76-year-old Priest Rita Hunter explains history of Amerindian Culture & Christianity in Guyana

Amerindian Priest Rita Hunter, 76, has peeled back the pages of Amerindian culture, showing how Indigenous persons started practicing Christianity.
She relayed this information to Guyana Times during a recent interview.
Hunter, who hails from Jawalla Village, Upper Mazaruni, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) is an experienced preacher and teacher of the Bible, with years of dedication to the faith.
“Before Christianity came to the Upper Mazaruni, no one knew about God. They were worshipping stone boulders, which enabled wild meat, birds, and fish to multiply. Even farms were producing a lot of cassava and other products,” she explained.

However, she stated that times have changed since Christianity became accepted among Indigenous folks.
“Christianity came in the late 1800s, an Amerindian founded a church that is now known as the Alleluia Church, which teaches about God in general and the Holy Trinity. All practices of worshipping stone boulders were stopped. In the 1900s, around 1949, the Anglican Church came and began to teach, as it were, to strengthen the Alleluia Church. They worked together, the Anglican, Alleluia, and Wesleyan Churches are working together to preserve the language.”
She added that a big addition to this was the translation of the New and Old Testaments.
“The New Testament is already translated, and the Old Testament is almost 50% complete. Religious hymns have also been translated.”
Though she gave an overview of how Christianity has affected the Amerindian community over the years, she also mentioned how this influence shaped her life, calling her to the position of priest.
“As a Christian, being baptised and commanded with the words, ‘Let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven,’ so said, so done. And now I am a priest in my district.”
Hearing about all that has been undertaken in the Amerindian community, she revealed the impact this had on her life while discussing the adaptation of other languages.
“Amerindian Heritage Month means a lot to me. Now, at this age, Amerindians seem to abandon their culture and language, adopting other people’s languages and cultures as if they had none.”
Hunter also mentioned that there needs to be current efforts to preserve and promote Amerindian culture in Guyana.
“I would say they need to be reminded and ensure they know who they are and share their culture with other races. To preserve the Amerindian language, it needs to be taught in schools.”
She had a message she wanted to share with younger generations of Guyanese, both Amerindian and non-Amerindian, about the importance of heritage and tradition.
“The message I want to share with younger generations of Amerindian and non-Amerindian is that they maintain their culture, traditions, and language, share, adapt, and keep them.”
Hunter, who is no stranger to singing beautiful gospel melodies, also had a message she wanted to share with younger generations of Guyana.
“If you don’t have anything, if you don’t have land, If you don’t have language, If you don’t have culture, If you don’t have a story, If you don’t have a song then you are a joke to others. But if you have them, they will respect you.”
With this in mind, she emphasised that younger generations ought to know who they are and what they need to do to live equally while sharing their traditions and much more.
Only some days ago, Hunter preached at the Diocese of Guyana Heritage Month where she ministered unto scores of persons on the Lawns of Austin House, Kingston, Georgetown.