ranked Dean the 18th best male movie star on their AFI's 100 Years ....100 Stars list.

Minister Rodrigues-Birkett receives hero’s award in Moruca

Monday, 12 September 2011

MINISTER of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett is accustomed to open arm welcomes when arriving at her native village, Moruca. But she will forever remember September 10, 2011, when she received a hero’s award. Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues- Birkett, at right, with, from left, Agnes Daniels, Vibert De Souza and Basil Rodrigues, with their awards. Seventeen highly acclaimed Morucans, 13 of whom are deceased, were declared Heroes of Moruca on Saturday when the village hosted Heroes Day in a show of loyalty to their villagers, in keeping with Amerindian Heritage activities. Minister Rodrigues-Birkett, along with former Minister of Amerindian Affairs Vibert De Souza, and veteran teachers Agnes Bridget Daniels, and Basil Rodrigues were honoured with the unveiling of a monument with their names inscribed on it. Several villagers, young and old, including Chairman of Region One, Fermin Singh, and reigning Miss Moruca, Simone Fredericks, gathered at the Santa Rosa Heroes Square for the commemoration ceremony which took the form of eulogies, songs, poems and accolades to the heroes past and present. Among the deceased heroes are Joseph Atkinson who was instrumental in the establishment of the first Moruca Co-op Society shop; John Atkinson, the longest serving village captain; Rosa Atkinson, a herbal practitioner and spiritualist; Stephen Campbell, the first Amerindian parliamentarian; and John Ferreira, an entrepreneur who was fluent in the Carib, Warau and Arawak languages. The Heroes Monument, Santa Rosa, Region One Basil Rodrigues was the person instrumental in the idea of a Heroes Monument in Moruca. He used the occasion to thank members of the village council and public spirited persons for organizing such the event which, he acknowledged, emerged out of the realisation that there is a great need for youths in the village to know and appreciate their heroes, culture and language. The project, Rodrigues said, was not smooth sailing as many obstacles were faced to acquire funding for the monument which was built at a cost of over $45,000. Rodrigues was the former Aishalton Primary School head master, teacher of Santa Rosa Primary, and author of the songs “Nine Amerindian Tribes” and “Tribute to Moruca.” He also played in lead role in the play Kanaima and participated in the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) IX in Trinidad and Tobago. Minister Rodrigues-Birkett hailed him as a person who has done Moruca and the country proud. “He is so committed to the Amerindian culture… it was his idea that we have a monument… I’m very happy today that all Morucans are so supportive of this,” Minister Rodrigues-Birkett said. Agnes Daniels, the former school teacher who taught Minister Rodrigues-Birkett, was strict with her rules regarding dress, tardiness, and mannerisms; and the Foreign Affairs Minister recalled the inspiration she gained from the advice which she received to “use the Bible as a guide.” Minister Rodrigues-Birkett was also elated to receive the hero’s award, along with Vibert De Souza, Guyana’s first Amerindian Affairs Minister who, she said, was the person who gave her the scholarship opportunity, and advised her on the job opening at the Social Impact and Amelioration Programme (SIMAP). “He laid a foundation for me, because I came after him as Minister of Amerindian Affairs,” Minister Rodrigues said. Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues -Birkett unveils the Heroes Monument in the presence of several Moruca residents, Region One Reference was also made to his advocacy for land demarcation. Listening to the eulogies of the heroes and the call for youths to be cognizant and appreciative of their heroes, Minister Rodrigues-Birkett vowed to publish a booklet on the biographies of each awardee, especially for the village. In her recollections, she called the names of several other persons who, in her mind, are heroes of Moruca who did not make the list, but were nevertheless “gifts to Moruca from God.” The minister referred to a woman named Yamakoto who performed the role of a midwife and brought her into the world, and others who were vocal on the rights of Amerindians. During the ceremony, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in honour of Stephen Campbell, with a citation that read: “Dedicated to the Memory of Stephen Campbell, First Amerindian Member of Parliament, pioneer of Amerindian land titles, his memory lives.” (GINA)

