WITH an aim of maintaining their indigenous roots, residents of Bamia, a small village of mainly Wapishiana descendants along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, came out in their numbers on Sunday to observe their annual Heritage Month celebration.

Each weekend this September, several indigenous villages along the highway observe Heritage Month activities, which have been attracting larger audiences each passing year.

Bamia, although small in size, is one such village.

Bamia is home to some 68 households, Orleita John, the chair of the Community Development Council (CDC) of the village told the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday.

She said Sunday was the third occasion since 2016 that the village decided to participate in the annual celebration. “I am happy that we can maintain our cultural traditions as we go along, so that the youths can see what is going on,” she said.

John, who moved to Bamia eight years ago from Kabakaburi, said in 2016, she conceptualised an idea to have the indigenous month celebration in the village. She said in the first year of the event, a group was formed and planned the activities for the day-long celebration.

“We introduced dancing, more craft, more food and all sorts of indigenous dishes,” she said, as she noted that Bamia is a small community of mainly farmers.

She noted too that there are different ethnic groups within the village population.
The village comprises many descendants of indigenous tribes, mainly Wapishianas who moved to the area from the Rupununi.

She expressed hope that the government can assist the village in addressing its social needs, including the provision of programmes to assist single-parent families. During the visit, residents expressed appreciation to the authorities for assistance provided to Bamia.

Bamia residents are happy that a new primary school will be built in their village.

“I already proposed for the provision of water to the area and the council is supportive of the idea,” she said, as she expressed hope that the essential service will come to fruition soon.

John noted that three months after the new government assumed office in May 2015, Bamia received electricity “and we are happy for that, because years and years we kept asking for that and they kept turning us down.”

She said the celebration on Sunday was also a form of appreciation for development taking place at Bamia, which had brought benefits to the village in recent years.

”So we can enjoy the celebration late tonight (Sunday) and we are thankful for that,” John noted.

As the rains threatened the celebrations, visitors began arriving at the village and many could be seen sampling the various foods which were on display, including smoked fish, pepper-pot, cassava bread and wild meat.

During the visit by the Guyana Chronicle, a group of dancers took to the stage of the community centre and grooved to a series of indigenous hits which blared from a sound system nearby.

Later, when the rains had eased, residents gathered at several food stalls as preparations were ongoing for several cultural competitions to commence.

Meanwhile, farther down along the highway at CircuitVille, visitors were flocking that community in large numbers as the afternoon progressed to take part in the indigenous heritage celebration there. Village leader Melissa Mundo was busy organising the events, while visitors sampled foods and drinks on sale.

The village, whose descendants are of the Makushi tribe, is of several which has been seeing a growing number of visitors in recent years.

Next Sunday, all roads will lead to the village of Swan where a large number of visitors are expected to converge for its annual indigenous heritage celebration.