Judy Winter is a 17-year-old from the Deep South Rupununi village of Aishalton. She hails from the Wapichan Nation and this is her story about life in Aishalton and her aspirations for the development of her people.
Two young girls fetching corn in their warishi
I grew up in the quiet, developing village of Aishalton in the Deep South Rupununi with my parents, 4 brothers and a sister. It is a village with diverse habitats such as bush islands, savannahs, forests galleries, wetlands and rocky outcrops occupied by the Wapichan people as being the majority.
Aishalton, like any other Indigenous village, is closely knitted where almost everyone is related.
I grew up in a healthy environment where fruits are in abundance during the different seasons, always free and available. Some of my favourite times of the year are when the mango, jamoon, whitey and orange seasons come around. Evenings were my favourite where my cousins and I can go to the nearby creeks, Maokawa’o in particular, carrying some sugar in our bowls (which we always stole) to pluck some jamoon off the laden trees and sit under the shade and enjoy.
When there is a full moon, a custom in my village is to hold a gathering where stories would be told and everyone would bring something to share to eat, especially our pepper pots with cassava and (Indigenous drinks) parakari or sawarao. There would be laughter everywhere because as children we also play games while the adults exchange news and update each other on what was happening in the village or country.
Judy fetching cassava in her warishi
A fond memory of my childhood is one particular time my cousins came up with an idea that we would gather at one of our houses, drink a cup each of “mangoroo-wa” (a boiled mango drink), form a straight line with the older ones placed between the smaller ones, and go marching chanting “mango belly full, mango belly full” up to our locust tree and back to the house, where we would again drink another cup each.
As most villagers here, my parents are very hard working farmers and every weekend and on holidays, my siblings and I would go to the farm to help with the work. My sister and I would help make farine, while my brothers would help under-bush or cut a new farm. When the farm was burnt and cleaned for planting, everyone would help to plant the farm while enjoying the many produce from the other farms.
As of today, my dad is still well known in the village for his huge banana farm and would normally supply the villagers with the most bananas. When one family has something to share, usually after hunting, one can hear the exciting shout of “Waroooopppaaaa”, a Wapichan word inviting others to share a meal.
The men in the family would also go into the forest to gather “mapuzu” which is my favourite drink and it is also used as milk in any porridge. My personal favourite being plantain, yam and corn.
A story was told to me long ago that there is a keeper/leader of the wild hogs that guide their activities. When the keeper realises that the wild hogs are getting skinny and not looking so well, they would be sent out to look for food and look after themselves. This is when they would destroy the farms and eat out all the cassava roots, yams etc. However, when they are too many and are very fat, they would be sent out again. This is the time you would hear the famous “wild hogs shout” which excites everyone as the word is passed around. After which the men would be seen running or cycling to the said area with arrows and bow strapped to their backs. The women would be waiting at their homes preparing before the hunters arrive, and when successful there would be wafts of roast coming from every house for about a week or more. That is also one of my favourite times, even now.
I attended Aishalton Nursery School, moved on to Aishalton Primary School where I gained a scholarship from the Hinterland Scholarship Division. However, after hard consideration, I finally decided to continue my secondary education at Aishalton Secondary School, a decision I don’t regret because I graduated with good grades and was the best academic performer for the year 2019.
As an Indigenous youth, I hold rich knowledge to the protection of mother nature – something that is embedded in me as a Wapichan. Studies have shown that Indigenous people are best known to protect mother nature since time immemorial. In my opinion, not many of the wider Guyanese society has seen the area I live in and many would not understand what makes us unique as Indigenous people.
The Wapichan people have been known to occupy the Southern Rupununi Savannahs for so long and they have used the land to live comfortably. The wider Guyanese society needs to know and understand the spiritual attachment we have with the land we live in and why it is so important to us. They need to understand why we do things and why we do not.
For example, we do not disturb Karawaiman Tawaa (Blue Mountain) because it is a sacred site and has spirit keepers and it is where our headwaters are located. We have ants stinging ceremonies with the “wiiko” – a special ant that is believed, when used, passes down its qualities to the person. The particulars, as is believed, are being willing, hardworking, an early riser, providers and strong bodies that are resistant to pain.
We also have our spiritual prayers when we call on the spirits of the waters, plants, animals to do healing for sicknesses, especially unusual ones. We also have signs and symbols from mother nature that we believe in, for example, if the moon is facing a certain direction, the rain will fall or the dry season is here.
When a girl is pregnant or when a baby is newborn, the father of the child cannot kill snakes, make fish or animal traps, eat certain wildmeat and so on, this is because there will be consequences for the baby. All these, and so much more is what is passed down to us from generation to generation.
I am emphasising that our spiritual attachment to our environment/land is really not known by the wider Guyanese society because, if they would understand, we as Indigenous people would be given the recognition and respect we deserve and will be able to continue practising our culture.
I am proud of the richness and uniqueness of my Wapichan culture. I am practising on being fluent in my Wapichan language which is a beautiful language. I am proud that as Wapichan nao we have a special dance “parichara” which is a charm dance to lure wild game out of the forest. I am proud of my spiritual attachment to my land and that I still get to experience and learn that.