Editorial - Stabroek News - Sept 12, 2011

Amerindian History and the Schools
Today marks the start of Amerindian Heritage Month with its annual focus on indigenous art, culture and achievements. It is only in relatively recent times, however, that elements of Amerindian history and pre-history have begun to be uncovered, and for the most part the bulk of the population remains ensnared by a stereotyped – and mostly inaccurate – account of the indigenous past.  The Amerindians had lived in what is our Guyana for thousands of years before Christopher Columbus made his fateful landing on the Bahamas’ Watling Island in 1492, and work in more recent times by archaeologists including (among others) the late Denis Williams, Prof Mark Plew and Mr George Simon of the University of Guyana and his colleague Prof Neil Whitehead of the University of Wisconsin, have begun to open a window on life in Guyana millennia ago.
Few of our children are taught in school that Amerindians are the pioneers of agriculture in Guyana, although they do learn about the making of cassava bread, etc. In many classrooms this is taught in a vacuum, however, and it is possible that some pupils are not even be aware of the remarkable nature of a process which involves the bitter cassava and not the sweet variety, and is designed to eliminate the toxins from this root vegetable to make it safe for consumption. The early peoples who developed the technique can be regarded as scientific experimenters of a sort, using empirical observations to produce a practical result and provide themselves with a dietary staple.
But the Arawaks in particular, are also the pioneers of large-scale drainage, designed to carry off water from their raised fields which served their fixed settlements. They eventually abandoned these, to return to farming methods and the lifestyle we associate with all the nations here today, but in their heyday the raised field complexes were very impressive. The largest known at present was at Hertenrits in Suriname, but raised fields have also been found in Canje and on the Berbice River, where they are being investigated now.
And it is also on the Berbice River that Messrs Simon, Whitehead and others are digging at a site near Dubulay which has been under human occupation dating back at least five thousand years, and after the latest carbon-dating tests are concluded in the United States, might be found to go back even as far as ten thousand years. If so, this would make it a premier site in terms of Amazonian archaeology.
One suspects that no hint of these developments seeps into the classrooms of Guyana’s schools (least of all the hinterland schools), although the Walter Roth Museum has run a Junior Archaeology Club for some years, which has attracted a few youthful adherents at the primary level. It is proposing to extend this and launch a programme to attract secondary school students around the middle of this month.  If the interest of children in archaeology could be sparked, then the potential would exist to develop in due course a cadre of local archaeologists who could follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, both Guyanese and foreign, and unravel the distant past of this nation.
Even where the colonial period is concerned, not a great deal is known by the public at large let alone the Ministry of Education and its school teachers about the role of Amerindians.  Here in particular, stereotyped stories hold sway, which are either irrelevant to our situation, or have only partial relevance.  The history of indigenous nations in this country was not the same as that in the Spanish or Portuguese areas of the South American continent, and some groups at some periods in Guyana were actors in the colonial drama, rather than simply victims.  Others shared a history of enslavement with the Africans, which for them lasted until 1793, when the Dutch state abolished indigenous slavery in Essequibo-Demerara, along with the slave trade which went with it. Having said that, however, it has to be conceded that not a great deal of accurate information about Africans in the pre-Emancipation period has penetrated the walls of Guyana’s classrooms either, or is even known by the public at large.
One can only hope that one day, the Ministry of Education will see fit to update its syllabus for the Grade 6 Assessment in Social Studies, among others, so the children at least can actually benefit from information which in some cases has been known by researchers for years, and in the case of the Amerindians, some of which has recently been uncovered. After all, peddling inaccuracies about the past and the ancestors of the peoples who go to make up this nation is not just counter-productive, it brings discredit to the Ministry and the Minister.

The Bush Master (Lachesis muta)

I had to post this as I remember as a child, my father had a scar on his leg and he said he was bitten by a bushmaster...of course he probably embellished his story somewhat, being a good "gaff" man lol...He said this snake could slide through the grass faster than a man could run and was often heard to chase its prey if these hapless people accidentally stumbled across one in Guyana's interior!!

 

August 9, 2009 | By KNews 

The Bush Master (Lachesis muta) is a venomous pit viper species found in South America. Two subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.
Adults grow to an average of 2 to 2.5 metres (m), although 3m is not too unusual. The largest recorded specimen was almost 3.65m long, making this the largest of all pit vipers and the longest venomous snake in the western hemisphere.
The head is broad and very distinct from the narrow neck. The snout is broadly rounded. There is no canthus. A pair of small internasals is present, separated by small scales. The supraoculars are narrow. Other parts of the crown are covered with very small scales. Laterally, the second supralabial forms the anterior border of the loreal pit, while the third is very large. The eye is separated from the supralabials by 4-5 rows of small scales.
The body is cylindrical, tapered and moderately stout. Mid-body there are 31-37 nonoblique rows of dorsal scales which are heavily keeled with bulbous tubercles and feebly imbricate. There are 200-230 ventral scales. The tail is short with 32-50 mainly paired subcaudals, followed by 13-17 rows of small spines and a terminal spine.

