The bus ride was long and tiresome as the ‘cork ball’ (very old minibus) chugged in and out of traffic, belching acrid black smoke, much to the annoyance of other road users. 

Matching their steamy protests with blunt obscenities of his own, the elderly driver continued to pick up almost every passenger by the roadside sending me into uncontrollable fits of anger.

I was on my way to the well established village of Cornelia Ida on the West Coast Demerara where I was told that folks reside in calm, basking in glorious waves of rich camaraderie
With latitude readings of 6.8500° and Longitude at 58.2667° this village is flanked by Hague to the east and the somewhat larger, Anna Catherina to the west. With a population of over 3,000 according to residents, the village is divided into two areas namely the Road Front and the Housing Scheme locations.
This village is largely populated by East Indians with notable sprinklings of the other races.
The village is also sectioned off into smaller little alcoves by streets like Exchange Road, Barber Shop Street, Entrance Road, Buttercup Entrance and many others.

This week my every intention was to scrutinise, investigate and discover the somewhat intriguing and very serene aura that seems to envelope this small village located almost fifteen miles from Georgetown.
It is always a distinct craving for me to feature in this column villages which display a certain refreshing bond of ‘jovial harmony’ amongst ethic bodies, and the very pleasurable spectacle of high strong affection and content made evident by the jolly laughter and pleasurable disposition of its inhabitants.

Culture of the Village
The culture in Cornelia Ida slightly resembles that of the Indian immigrants who crossed the Atlantic Ocean over 150 years ago. Even though well over 85% of the population are Indo-Guyanese – a small group of Chinese, Negroes and Amerindian families are the minority – the culture is very similar to that of the rest of the British Caribbean, but with, according to the locals, an enticing East Indian flair.
As history would suggest, in the beginning, the culture of this location resembled very much that of the mother country, India, but as African and Chinese came to the village a slight variety was added. The residents there, Indo-Guyanese, Afro-Guyanese and Chinese brought their foods, traditions, religion and customs with them, thus contributing to the rich cultural diversity present there.

Over the years, the population of Indians has lost their mother tongue completely, and although Indian music remains very popular, the English language, with a slight Creole touch, has taken complete control. No one really speaks Hindi anymore and some said it is considered an almost dead language in the village .
The religious beliefs of the people have gone through a major transformation as well. Even though the composition of the population remains the same for ‘donkey years’ the religious beliefs have changed somewhat.
However, regardless of religious conviction every holiday-social or religious is celebrated and respected. Many of the customs that are objective and foster public life are commonly organised by community leaders at home and abroad.
Many of the original religious customs and traditions that have not been lost were modified over the years and vestiges of an East Indian heritage appear in a number of the festivities. For example, few weddings are ever complete without the ceremonial rubbing of the dye; an old Indian wedding custom that is accepted among every religion. Holidays like Christmas and Diwali are examples of occasions where the entire community celebrates together in a congenial integration of faith.

Our arrival

As we landed in the village I almost doubled over with laughter as taxi drivers operating on the roadside tumbled over each other as they sought to be the first to pounce on the passengers soliciting transport to various areas of the village.
And they indeed created quite a fuss as they strived to see who would be the most fluent, or better mannered driver to be able to entice a journalist to have him use their car for the tour around the village.
On arrival we were told that the village is divided into north and south locations so we decided to explore the north first. What was noted is that this location seemed not to house the stateliest buildings and businesses, but however showcased many classy houses that were pleasing to look at.
It was the housing scheme area that boasted fabulous buildings and a few spanking businesses that catered for the everyday needs of the people.
We were greeted by smiling women in their hammocks, some enjoying hot spicy lunches, which they seemed to be enjoying using their fingers. One very peppy grandmother, Sarsattie Pertab explained that she certainly enjoyed mashing her food around her plate and putting into her mouth with her fingers. She claimed it was a traditional practice that was enjoyed by person in many homes in the village.
“Bai, me does really enjoy me food with me fingas. Is suh we does eat since we ah lil gals, and trust me, you does really enjoy de food more. De food does taste

moh sweet, when yuh down, yuh can lie down and relax bettah”
The other side of the village was actually the area that produces a hub of activity that gave it its ‘developing’ appearance.

Interacting
Stopping to chat with residents at a taxi base by the roadside, a few males raised questioning eyebrows but the two standing by, were all welcoming smiles. Instantly my soul was at ease and with responding warmth I went into detailed explanation of the reason for my visit. Hearing this, the males seemed to get excited and two of them readily smoothed and fixed their apparel, and made ready to share information about the village.
‘Boyo’ as one called himself lamented on the fact that their job as taxi drivers had become dissatisfying since hardly anyone seemed to be shopping for the Christmas holidays.

