Region 7’s Batavia: where teamwork & community are at core of Christmas season

By Jarryl Bryan

It is often said that Christmas has lost its true meaning amid the hustle and bustle of last-minute shopping and the search for holiday deals. However, in the Region Seven Indigenous village of Batavia, there is a strong undercurrent of community during the Christmas season.

In September, Batavia hosted Heritage Day at its Arian Island. The village has long been recognised for its hospitality and its natural tourism appeal, including the waterfalls at Batavia, which include the Five Star Falls and the Small Matope Falls.
There is also the wildlife the village teems with, including the majestic Harpy Eagle, and is surrounded by extensive forests that offer an eco-tourist the experience of a lifetime. Batavia is located along the Cuyuni River and it is fitting that the river banks that hosted Heritage Day only a few months, are also a popular recreation spot during the Christmas season for families to get together and enjoy the season.
The economic activities in Batavia include hunting and fishing, farming and logging. The village also contains persons involved in the teaching and medical profession.
In cases where their jobs take them out of the village, however, they usually come home for the Christmas holidays.

Much more than its tourism appeal, Batavia is a village that takes its community bonds and the role they play in uniting villagers very seriously and this is all the more apparent around Christmas time, with the Village Council purchasing gifts for the children and arranging cooking, tree light-ups and other activities. In an interview with this publication, Batavia Toshao Orin Williams emphasised that the village comes together and make Christmas what it is.
“At this time everybody comes home. And the Village Council purchases gifts and we come together as a village, prepare the different foods, including our traditional dishes. Tuma Pot for example and our other dishes such as cook up. Curry. And the other dishes that we all know about. And we come together, invite out the village. Children and adults.”
“And we dress up the Christmas tree and we have a light-up. And we call the church leaders to the village. And they pray and bless the village. Blessings on the country and our leaders. After that, we eat together, we drink together. And then we go home.”
In fact, the village just had its Christmas tree light-up and gift distribution. This was made possible not only by the villagers in fact, but also part-time workers who were hired under the part-time jobs initiative, and Community Service Officers (CSOs), who provide support services to villages in the hinterland. Cooking, according to Williams, is also a community activity, that will not only feed the residents but also bring them closer together.

When Christmas day comes, however, Williams noted that barring a few villagers who go out on the beach, most persons will have a quiet Christmas at home with their families.
A common theme through the holiday week, however, is eating, drinking, spending time with family… and religion.
“To end the Christmas, everybody goes to church. Old Year’s Night. That is where we reach and celebrate into the new year. People don’t usually have a lot of sporting on old years night. Most people go to church. And form church, back home. Some people, on New Year’s Day, might do the same thing. Come out on the beach, play games,” Williams explained.
“We have some beaches in the river, right in the village. Like on the island where we had heritage games. Relax. Communicate with relatives and friends, using the internet service we have presently. So, most likely we would mostly be out of our houses on New Year’s and Boxing Day. But Christmas, everybody stays at home.”