| By Nicholas Peters With less than three weeks left until September, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs has officially made known its packed schedule of activities for Indigenous Heritage Month.Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe (sixth from right) flanked by members of the planning committees for Indigenous Heritage Month.The announcement of events was made yesterday at the offices of the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry on Thomas Street, Georgetown, by Minister within the Ministry, Valerie Garrido-Lowe, accompanied by the members of the various planning committees for the festivities.This year’s theme for Indigenous Heritage Month is “Preserving our Customs and Traditions”, which was noted by Minister Garrido-Lowe as “a very simple slogan but in keeping with what are the Ministry’s mandates”.According to the Minister, preparations are already underway at the Sophia Exhibition Centre for the Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Village as renovations are on schedule for the official start of the cultural moth, September 1.As a long term initiative, the Sophia Indigenous Village will remain open year round to the public for families in Georgetown to use as a “leisurely city park” in the vein of the National Park.The first official event will be a Religious Service on August 31 at the site of the old Umana Yana, which was destroyed due to a fire last year. While the ceremony’s location is tentative, Minister Garrido-Lowe shared that the turning of the sod for the new structure should take place during the cultural month.For the opening ceremony on September 1, the Ministry will be catering for approximately 600 attendees, which will include persons from all of Guyana’s indigenous peoples’ groups, with feature addresses from President David Granger and Vice President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock.In addition to official addresses, the opening ceremony will feature for the first time bamboo horn performances by indigenous peoples from the country’s Hinterland region. Following the formal opening, attendees will also be able to sample a variety of Indigenous dishes which include Tuma Pot, Wildmeat Kebabs, Cassava Bread, Pepperpot as well as traditional beverages.According to the Minister, this year’s Indigenous Food and Craft Exhibition, lasting from September 1 to 6 at the Sophia Exhibition Centre, will place emphasis on the foods of Guyana’s first peoples. She explained that in previous years, vendors complained that sales for traditional cuisine were not the same as the non-indigenous foods present at the expo.To that end, Garrido-Lowe said that the Ministry is looking to give a bit more of a competitive edge to the cultural vendors so as to generate more sales to ensure that their time and resources invested into the cuisine is not wasted.“For those who cannot and would like to sell non-indigenous foods, we will find a way to give the indigenous peoples a head start in the selling. Since it is Indigenous Heritage Month and money and household income is involved, we are giving them an edge in selling their product.” the Minister said.Meanwhile, Coordinator of the Cultural Extravaganza, Dexter Glasgow, shared that the nightly displays, set for September 2 to 6, will emphasise the distinct musical talents of the country’s Indigenous Peoples. He said that performers from all 10 Administrative Regions will be participating in addition to cultural groups from Surama, Crowdar and other communities.Further, musical performances from this year’s Chuntey Monarch, King Perai; popular artiste, The Chief and first time Sophia Centre performers from the Mazaruni district, the Castro Brothers, are scheduled to entertain the masses.According to Glasgow, the roster for those few nights will be a “mixture of youth and experienced performers” and is designed to bring out the best in Indigenous music while still giving the artistes a chance to make a substantial income.Additionally, the Ministry appears to be upping the quality in cultural displays for the month as the Indigenous Heritage Festival and Art Exhibition at Castellani House, Vlissengen Road, will feature visually artistic works from not only Guyanese Indigenous artists but,Adam Oates Jersey, Paraguay too.This Castellani House expo will also feature an Indigenous Heritage Fashion Show, showcasing the works of Indigenous designers from all across Guyana. Both the expo and fashion show are scheduled to last from September 7 to 11.As the month progresses, the much anticipated Heritage Games is set to kickoff with an opening ceremony at the Everest Cricket Club, on September 19, where football and cricket competitions will be held.The Games will have for the first time swimming and archery competitions at the National Aquatic Centre, as well as some smaller novelty games such as the Firewood Chopping Competition. All events will conclude on September 20.Perhaps the highpoint of the month long festivities will come during the Heritage Village Celebration at Santa Aratak, also known as Santa Mission, in Region Three. This is the second time that Santa Aratak will host the day-long celebration. The community is of the Arawak tribe with a population of 285.According to the Toshao of the Santa Aratak, Aubrey Samuels, Heritage Day is going have a plethora of activities and will emphasise the importance of Indigenous cuisine to his peoples’ culture.In addition, the Toshao announced that the community will be launching the first ever “endurance race” with the ‘Trail Marathon’. Come November, the marathon is looking to have runners from the Caribbean, USA, Canada, Brazil and even Kenya. It will span 10km of diverse terrain.He noted that a 71-year-old has already signed to participate in the marathon, and organisers are going to sponsor one runner from each of Guyana’s 10 Administrative Regions.Rounding out the month of events are the Celebration of the Life and Works of Stephen Campbell for September 10, the Annual Heritage Fundraising Dinner for September 18 and the Heritage Pageant for September 26.To sensitise the students and the public on the issues Indigenous Peoples face, the Ministry will also be conducting four School Educational Lectures and four nationally televised fora of Indigenous leaders. Interested persons are asked to contact the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs on further information concerning events for Heritage Month. |