“Bai dis wuk slow up bad. Normally at Christmas time we does get nuff wuk, but this year like people nah ah really shap, and most ah dem ah do wan maja shapping since them nah want walk up and down wid nuff money pon dem. Things really ah get hard fuh we car drivahs”.
How I marvelled at the ‘spic and span appearance’ of what appeared to be white washed surfaces under the houses as I walked around the village. Investigations revealed that the earth beneath the houses is actually daubed with a mixture of cow dung, water and a special type of mud to avoid cracking. When this dries the appearance of the earth is so inviting, that one might feel lured to lie down and curl up on the surface.
And believe when it dries, this mixture has a strangely alluring scent that seemed to inflict a ‘cozy magic’ on the senses.
Even as we drove around the village our tummies rumbled in anticipation at the appetising aromas of either deep fried or stewed fresh vegetables that bubbled on stoves and ‘cackling firesides.’

Vegetable farmer, Sugrim Sawh shared the little he knew about the location. Residing there for over forty years, he indicated that what is now the quaint little village was once sprawling pastures and dense bush and foliage in years gone by.
Like many other countryside villages, he said it was discovered by curious farmers that found out the land is rich in soil nutrients. He said persons began to target the land firstly for small scale crop cultivation, but this he claimed dwindled with the changing hands of time.
According to Sawh, persons soon began purchasing land plots in the area and gradually the village took on its appearance. He said that as far as he knows the village was always a very quite location and the rich camaraderie which is still present among residents was always there since the olden days.
A cheery Lilouttie Singh who spoke to us from an open window on the bottom flat of her two -storeyed home explained that she was home alone while her common-law husband Sunil Singh was out plying his trade as a taxi driver at the nearby public road.
She noted however that while his profession can be tedious and very competitive at times, it however brings in a sizeable daily dollar that somehow manages to take care of their needs in the home.

“Everybady does do either wan jab or anotha in this village. Because everybody have to survive somehow or the other. Me husband does go out there everyday fuh mek ends meet, and some days he does comeback with almost nothing because is plenty taxi deh out deh. But we does be thankful and try fuh mek ends meet regardless ah de situation”.
According to Ms. Singh who has been residing in the village for over twenty five years, the village was indeed a very beautiful and peaceful location where residents lived in harmony and great camaraderie with each other.

Livelihood
Cornelia Ida is primarily an East Indian populated village where pleasant and jovial residents reside in perfect harmony. Villagers depend almost entirely on the nearby Uitvulgt Sugar Estate to provide ready employment, but that aside there are teachers, vendors, drivers and shopkeepers there too.
Some persons have taken up employment outside of the village in areas as far as Parika and Georgetown.

Others reared poultry which provided eggs and meat for consumption whilst a few strived on the rearing and sale of their very healthy cattle.

Constraints in the village
Villagers have lauded the fact that the Government today has made it possible for them to enjoy proper electricity, fairly good drainage (as compared to a few years ago when the village flooded easily) and a well maintained public road.
However, there are calls by residents for better maintenance of the four small playfields in the village, which flood easily and are over grown with bushes in some areas.
Some villagers are lamenting the fact that there are several house lots there which has been unoccupied for many years and are now sporting towering bushes. Some claimed that these lots seemed not to be owned by anyone and as such are hoping that the authorities can sort this out and have the lots given to persons who are more than ready to make positive use of them.

I will have to agree that of all the villages I have visited, this one really appealed to me the most with its somewhat serene simplicity. At some homes mothers busy flipping roti on their ‘tawahs’ or readying sweet smelling stews for lunch, indicated they would be particularly happy if all their access treed can be paved since many are continuously are badly damaged by vehicular traffic.
Husbands chomping on ‘float bakes’ or ‘sada roti’ and fried salted fish, lamented the fact that students are still allowed to attend a school in the village even though they are major renovations happening there. They explained that the children are often covered in dust and cement, while some fear that falling objects or a sudden accident can cause chaos at the institution.
The complaining voices of young men in the streets tugged at my heart strings as they voiced the need for recreational opportunities in the village, claiming sports oriented youths have no proper facilities to develop their skills and talent.
A few elderly women complained bitterly of the fact that young men who are often seen gambling at the Pro-line Barber Shop would often make them

gruesome targets as they called them ‘horrible names’ and make lewd suggestions with their tongues and ‘middle fingers.’

Entertainment
There are only two sports bars in this village and as such villagers depend on occasional weddings and birthdays from the many households to twitch their hips and roll their bellies.
Some would however travel to the next village Anna Catherina where they can unleash their entertainment fantasies at the Caribbean Temptation Nightclub on weekends.
That aside, villagers eagerly anticipate the celebration of a birthday and most times wedding which allows them to have several days of ‘non-stop sporting’ until they are all engulfed by alcoholic beverages.

Ethnic Harmony
Any rumour of ethnic differences existing in Cornelia Ida should be treated as nonsense and be crushed under foot. If there is any truth to such tales, that maybe would have existed years ago, but with time has evaporated, and has been replaced with a ‘racial harmony’ so rich in its intensity that it awakened my very being and sent joyful tremours up my spine.