I am happy that I still get to experience a clean and natural environment with a happy childhood. I am also proud we can still preserve and maintain this culture and eventually pass it on to the younger generation.
I see Indigenous Heritage Month as an opportunity for us, both young and old to embrace and appreciate our indigeneity. It is an opportunity to bring all Indigenous groups across Guyana to showcase their differences and similarities, celebrating that together.
It is also a time where the young people can learn from the elders, where they can reach out to them and hold on to what they have learnt to pass it down to their children when the time comes. It is also a time where the rest of the Guyanese people can learn from us and help us in our fight for our rights to be respected.
It is also a time where our leaders should be able to see the importance of the Indigenous people and why they should maintain their cultures and encourage us to do so.
Indigenous Heritage Month is not just about, food, dancing and traditional wear, it’s about our cultural heritage as a people. This is the time our efforts as Indigenous peoples should be recognised, our rights to lands, territories and resources are respected by all Guyanese.
Indigenous Heritage Month usually means gathering in large numbers and having fun together whilst learning. However, due to this pandemic, things cannot be so. I hope that some activities, meetings, conferences can be arranged virtually where it can connect people across the country. I plan to go into my farm which is miles away from the village and celebrate with my family. There, my father and brothers plan to go and hunt, fish and search for “mapuzu” in the forest. My mom, sister and sister-in-law plan to make our parakari, sawarao, cassava bread, pepper pot and all the other delicacies including “chiiki’I” and soorum (tacuma).
To help combat this pandemic, I have been working with the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC) assiduously. We have embarked on numerous activities to help combat the virus. Some works of the SRDC are awareness-raising of the coronavirus in the 21 villages, erection of gates at villages to serve as checkpoints to monitor the movement of people, blocking of illegal entry points in the porous vast border with Brazil, procuring of sanitizing supplies for the gates and public places in the villages, procuring of cloth to sew face masks for the villagers.
We have also helped supply the affected families under quarantine with food hampers to encourage them to stay at home since their livelihood activities are now affected. We have also worked on audios on the coronavirus both in Wapichan and English languages which will be if it has not been done yet, played on loudhailers around the villages by the village councils.
We have been updating and sending out messages through the radios, posting messages on the social media platform and trying to keep the Toshaos connected using all communication means.
My work with the SRDC started in 2017 when I was invited by Immaculata Casimero to attend the first SRDC youth conference held in Maruranau village. Youths from the 21 villages in the South Rupununi were present and we participated in 3 days of activities. There, I was impressed and awed by the knowledge I learnt of my culture and from that moment I knew which field I wanted to work in.
On the last day, we had to elect a chair, co-chair and representatives for each of the villages. I was elected to serve as the co-chair of the SRDC youth arm at the age of 15. Since then, I have been involved in some meetings and other activities of the SRDC, also coping with school. It was not until I graduated that I fully became involved in the work of the SRDC.
I work as the youth coordinator with the South Central Peoples Development Association (SCPDA) which is the Secretariat to the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC). I was on the Tenure Facility (TF) team in 2019, going into villages to engage with the people.
At the end of 2019, I organized our 3rd annual youth conference with the help of my colleagues which was held in Karaudarnau village for 4 days. I attended several conferences for my organization where I did presentations. I also try to reach out to the Toshaos and learn from their experiences.
Presently, I am coordinating a project titled “Youth Transfer of Traditional Knowledge” which involves a collection of traditional stories to be shared for everyone to learn about some of our culture and our connections to our land. We will also be making videos on livelihood activities of our people so that we can document them to guide us when our elders are gone.
To do this, the team of youths selected to do this project will go into villages and interview elders and knowledge holders. In this way, they are reconnecting with them and documenting our findings so that we can still maintain them as different cultures are being presented to us by the wider world. I also do other works for the SRDC while at the same time learning as much as I can.
However, it is my greatest aspiration to become a human rights lawyer. Over the years, I’ve noticed my people are marginalized especially when it comes to making decisions for the people at all levels. I realized that my people need a voice out there, someone to represent them from the ground and I can be that person. In this way, I can still maintain my culture while at the same time helping others recognize the importance of it, joining in the long fight for recognition of our rights to our lands as Indigenous people.
I am hoping to be accepted into the University of Guyana’s Law Programme this year to start my legal journey.
Photography is my hobby. The Rupununi is such a beautiful place, that it’s hard not to be into photography. The landscapes, animals, activities of the people, the sunsets, the trees and everything else makes one want to capture them and share with the rest of Guyana and the world. However, I haven’t taken any training on photography but with the encouragement and help of two photographer friends, Darrin Smith and Craig Henry, I’ve learned some things but is still learning the art of photography.
My advice to my fellow indigenous youths is to be proud of your indigeneity, it defines who you are. Without us, the indigenous people, the world would be a dry, dead place and we should not allow that. We must maintain, protect and safeguard our pristine environment this the only means of our survival. We should fight for what is right and embrace our cultures. You should also follow your dreams and it should always be to help your people and maintain your culture despite anything.
