By Ravena Gildharie

TO THE majority of Guyanese, Maypole is a dying tradition as many areas have not witnessed the practice for decades. However, there are some villages that still cling to the custom as a means of socialisation while raising funds for various aspects of community development.
Historically, Maypole was staged in observance of May Day during the first week of the month of May. It took the format of a grand fair where a queen is crowned and dancers are colourfully dressed and bounce to synchronised movements with ribbons tied to the pole in the centre, weaving various styles of plaits as they move. Patrons are treated to a variety of food and drinks as well as musical entertainment.

Most of the older folks of today’s society gleefully remember when they either attended or participated in the event when it was staged annually in almost each village. On the other hand, there is a section of the younger population that hasn’t experienced the tradition, and has only heard about Maypole from their elders.
During the month of May, several villages observed the Maypole tradition including Mabaruma in Region One, Wakapoa and Kabakaburi in Region Two, Plaisance and Buxton in Region Four and Bartica in Region Seven.
Wakapoa has been staging Maypole annually since 2013 under the guidance of Margaret Richards, a community health worker, who first danced and plaited when she was 11. She is now 48 and teaches the dance moves and plaits to the younger dancers in her village.
“We had our Maypole this year on May 26 at the Yarashirima Primary School. The school children did the dances. We did the Matapee in both the double and single forms; the Spider Web, the Gypsy Tent and the Wrap in both the double and single plait,” she told Pepperpot.
There was a large gathering, she observed, noting that in addition to residents of Wakapoa and surrounding areas, there were patrons from along the Pomeroon River who are still fascinated with the Maypole custom.

Passing on the tradition
“We have been having Maypole in Wakapoa over the years and we continue to do it due to traditions commemorating May…this year we worked with a lot of the young children and it was a bit hard to teach them the movements but they performed well,” Richards said.
She taught the children also using a DVD of Maypole plaiting held last year at New Haven, Siriki in the Upper Pomeroon River. Siriki is another community that maintains the yearly Maypole tradition and is currently gearing up to host the 2017 event on June 19.
Nearby, Jacklow also hosts Maypole regularly; the last being held in 2015 at the Jacklow Primary School and the next planned for 2018. The 2015 May Queen, Bernadette Caldeira-Singh dubbed the experience one to treasure, as she enjoyed participating alongside her peers and helping to keep the Maypole tradition alive.
Further upriver, Kabakaburi also held its 13th Maypole on May 28. It was organised by the Parent Teachers Association of the Kabakaburi Primary School with the support of the Village Council. The dances involved 32 children and were coordinated by teacher Oswald Williams while Roxanne Henry and Norma Roberts conducted the training.
Neville Calistro, popularly known as ‘The Mighty Chief,’ of Kabakaburi noted that Maypole was first held in the community during the 1950 period. He recalled however that it was first introduced to the nearby St Monica village where he grew up and participated as a young boy in 1951. The Maypole was staged at the St Monica Anglican School and the foreign teachers taught the locals the dance routines.
“Because it was new, it caught the attention of a lot of people who came from all villages along the Pomeroon, from Charity, the Essequibo Coast, Akawini and Wakapoa…I remember the queen chosen then was a young girl named Mathilda Richards,” Calistro reminisced. He highlighted that the queen had to be someone with the ability to make public presentations and address the dancers.

He further observed that there were no “jukeboxes” and a local band provided entertainment using violin, banjo and drums to dish out tunes from the popular calypsos of ‘Lord Kitchener’ to the country and western melodies of Hank Williams. Calistro is one of many Guyanese who enjoys sharing memories of Maypole from the earlier years.
Sixty-four-year-old Ingrid Glasglow, originally of Golden Grove on the East Coast Demerara, recalled dancing and plaiting Maypole in 1964 at Plaisance, where she grew up.
She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, but remembered: “Maypole was a yearly thing in all of the villages and kids used to look forward to it because only a few of us used to be chosen to participate. We used to have mad fun and you had to be between eight to 14 years in my days to plait, and to be a queen, you had to be between 14 to 18.”
She explained that it was first held in the St Paul Primary School compound but later moved to the playground nearby the Police Station. In recent years, the Plaisance Annual Maypole has been staged in the Tank Yard. The most recent was held on May 13 when Glasglow’s great niece was crowned May Queen.
“All of my family always takes part in Maypole every year as far as I can remember. It is a family tradition for us. My eldest daughter was once a May Queen but she has since passed away. My other daughter used to dance Maypole too,” Glasglow outlined.