PULL QUOTE:“I love my culture. It was something in me since I was small. I used to wear a lot of African clothes as a youth without understanding what it meant.”
JENNY Daley is very passionate about her African culture and has devoted most of her life to studying it and imparting this knowledge to others. In fact, having practiced the Anglican Faith for some years, Daley is now a Faithist (known as the White Robe Army) because this is the religion she said was practiced by her African ancestors. 

And so her culture shapes everything that that she does, including the personality that she has become. Daley has been the Administrator of the Museum of African Heritage ever since 1985. The building is located in Bel Air, Georgetown.

Daley hails from the Pomeroon in Region 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam) but came to Georgetown with her parents as a young girl. She attended primary school at St. James-the-Less Anglican School and then proceeded to learn typing and other skills.
She couldn’t complete her secondary education because she was the eldest of her siblings and wanted to help her parents out. But this did not hinder her from progressing in the field of work.
In 1977, Daley had her first job at the Ministry of Information and Culture after which she worked for over five years as a box office and typist clerk at the National Cultural Centre. She then went to the Museum of Social History where UNESCO’s office is presently housed in Robb Street. Pressing on, she worked with the Burrowes School of Art and was later transferred to her current location which at the time housed the collection of African art.

Lone Worker
In 1985, when Daley arrived at what is now the Museum of African Heritage, there was no other staff member. So she literally started the museum on her own. Interestingly, she was not very equipped with all of the knowledge needed to take on such a task.

“It was a very dusty place; the room, the artifacts. I had to clean them up. And to understand the art, I did a lot of reading. I wanted to understand the meaning of the African art, what it pertains to, how it originated and what I had to do to preserve it. I did that off my own.”
But in time, help arrived. Through UNESCO, someone from an African Museum in Brooklyn came to Guyana and together, him and Daley sat and sorted out the entire collection that was available. “We put all our findings in a book form. We then opened a museum of African art and ethnology.”
When she arrived, the building already had some artifacts. “We obtained some from a very prominent Guyanese, Hubert Nicholson. This was his home and during his travels, he acquired African artifacts which were all in a room,” she recalled. With help from the man UNESCO brought in, Daley was able to sort out the artifacts and begin building the museum.
“I always tell my staff that we just have to apply ourselves. If you are eager to know, fit yourselves into places where you can get to know things. When I came here, no one taught me anything. I taught myself. And I read and what I didn’t understand. I researched and came up with ideas.”
In time, the name of the building was changed. “We changed the name from African Art and Ethnology to Museum of African Heritage, meaning that we would bring in not only artifacts from West Africa where the enslaved Africans came from. We tried to go in the Guyanese African heritage. We wanted the museum to have a wider perspective,” Daley explained.
So this involved a lot of research. “We had to go out into the fields and do research. We tried to get the history of most of the African villages. We haven’t yet completed this. A lot of work is involved. We then started to work with the African traditional groups.”
Daley has come to recognise that the African tradition is very rich but is dying slowly. “We are trying to revitalise the African tradition and culture. That means we have to work a lot with the older folks in the African communities. We want to do that and then document it,” she said.

I Love my Culture
From a very early age, Daley said she had a deep appreciation for her culture. “I love my culture. It was something in me since I was small. I used to wear a lot of African clothes as a youth without understanding what it meant,” she said.

“When I came to the museum and started to read books, then I realised who I am. And when you realise who you are, it makes you a different person and you see people differently. We are all one. Our culture is actually the same. For me, I always say we are brothers and sisters and when you get to know your culture, you realise we all are one. It has nothing to do with colour, creed, ethnicity. We all are one,” she expressed.
Daley thanked Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony, for his input in developing the museum. “Whatever we put forward concerning the benefit of the museum, he supports it. I have no problem. I always thank him for his support and for looking out for the museum.”
Daley retired two years ago and her desire is to train someone to take her place at the museum so that the work can go on effectively.
Written By Telesha Ramnarine