back now, and perhaps sharing it with the
world will help.”
As I’m ofered some barbecued tree grubs
and a glass of local punch known as ly
(“Drink too much and you’ll feel like you’re
lying!”), Glendon ofers some forthright
opinions on organised religion and, in
particular, language. Listening to him talk,
it’s easy to sympathise with his concerns
that English has steamrollered the Makushi
tongue — and his annoyance at how many
missionaries came here looking to sell the
god business to people who’d survived
millennia without it.
Yet, at least with language, there are
some upsides, too. The nation being almost
exclusively English-speaking adds an
element of the uncanny for outsiders like
me — the Amerindians of Guyana’s interior
look ethnically similar to tribes deeper in
the Amazon, yet speak with a sot, almost
Caribbean lilt. This means discussing
development and ecology requires no
translation for one thing, but for another it
allows them to follow international news to
learn about threats to their environment.
Yet there are always temptations to give up
some of what they have. Back at Rewa, inside
the oice of the toushao, or chief, Rudolph
Edwards had explained that there have
been ofers over the years from Brazilian
and Chinese mining and oil companiesto develop the land. “We looked at what
would happen and we were worried about
the environment and our animals,” he said.
“They proposed a road and a bridge, but we
thought of the damage and so we said no.
Yes, it would be good to get money in our
pockets but in the long term the negatives
would outweigh the positives.”
These foreign companies may well
describe such work as development, but
to the people of the Rewa region it would
more obviously mean pollution. So far,
the government in Georgetown has been
supportive of its Amerindian population, a
story not commonly repeated in other parts
of the continent.
As it stands, the people of Rewa and
Surama seem content to enjoy comparatively
humble gains, welcoming controlled
numbers of visitors while preserving what
oten feels like an Edenic environment.
That’s not to say their lives are prehistoric
— the internet has recently come to both
villages. It was encouraging to hear people
speak optimistically about improved
connectivity. “It’s already improving things
in terms of education, communication and
messaging between us and the government,”
Rudolph explained. “We aren’t really using it
for fun or whatever.”
Internet, motorised canoes and solar
power are just some of the ways in whichFROM LEFT: Barbecued
ish and tree grubs; a sign
on the road to Surama
Eco-Lodge; ire used
as insect repellent at
Makushi Cultural Village
March 2020 109GUYANA