A bushmaster secluded in its habitat

The colour pattern consists of a yellowish, reddish or grey-brown ground colour, overlaid with a series of dark brown or black dorsal blotches that form lateral inverted triangles of the same colour. The lateral pattern may be precisely or indistinctly defined, normally pale at the centre.
Lachesis is one of the three Fates in Greek mythology and was supposed to assign to man his term of life — something this species is certainly capable of doing. The species is similar in appearance to rattlesnakes and vibrates its tail vigorously when alarmed, but has no rattle and was therefore called mutus (later muta), which is Latin for dumb or mute. However, when in the undergrowth, the tail actually makes quite a loud rustling noise.
Found in South America in the equatorial forests east of the Andes: Colombia, eastern Ecuador, Peru, northern Bolivia, eastern and southern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and much of northern Brazil. The species is also found in Trinidad.
They are found in primary and secondary forests; adjacent fields and cleared areas. In Trinidad it tends to prefer hilly and mountainous regions.
Some reports suggest that this species produces a large amount of venom that is weak compared to some other vipers. Others, however, suggest that such conclusions may not be accurate. These animals are badly affected by stress and often do not last long in captivity. This makes it difficult to obtain “good, healthy” venom for study purposes.
For example, Bolaños (1972) observed that venom yield from his specimens fell from 233 mg to 64 mg while they remained in his care. As the stress of being milked regularly has this effect on venom yield, it is reasoned that it may also affect venom toxicity. This may explain the disparity described by Hardy and Haad (1998) of the low laboratory toxicity versus the high mortality rate of bite victims.[11]
The most famous of the vipers in Guyana is the Bushmaster (Lachesis muta). This snake is aptly named in English and particularly in Latin – as the “silent bringer of death.” The bushmaster, known as the surucucu in Brazil, and the shushupe in other countries, is the largest venomous snake in the New World. These snakes can regularly exceed 2,000 millimetres in length (6.5 ft.), and one of the largest recorded was 4,267 mm (14 ft.).
Like the rattlesnake, it has a prominent dorsal ridge, and the head is broad with an upturned snout. The bushmaster is a nocturnal snake, and reported as extremely aggressive, although scientists believe this to be an exaggeration.
(Source – Wikipedia: The Free Online Encyclopedia)

Santa Rosa Church - Moruca, Guyana

it seems this little project is haunting me so here we go again.  I have been corresponding with Fr. Wilian - I was brave enough to tell him to email in Spanish and so between some friends of friends and Google translate ....lol...I have managed to communicate not too bad!!

Bit and pieces are pouring in to help with the renovation but it's only a drop in the bucket - nevertheless we press on - it will get done.  Thanks to all the people who are helping financially.  so far we have:

CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS THE SANTA ROSA CHURCH RENOVATION

TO DATE: (August 5, 2011)

Basil & Dolly Rodrigues                             5 bags of cement
Bev Vasconcellos                                      1 bag of cement      
Kay Rodrigues                                          1 bag of cement
Ovid Williams                                            G$50,000 cash
Jean (Regina) Rodrigues)
Stephanie Walls               )                       Cad $450.00 (G$91,410) 
Samantha King                 )                       (equiv 50 bags of cement)                
Margaret Hazlewood Clark                        1 bag of cement.   
(Maggie also contributed to the 2nd Annual Toy Drive for the children of Moruca.  Thank you Maggie.  We appreciate your always willing generosity.)    
Kathleen Joseph                                        US$100.00  (equiv 10 bags of cement) 
Vaulda Maria Rodriguez will be in Moruca later this month and she has a whole agenda set up for fund-raising all by herself.   Well done Vaulda!! - but take some time off to relax and dance a banchikilli  ..ok?

