A SYMBOL OF THE PLURAL SOCIETY AND CULTURE

THE date of Diwali or Deepawali, like Easter and all other ancient holy days, is arrived at based on formulae laid down by ancient astronomers in their observation of the movements of the moon. Accordingly, these ancient holy days fall on different calendar dates each year since the calendar is solar and not lunar.

Diwali is said to fall on the darkest night of the year and this tradition is unchallenged. Christmas, on the other hand, is a solar holiday and falls immediately after the Winter Solstice which is the shortest day of the year though not necessarily the darkest.
Christmas and Diwali are the two most colourful and celebratory festivals in the Guyanese holiday calendar and both are underpinned by strong moral and ethical foundations.

Diwali has been celebrated for over 5,000 years and over these many millennia, various traditions would have become attached to it. In Guyana, the two most popular of such traditions are firstly its association with Maha Lakshmi, one of the most important deities in the Hindu tradition. She represents Light and Enlightenment and those who desire wisdom and Salvation would worship her. At Diwali, there are lights everywhere symbolizing the elimination of the darkness of ignorance. Maha Lakshmi also represents the Economic aspects of God – finance, business and money in general. This aspect of Maha Lakshmi is represented by one of the hands of her icon from which there is a continuous flow of gold coins. The ubiquitous lights of Diwali represent the elimination of the darkness of ignorance from the world. To express this economic aspect of God, on Diwali, financial accounts are closed and the new financial year is opened and investments are made and business plans are worked out. Many would also spend the night indulging in games of chance. Those who would wish to become wealthy would worship Maha Lakshmi with full devotion.

Another tradition of Diwali is associated with Lord Rama who was both an incarnation of God and a model king. Owing to a promise which his father the reigning king was forced to make that the heir apparent Rama would not succeed to the throne, but instead his brother Bharat, Lord Rama had to go into exile in the forests for 14 years when his father died. Bharat was, however, a man of great moral strength and governed the kingdom of Ayodhya in Rama’s name and as his representative. After 14 years of exile, Lord Rama returned and on the night of his return, the citizens were so overjoyed that they spontaneously lit thousands of diyas throughout the kingdom to celebrate – the tradition of the Diwali lights date from Rama’s return from exile.

These two traditions of the origin of Diwali are the most popular in Guyana and like Christmas, it is celebrated with a Guyanese flavour. People would keep open house where visitors could call and celebrate with eating sweetmeats or even a full meal. Boxes of sweetmeats would be sent to friends and relatives and all neighbours. Fireworks are shot off everywhere and homes are lit up with fairy lights as well as diyas but the most spectacular event of the Diwali evening are the motorcades in each of the three counties where lorries, agricultural machines and other motor vehicles are transformed into artistically created Diwali themes in lights. These motorcades attract tens of thousands of spectators.

Diwali is the most widely celebrated and colourful festival celebrated in Guyana second only to Christmas. Until Independence, the festival was celebrated largely only by members of the Indian community. When it became a public holiday, there was a steady involvement of all communities and cultural groups in it and they soon began to possess it. For instance, though the festival has a religious genesis, even this is beginning to be transcended as when Roman Catholic Bishop Guilley, some years ago, enjoined Catholics to place a lighted candle in their window on Diwali night.

Diwali has helped to enrichen the total cultural and social life of Guyana and is an example of the integrative benefit which pluralism in culture and social life offers. All governments of Guyana since Independence have been committed to building a truly plural society but they have never done enough to articulate it. For instance, during Indigenous Peoples’ Month (i.e. Indigenous Heritage Month) in September, much was done to promote the Indigenous Peoples’ way of life including their languages but absolutely nothing was said that those activities were part of the movement to build a creative plural society. There is a need for the mainstream political parties and government to emphasise that their social and cultural policies are directed to building a creative plural society in Guyana.