– nurturing the talents of young children in the village

THE Ariwa Culture Group in St. Ignatius, Central Rupununi, is nurturing the talents and skills of young children in the village thanks to the selfless efforts of 42-year-old Joan Benedict who volunteers her time and resources to help them learn her art and craft trade, as well as traditional music and dancing.

Benedict, the mother of five, formed the group about 10 years ago with the help of a former Toshao, Yusa Xavier, who initially helped with money to purchase materials for Benedict to sew outfits for the kids to perform.
But eventually, Benedict was solely caring for the group; even so, she likes to refer to it as the “village culture group.” “I say it’s the village culture group even though I don’t receive help from anyone because I love doing these things. I do craft, make costumes and hammocks,” she related in an interview with Pepperpot Magazine.

Reflecting on why she formed the group in the first place, she said she thought about the fact that the village did not have a culture group. It was also along the line of things that she enjoyed doing. “I love to make the costumes for the children to wear, so I decided to start a group,” she recalled.

At the moment, it is very small, with just about seven children, ranging from ages six to 12. But they would prove to be just enough if ever the village was receiving a visitor and a welcome song or dance needed to be done. “I would teach them how to do it, like if a minister or someone else is coming. Any kid from the village can join.”

In the beginning, learning the songs and dance was hard for Benedict, but she learned as she went along and regularly checked the internet for ideas. Furthermore, with the Brazilian culture exerting such a strong influence where she lives, Benedict said she researched their culture and others to learn various dances.

“We can get a dance from the internet and change it up; that’s how we learned. The indigenous/traditional dances we do on our own. We get the local singers from around here, and we use their music and formulate our own dances,” she related.

Everything is free. “We don’t charge anyone who wants to join. It’s purely voluntary,” she said. As much as the group is doing well and making a difference in its own way, Benedict said the kids sometimes cannot help but feel bad when they see other groups getting the opportunity to travel to Georgetown to participate in various events.

Perhaps the reason for this is that the Ariwa Culture Group is not well known, she surmised. Whatever the reason, she hopes the group will be able to tap into the many opportunities others are enjoying.
“We never got invited to Georgetown. We always in the village and we were wondering why we are not being chosen for anything. Heritage passed and we didn’t get picked for anything…had different people from all around and everyone says our dances are nice and why we are not being chosen,” she expressed, adding, “I hope we will get noticed and get some opportunities.”

At the moment, Benedict said she focuses on helping the children to learn how they can make money from art and craft. “Right now my aim is to show the children how to do their own clothes, foot band, head band; how to decorate them, and showing them how to make money out of what we’re doing.”
Benedict supplies some of her craft items to the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and would also receive orders from Georgetown and even overseas.