     Father Wilian has asked for help with the renovations of the Santa Rosa Church from the community and the ex-Morucans in any way they can possibly help. Cash donations can easily be sent via Western Union directly to Father Wilian (full name Wilian Montalvo Tello) and he can then go to Charity to collect.  Please note his e-mail address (wilianmontalvo@ive.org) as you will have to notify him if you are sending a contribution and you MUST  provide him with the code number from Western Union in order for him to uplift the money.  Also, it sure will be easier for him if you write in Spanish  Father speaks Spanish and is now learning to speak English. .  Fr. Wilian thanks everyone for their contributions. One bag of cement costs approximately Guy $1,800.00 (or $10.00 Canadian) and the only other cost would be the Western Union fee (which varies depending on the amount – could be C$8.00 and up).

     Father has said that the people from Moruca are helping with the sand (and rocks) and various wood that will be used during the reconstruction. Approximately 200 different sizes of wood will be used.   This Tuesday August 9th they will have  the second lot of wood that was purchased at Parika.  Father said he needs 375 bags of cement in total – to date he has 7 bags.   He believes in 2 weeks they will purchase the roofing and the nails.  Father is also asking  for many prayers as the original estimate will not be enough for the entire work as the contractor and his workers will require $20,000 US for the remodelling and reconstruction for the 3 months of work.

     As you can see, we have an uphill battle - hopefully next time I post, I will have some more news.

     Stay tuned..........

Uncle Basil yearns for Banchikili revival

While being cognisant of the loss of the Arawak culture, Basil Rodrigues believes that if interventions are made, the spiral can be stymied so that this culture can be passed on to youths.
Rodrigues known as ‘Uncle Basil’ is a resident of Santa Rosa; a community found within the Moruca Sub-Region, Region One and has lived a life devoted to teaching and guitar music. He was born on June 13, 1932 at Bullet Tree, Waini River before moving in 1940 to Santa Rosa to attend primary school.

Basil Rodrigues

“Banjo music had me interested and I wanted to know how to play,” he said. This early love for music grew from listening to Hurrup and Banchikili  (Spanish Arawak music), which was played frequently in the community. He recalled how he and other boys would peep at “dances” from the trees since they were not allowed to go in. At other times, he and his friends would paddle two or three miles down the Moruca River singing western songs particularly those of Hank Williams, who hits included “Your Cheating Heart” and “Hey Good Looking”. A Roman Catholic nun, Sister Teresa, did not like that since she thought they were drinking, but he said that was not so; they just loved the music.
He was 19 years on in 1951, when his mother’s permission was sought for him to go teach at a school in Karaudarnaua, Deep South Rupununi. While he took with him his love for guitar playing, adjusting to a different environment where little English was used was difficult. He said he was often lonely and found that he could not fit in.
However, in 1954, he moved to Shea, another community in the Deep South, as head teacher with the aim of opening a primary school. He remembers climbing Shea Rock and using that time to reflect on life. “The geography of the land presented an ideal place to learn, reminisce and discover,” he said. It was while there that he realised that he could compose songs on life of the people in the Rupununi, their heritage, beliefs and the tough life they lived.
Therefore after work, he would try to fit his compositions to Samba, a music form which was often played there. “I found as a teacher, the children used to be more interested in this new form of music and it helped because I could not get them to understand how I operated as a teacher,” he said.
He wrote songs, skits and dances that the smallest child could join in and perform. Even though the Wapishana language was difficult for him, he was determined to learn it and managed to write many of his skits in this language.

Rodrigues and wife Dolly at the National Cultural Centre after he received the Medal of Service in 1991

“I spent almost a lifetime at Shea; almost 25 years, with breaks of course, because I had to attend the teachers training college during that time, and after I completed that I went back to teach in the Rupununi.” A few years later, he moved to Aishalton, another village in the Deep South, and spent the next eleven years teaching there. He said Aishalton was different from Shea in that the people were harder working, independent and wanted to do things.
He said that he was encouraged by former Toshao Henry Winter to settle there. However, when the plane service to the area was discontinued in the 1980s, articles in the stores got expensive. At that point, he was no longer a teacher and owned of a herd of cattle which he tried to increase in number so as to sustain his family. However, two things happened which changed the course of his life.
Firstly, his health began to deteriorate amidst the lack of proper medical facilities and secondly people started to get into the habit of cattle rustling. These two factors led to his decision to return to Moruca.
In 1992, he returned to Santa Rosa and rekindled his love for music especially the Banchikili which was the main form of musical entertainment there.  But Amerindian culture there was different from how he had left it. “I found that the culture was rapidly dying out, the youths had left the culture by itself because they were ashamed to dance and play their music, and were more interested in modern music.”
He added that a famous violinist, who was well respected in the community, Aloysius La Rose called ‘Uncle Bull’ conceptualised the idea of forming a band along with Frank Hernandez who played the fiddle. He said he decided to part of the band because of his love for playing the guitar. They named the band, the Mariaba String Band. He said the name “Mariaba” was the original name of Santa Rosa.

