Staying true to family, culture and a strong sense of community

By Shaniya Harding
A close-knit community full of family and love is perhaps the best way to describe No. 4 village. Located at West Coast Berbice, the residents of No. 4 and the surrounding villages share much more than a common location.

The community has a strong agricultural past and, in recent times, has seen a boom in business, going from a community of self-sustainable farmers to a village bustling with entrepreneurs. The Focus on The Village team spoke to three men who shared their experience living in the small village of just around 2,000 people.

Although it is most commonly known as No. 4, many residents emphasised the fact that No 4 village is also named Edderton. People like Virgil Watts, Reverend Johnson and a man known commonly as Brother Abu, explained that No. 4 is more than what it may seem.
A close-knit community

Travelling through No. 4 and its neighbouring communities, a strong sense of oneness is felt in that everyone seems to know and love everyone else, like one big family. And the reason for that most likely lies in the fact that they are. As Virgil Watts explained, most of the villagers are related in one way or another. “I’ve been living in No. 4 for 49 years. It is predominantly Afro-Guyanese. We have some traditions like the soiree and things like that. But added to that, most people are families. The Johnsons, the Watts, the Paynes, we are all related in some way. That is the common thing about the communities like No. 4. We are all very close,” he said.

Reverend Johnson, as he prefers to be called, has lived in No. 5 village and says, besides its name, there is very little difference among the villages like No 4 and No 5. Being one of the places that were bought by freed slaves, Villages No. 3, 4 and 5, were once all one big plot of land that was home to a few African families.

“These villages, No. 4, 3 and 5 came out of slavery. The people came together, pooled money and bought the land. The villages bought were No. 4, No 5 and No 3. The survey for the agreement of purchase was done in 1860. And the land was purchased in 1861 in the month of February,” Reverend Johnson continued. Furthermore, many aspects of history of the various villages have been preserved. One such aspect is the memory of James Roome.

James Roome was said to be an integral part of the founding of the villages. He played the role of mediator between African and plantation owners who they bought the land from. Roome took money from the Africans and bought the land in their place. As brother Abu explained, “Mr Roome went to do the transactions because, at that time, black people weren’t allowed to do certain transactions by themselves. So, he facilitated that transaction.” He then went on to highlight the fact that similar to how No. 4 is named Edderton, the last village, No 5 was named Roome. “No. 5 is named Roome. Roome was one of the Planters in the estate. The name No. 5 came on after a long time. It was given after regularisation and so on,” he said.

From then to now
As much as villages like No.4 stay true to their roots, with their strong respect for tradition and deep love for culture they have, without a doubt, evolved throughout the decades. Like many other African villages post the colonial period, people of No 4 village and the like took to farming to sustain themselves.

These eras, as brother Abu calls them, mark different periods in village No 4 and its neighbours. “It commenced as a farming community because, in that era, there wasn’t any work for black people. And the farming that was done was subsistence farming, not farming done to export anywhere else. Because of the conditions of the time, that is why farming was the main source of sustenance.”

Following the age of farming, many people started seeking a livelihood outside of their community. And in some cases, outside of Guyana entirely. As brother Abu stated, “After a while, some men from the villages went into the interior with a balata company. When those conditions existed in the colonial era, some people, to relieve themselves, went to England. People began to migrate. The first wave of migration was to England, the second was to the US and the third was to the Caribbean.”

Most of the remaining population were farmers. But those who weren’t sought to start businesses for their families and generations to come, thus, ushering in the new age of business in the villages. A stroll through villages like No. 4 reveals that the community is still home to a plethora of thriving businesses. And with the rate at which new businesses are opening and old ones are growing, it is safe to say the era of development is not over for No 4.

Today No. 4 and its nearby companions are still involved in agriculture to some extent. Beyond the main roads and many houses, there still exist fields of vegetation. Places like No. 4 have existed and survived many challenges over the years. But they have managed to foster development and growth in every aspect, while keeping the same values of family, culture and a strong sense of community.