The calabash was one of the first cultivated plants in the world, grown not primarily for food, but for use as a water container. The bottle gourd may have been carried from Africa to Asia, Europe and the Americas in the course of human migration.
This tough prehistoric stubby looking tree belongs to the family Bignoniaceae and is rarely seen much taller than 15 feet with a leafy canopy that provide a natural shady cool playground for Guyanese children. Continue reading →
The French during their occupation in 1782 established the first postal service in historical Guyana. ‘They announced that a ship will sail for France eight or ten times every year by which anyone can send a letter to other countries.
With the dawn of this age of instant internet communication and gadgetry it is easy to forget centuries of the Postal Service of Guyana which was once regarded as an essential instrument of nation building that adapted very well to serve alongside radio, telegraph, telephone and changing technology. Continue reading →
THE 1836 BRITISH GUIANA BANK NOW REPUBLIC BANK LTD
By Dmitri Allicock
The history of commercial banking in Guyana originated in 1836 when British Guiana opened on November 11, in the capital city of Georgetown, the British Guiana Bank, a journey spanning 178 years of service with local ownership to foreign ownership then, full circle, to local ownership again. It was the first commercial bank owned by the private sector to start business in the colony of British Guiana, which had recently consolidated, in 1831, the three colonies of Essequibo, Berbice and Demerara into one entity. Continue reading →
103 years old Albertha Bell, the Last Speaker of Berbice Dutch Creole, interviewed by Jamiekan Langwij Yuunit in 2004.
Echoes of Berbice Dutch Creole
By Dmitri Allicock
“Language reflects our thoughts and knowledge is lost when it becomes extinct”
Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America, but English has been the official language for much less than the 232 years when Dutch was the main medium of communication. The actual words spoken by most Guyanese is an English base creole that is very elastic to various regions and has slight historical influences from Dutch, West African, Arawakan, and to a lesser extent Indian Languages. Berbice Dutch Creole was a language developed by the slaves on the plantation of Berbice that survived the passage of time and only recently was considered officially extinct by international language database Ethnologue.
“Jour Ouvert became fo-daymawnin jump-up. Ole Mas became the Revolt Dance and the Calypso Contests became the Shanto Contest.”-Jimmy Hamilton
The recent conclusion of Guyana’s 44th Mashramani celebrations and most colorful spectacle of music, revelry and creativity attracted the attention of many Guyanese and stimulated memories of its not so distant origination in the Bauxite Town of Linden, Upper Demerara. Continue reading →
Cattle, cowboys and horses, creeks, rivers, wooden bridges, swamps, rain, mosquitoes, jaguars and snakes are the ingredients for a great imaginative western movie and can be found in the stories of the movement of herds of cattle from the grasslands of Rupununi to the coastal marketplace of British Guiana, just shy of a hundred years ago. Continue reading →
The Innocence of Ground Zero – By Dmitri Allicock
The Innocence of Ground Zero
By Dmitri Allicock
It seems only like yesterday but 13 years to date
Almost 3000 heroes indiscriminately killed by hate
Devils of terror armed with the Koran and robe
Attacking freedom with savagery around the globe
Striking within the soft heart of civilization so near
Attempting to spread their medieval dogma of fear
4 airliners hijacked, Twin Towers collapsing in a cloud Continue reading →