Basil Rodrigues and members of the Mariaba String Band

The band played the banchikili music which was passed down from Spanish Arawaks who came from Venezuela in 1817 and settled in the Moruca area. Rodrigues said the band performed at several functions up until the late 1990s. Unfortunately, in 1996 he suffered a heart attack which resulted in him losing energy. As a result of his poor health, he could not move about much and as such lost interest in the band. During the course of that year, the band also lost two other members.
Rodrigues was also the recipient of two national awards namely the Medal of Service given to him in 1991 for his community work in the Rupununi. While the other, the Arrow of Achievement was bestowed on him in 1998 for his teaching and musical endeavours.
Currently, while the band is still in existence, “it is barely surviving”, he said, since its two members have limited knowledge of the banchikili music. He said he is very sad about that, but there is little he can do. When the band was at its optimum, it had recorded several tapes of its music; Rodrigues is hoping that he can acquire some of these tapes to keep as a memoir of the fading music.
He bemoaned the fact that the culture was not passed on after the elders died. “Why couldn’t I get our boys to pass it on?” He hopes that one day he can write about life at Moruca especially on “what happened to the original teachers who left Moruca for the South Rupununi for places like Achiwib, Awaruranawa, Mararuranawa and Sand Creek.” He added that the communities all had teachers from Moruca who later settled there. “Moruca is really the backbone of education there.”
Now, at age 78 Uncle Basil spends his time engrossed in reading and gardening. However, he identifies himself also as a poet of over 60 works on Moruca, Kanima and “jumbies”. He no longer performs but is ever-willing to assist school children with bits of advice and poetry.
While he may be removed from the physical aspects of culture, the worry of loss of culture and language is never far from his mind. “Sadly, culture is not popular here [Santa Rosa], we don’t know our language and the youths are not interested. We are forgetting our dances; it has become a laughing matter now because they make so many mistakes.”
Uncle Basil believes that not enough is being done to engage youths in their culture. He is of the opinion that schools can play a greater role in curbing this cultural loss with the addition of music teachers. Further, he said that a “meaningful” committee with determined people can be set up to revive the Arawak culture.
“We could make an impression; it doesn’t mean anything if we only want to do culture when September comes,” he remarked.
While there has been a loss in Arawak culture, he still hopes it can be halted by capitalising on the existing knowledge possessed by the community’s elders.  While he no longer performs, he stands out as a man of knowledge about music and the Amerindian way of life in Santa Rosa.

Before the computer age...

An APPLICATION was for employment.
A PROGRAMME was a television show.
WINDOWS were something you hated to clean.
A KEYBOARD was a piano.
MEMORY was something you lost with age.
A CD was a bank account.
COMPRESS was something you did to garbage.
LOG ON was adding wood to a fire.
A HARD DRIVE was a long trip on the road.
A MOUSE PAD was where a mouse lived.
CUT you did with scissors.
PASTE you did with glue.
A WEB was a spider's home.
And a VIRUS was a flu !!!!!

and I really do remember the days when paste was done only with glue!!  I am very happy to say that I jumped on the tekkie boat as soon as I could and never regretted it!!

Somedays I find....

that I have nothing to blog about...lol...which brings up the question...why do we blog?  who cares if we blog? well maybe we do lol..we like to tell the world something and hope that one person out there is listening and moreso..cares?  Anyhow, somedays I find that I can write about lots of stuff and other times, nothing so I mostly fill in the space with bits of this and that.  Lately I'm finding I have nothing to blog about..sigh
Summer weather is finally here - with a bit of rain but that's ok.  I have finally packed away my sweatshirts and spring jackets and looking forward to some good days of camping.
I have been busy with my new project - well, it's done now except for a few other steps...chronicling the artwork of my very talented niece (I won't mention a name lol) - all is set and I'm going to surprise her with a bound copy of all her work.  I say "surprise" yes as I know for sure she won't see this page - she is a self-admitted technophobe - but I'm working on it...wait till she sees her brand new website lol!  She reads her email and that is that!!
Oh, I just got an idea for my next blog..yayy!!
stay tuned...