We had not properly braced ourselves for the impact of such ‘indulgences of the races’ that it just left us with our jaws open. Affirming the fact again, that one should not listen to ‘hearsay and fabrications’.
It was quite a pleasant picture to see men liming in the streets, and with housewives catching up on the latest news before jumping into buses and heading to different villages. Very often peals of laughter will ring out as they slap each other on the back mouth as they enjoyed their girlish chattering.
It was so soothing to the soul to see young Shawn Bharrat who said he journeys from Lenora almost every other day to chat and have a good laugh with his elderly male friend Mahesh Persaud whom he encountered a few years ago while making purchases from a fish vendor in Conelia Ida.
The two had struck up a merry conversation and have remained close friends since then.
“He is such a sweet old man. About two years ago I was purchasing a fish on the public road and it totally amazed me how he greeted me and struck up a pleasant conversation. Since then we meet up from time to time to ‘gaff,’ and trust me I have learnt a lot from him. He has never disrespected me”.

Cornelia Ida in times gone by
This village it appears in years gone by has always been plagued with drainage and irrigation problems and as a result farmers would have been victims of major losses to their rice and cash crops as a result of flooding. Things have changed for the better now, but there is still room for improvement.
The very well established village we see today was not always there. Several areas were over grown with bushes and vegetation according to vegetable vendor, Maharamie Talmakune, but by the early 1980’s development in the some sectors were rapidly becoming visible. A few shops and other business sprung up as person invested their hard earned dollars.
As dictated by villagers, some persons through bank loans, savings and overseas assistance from relatives, rebuilt their other small and disintegrating buildings into sophisticated concrete structures.
Findings coming out of our conversations proved that while the majority loved the academic side of things, others could hardly wait for weekends to go frolicking in the rain or under the sun.
At dawn, as the last crows of the roosters faded in the distance, husbands and other male breadwinners trickled onto the public road to await transportation to their various worksites. While some engaged in idle chatter, others seemed more concerned with accessing the first minibus or short drop car to worksites situated at various locations outside the village.
Soon the streets became filled with vehicles and villagers now converged in numbers as they hastily went about their various chores.
By now the golden sun was rising steadily above the horizon casting a jewelled dazzle on rooftops and the metal frame of steel fences. Soon after, the many small vegetable stalls that have sprung up are opened as vendors attempted to attract the eyes of early buyers.

Self Help Indulgence
What struck me and was very pleasing to the eyes, is the manner in which villagers exuded a ‘ready to go attitude’, and seemed ready to ‘fix things’ in the village and not wait on the relevant authorities who sometimes seems to drag their feet on issues.
As we walked about the village, young men could be seen weeding drains, and yards overgrown with bushes, whiles others were observed mixing cement by the roadside to make repairs, and alterations to their homes.
We were very surprised when we were told that some of the more magnificent buildings in the housing scheme were actually built through combined family efforts. Sure it seemed, villagers are actually gifted tradesmen.
Upon visiting some places you eventually leave with a sense of reluctance, after enjoying hours of bliss of being all wrapped up in either its mirthful people, it’s sometimes crazy and remorseful issue, or simply lost and captivated by the merry attitude of its people.
You may just welcome the rush of its hilarious gossip, or the fascination of watching its inhabitants tussle and disagree over sometime frivolous issues. And sometimes it’s quite a thrill to be showered with welcoming smiles and the cocky stares of villagers. We had all this and more on our visit to Cornelia Ida.

Amazing Beauty
This village does not feature majestic buildingd, posh shops, fancy stores or elegant boutiques like many others, but what it may top the list with is its quiet existence, fuelled by the humility and charm of its residents and a softened beauty and simplicity.
The minute I stepped into the village I was swept up in a whirlpool of lush green foliage, surrounded by startling tropical ‘flower plant species’ thriving naturally alongside bubbling drains and small.
Pond flies and butterflies seemed to ‘dance meringue’ about my head making pleasant whirring sounds.
Healthy looking coconut palms waved lazily in the wind flowing from the nearby Atlantic, and in each yard there was a bright fusion of fruit trees. Some trees seemed to be groaning under their weight of ripened mangoes, while the branches of breadfruit trees were almost sweeping the earth with the weight of the large healthy looking fruits.
I almost swooned in delight and amazement as I passed a few yards where various flower plants bloomed in wild array filling the yard spaces with the striking hues and shades associated with the Caribbean.
Sheep and cattle grazed lazily in open fields, seeming savoring their afternoon meals with relish, assured that there was much to serve around for months to come.
This village was surely breath taking.
While we have decided to put a hold on showcasing Supenaam to bring you exciting features from the recent Essequibo Night festivities, we urge you to join us each Sunday as bring you the mysteries of our Guyanese villages as they unfold mystically on the Pepperpot pages.