AN ISLAND located at the mouth of the Essequibo River was once settled by the Dutch, but they never found a suitable name for this sprawling, picturesque area. They began referring to it by the Dutch word “Wakenaam” which, when translated into English, means “waiting for a name”; and overtime, this became the official name of that island.Early records indicate that in 1690, after the French had invaded Fort Island, the Dutch plantation owners moved to, and settled on, the island of “Wakenaam”, where they established plantation Maria Johanna and enjoyed a vibrant presence on the beautiful 17.5 square-mile island, the largest in the Essequibo River.

Their occupation did not last for too long though, because in 1716 the British took control of Wakenaam, and established more plantations on the island. At one time in the 1600s, the island had 29 grinding sugar estates, and the exponential growth of the sugar industry made it necessary for additional labour to be sought. To fill the gap, slaves were bought from Africa and were traded at the Wakenaam village named Free and Easy, which today is home to a ruined grinding mill.

With Emancipation of Africans and other factors, the sugar industry on the island began to decline, and by the turn of the 20th century, many small estates were closed or absorbed in the larger ones. By 1930, the only three remaining estates were Zeelandia, Better Success and Belle Plaine, and it was not too long before those eventually ground to a halt.

Before the closure of the sugar estates, the indentured servants on the island were into rice cultivation whilst the Africans produced ground provisions. Even to this day they still cultivate these crops, but with the downturn in rice prices on the international market, production of about 70,000 bags of paddy per crop has been slashed by half. Aside from rice and ground provisions, residents also engage in cattle rearing.

HARD WORK
Seventy-seven-year-old Dorothy Browne of Maria Johanna told the Guyana Chronicle that life on the island has changed greatly in the past four years. “No longer (do) rice farmers use sickle to cut rice in the rice field. In those days it used to be real hard work. Man, woman and children used to be in the rice field from early in the morning to late in the night. It was backbreaking work. Today, we gat combine and tractor to cut the rice and take it out of the field,” she said with a smile.

Browne related that while this development is good, in the sense that life is easier for this generation, the young people are not knowledgeable about their roots, and old customs are gradually dying out. “The African celebrations that we used to see in my younger days don’t happen. The drumming, the dancing, the village day, the cook out, the story telling — all these have almost disappeared,” she told this publication, pointing out that they have declined with the passing of the elderly organisers.

Browne, a mother of 10 and very active for her age, was not too fond of all the African customs she had grown up seeing. “I used see my mother and grandmother taking out a little of all the foods that they cook and put it in a plate and cover it neatly and carry it in a corner of the room. They used to do it every day, and they tell me that it was an offering for their ancestors. I used to go to church and I used to believe that it was a very strange thing. I never did it, and when my grandmother and mother died, that custom died with them,” the elderly woman said.

She was conducting summer classes at the St James Presbyterian Church at Fredericksburg, the first church build by freed African slaves on Wakenaam.
There are churches, mandirs and masjids on the island; and according to Browne, residents of today are more religious.

ATTENTION NEEDED
She said young people need attention since, due to very limited employment opportunities, many have left the island, while a few have resorted to “stupidness Wild West”, resulting in a number of cases of teenage pregnancy.

Browne is calling on the Government to look at ways of creating employment on the island, home to several large coconut and plantain farms.

Wakenaam is a quiet, peaceful place with happy people. And according to residents, robberies on the island are non-existent, and inhabitants usually die a natural death or by accident, and not at the hands of robbers.

The island has a cottage hospital, a guest house, a gas station, a secondary school, several primary schools, police stations, health centres, shops, and an abundance of farmland and water.

Some 90 per cent of its 4000 residents are self-employed. Several old grinding estates still exist today, but in a ruined state. At Maria Johanna, a Dutch koker built in the 1600s still stands, and is in good condition.

There are also several Dutch burial grounds on the island. Wakenaam is a closely-knitted community, and residents warmly welcome visitors to the island.