Georgetown: Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, announced the launching of an Indigenous Song Festival, scheduled to take place on November 30, at the National Cultural Centre.The festival which will attract participation from seven of the nine indigenous tribes in Guyana, promises to be spectacular and a tremendous success as each tribe will be singing songs in its respective dialects.
Addressing reporters during a media briefing held at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, were: Dr. Frank Anthony; Mr. Andrew Tyndall, Administrator of the National School of Music; and Ovid Williams, Festival Co-ordinator. Also present at the forum was U.S.-based Guyanese, Dr. Vibert Cambridge, a known music historian who is soon to launch his book titled, “The History of Music in Guyana.”
Tyndall said that through the Festival, the ministry hopes to capture the music of our indigenous peoples. The objective of the festival therefore, is to be able to record and disseminate Guyana’s indigenous songs. And since music is universal to everyone, by doing this project, the ministry feels that it would be able to reach more persons at the end of the festival.
“We have nine different tribes in Guyana, and as you know, indigenous languages all over the world are being threatened with extinction and it is our responsibility at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport to ensure that we safeguard, preserve and pass on information about our indigenous languages. So this is just one way in which we are going to capture the language of our indigenous people,” he explained. He said so far, seven of the nine tribes alluded to have been reached and there is great anxiety in the air.
The nine indigenous tribes in Guyana are: Arawak, Carib, Patamona, Wapishiana, Wai-Wai, Macushi, Arekuna, Akawaio and Warrau.
Meanwhile, Festival Co-ordinator Ovid Williams said the participating groups were identified by the Toshaos who were recently in Georgetown for the National Toshaos Conference held at the International Conference Centre.
Among them were groups from Waramuri and Kwebanna in the Moruca Sub-Region of Region 1, Barima-Waini (home to the Arawaks and Warraus), as well as Mabaruma Sub-regions. The Hurrup and the Banshikili Group promises to tickle the audience imagination with sweet indigenous music and dance such as the “Hurrup,” rendered by elders who are experts on the quarto and the violin. Others will come from White Water/Tobago and Barabina areas in the Mabaruma Sub-Region.
Closer home in Region 4, there’s a group from St. Cuthbert’s, and they will be featuring the Mighty Pakuri from the Lokona (Arawak) tribe.
Coming from Region 6 will be the Warrraus from the villages of Orealla and Siparuta.
Region 7 will present the Arekunas or Pemungs, among whom are religious gospel singers who will regale the audience in their typical Arekuna style. And to demonstrate they are in tune with today’s music, there will be a rapper doing his piece in contemporary rapping.
Meanwhile, to blow the audience off their feet will be Region 9 presenting: the Macushi and Wapishana, whose groups hail from Surama, Yakarinta, Masara, Kwaikubat, Baitoon, Sand Creek, Aishalton and Crowdarnow, featuring up-tempo pieces.
Williams also announced that on November 22 and 23, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs will be staging the Pakaraima Festival, at which the Patamonas will be doing their thing. They are expected to come on strong with dances such as the Chiniding, Polyghagga, the Alleluia and Toguit (the humming bird).
“We’re excited about this festival to be held on the 30th November, at the National Cultural Centre and there, the indigenous people will be able to expose a lot of Guyanese to the traditional indigenous Amerindian music,” Williams said, as he gave an enthralling sneak preview of what is in store come November 30 at the National Cultural Centre.
Tyndall anticipates that it will be a nostalgic moment for some people, but for the Ministry of Culture, it will be another step in the right direction towards preserving and disseminating our indigenous languages, he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, heartened that the time has now come for this dream to be made a reality, agreed that this linguistic heritage that we have in Guyana, has often been overlooked. He said even though we think of ourselves only as an English- speaking country, venturing beyond the coastland, one can hear so many different languages.
He noted that the indigenous languages spoken in Guyana, are in a sense, quite unique to this part of the world. Pathetically however, the persons speaking those languages of which we should be proud, are dwindling, and therefore we need to do something urgently to bring about a proliferation of the languages, or we would lose them, Dr. Anthony proffered. Over time, he said, his ministry has been brainstorming ways to keep the languages alive.
Initiatives taken to date include: the publication of various dictionaries relating to seven of the nine Amerindian languages. For the other two (Carib and Wai-Wai), the ministry is now working on various word lists so as to eventually prepare dictionaries for them as well. The ministry has also been working on various grammar books, in the various languages, while helping respective communities to publish the books and distribute them within the communities.
Also well received has been the initiative of having select persons travel around the villages, teaching the languages to school children and other interested persons.
Commending this “rich cultural legacy” of music and dancing possessed by the Amerindian peoples, Dr. Anthony observed that, unfortunately, not many people on the coastland have been exposed to these. Hence the move now being taken by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport to have these competitions where the music can be sung, recorded, disseminated and preserved.
Some of the objectives to be accomplished through this initiative, he said are:
Dr. Anthony anticipates initial challenges, given the geographic spread of the communities targeted. However, he feels strongly that, given a start, eventually more communities will get involved.
With an air of optimism, he asserted: “All of the people we have spoken to so far, have endorsed this type of festival, and feel it should have happened before.”
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