Stains on My Name, War in My Veins

Stains on My Name, War in My Veins
Author: Brackette F. Williams
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 350
Release: 1991-04-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780822311195

Burdened with a heritage of both Spanish and British colonization and imperialism, Guyana is today caught between its colonial past, its efforts to achieve the consciousness of nationhood, and the need of its diverse subgroups to maintain their own identity. Stains on My Name, War in My Veins chronicles the complex struggles of the citizens of Guyana to form a unified national culture against the pulls of ethnic, religious, and class identities. Drawing on oral histories and a close study of daily life in rural Guyana, Brackette E. Williams examines how and why individuals and groups in their quest for recognition as a “nation” reproduce ethnic chauvinism, racial stereotyping, and religious bigotry. By placing her ethnographic study in a broader historical context, the author develops a theoretical understanding of the relations among various dimensions of personal identity in the process of nation building.

A History of the Guyanese Working People, 1881-1905

A History of the Guyanese Working People, 1881-1905
Author: Walter Rodney
Publisher:
Total Pages: 320
Release: 1981-09
Genre: Architecture
ISBN:

Esme Rockett, also known as MC Ferocious, rocks her suburban Minnesota Christian high school with more than the hip-hop music she makes with best friends Marcy (DJ SheStorm) and Tess (The ConTessa) when she develops feelings for her co-MC, Rowie (MC Rohini).

Cultural Power, Resistance, and Pluralism

Cultural Power, Resistance, and Pluralism
Author: Brian L. Moore
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Total Pages: 404
Release: 1995
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780773513549

Focusing on the critical years after the abolition of slavery in Guyana (1838-1900), Brian Moore examines the dynamic interplay between diverse cultures and the impact of these complex relationships on the development and structure of a colonial multiracial society.

The Settlement of Indians in Guyana, 1890-1930

The Settlement of Indians in Guyana, 1890-1930
Author: D. A. Bisnauth
Publisher: Peepal Tree Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2000
Genre: History
ISBN:

The author focuses on the crucial period when Indian indentured laborers became a permanent part of Guyanese society. It explores both the inner processes of Indian settlement and the beginnings of that community's political involvement with the wider society and relationships with the Afro-Guyanese.

Musical Life in Guyana

Musical Life in Guyana
Author: Vibert C. Cambridge
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
Total Pages: 555
Release: 2015-05-21
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1626746443

Musical Life in Guyana is the first in-depth study of Guyanese musical life. It is also a richly detailed description of the social, economic, and political conditions that have encouraged and sometimes discouraged musical and cultural creativity in Guyana. The book contributes to the study of the interactions between the policies and practices by national governments and musical communities in the Caribbean. Vibert C. Cambridge explores these interactions in Guyana during the three political eras that the society experienced as it moved from being a British colony to an independent nation. The first era to be considered is the period of mature colonial governance, guided by the dictates of “new imperialism,” which extended from 1900 to 1953. The second era, the period of internal self-government and the preparation for independence, extends from 1953, the year of the first general elections under universal adult suffrage, to 1966, the year when the colony gained its political independence. The third phase, 1966 to 2000, describes the early postcolonial era. Cambridge reveals how the issues of race, class, gender, and ideology deeply influenced who in Guyanese multicultural society obtained access to musical instruction and media outlets and thus who received recognition. He also describes the close connections between Guyanese musicians and Caribbean artists from throughout the region and traces the exodus of Guyanese musicians to the great cities of the world, a theme often neglected in Caribbean studies. The book concludes that the practices of governance across the twentieth century exerted disproportionate influence in the creation, production, distribution, and consumption of music.

Liminal Spaces: Migration and Women of the Guyanese Diaspora

Liminal Spaces: Migration and Women of the Guyanese Diaspora
Author: Grace Aneiza Ali
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
Total Pages: 342
Release: 2020-09-29
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1783749903

Liminal Spaces is an intimate exploration into the migration narratives of fifteen women of Guyanese heritage. It spans diverse inter-generational perspectives – from those who leave Guyana, and those who are left – and seven seminal decades of Guyana’s history – from the 1950s to the present day – bringing the voices of women to the fore. The volume is conceived of as a visual exhibition on the page; a four-part journey navigating the contributors’ essays and artworks, allowing the reader to trace the migration path of Guyanese women from their moment of departure, to their arrival on diasporic soils, to their reunion with Guyana. Eloquent and visually stunning, Liminal Spaces unpacks the global realities of migration, challenging and disrupting dominant narratives associated with Guyana, its colonial past, and its post-colonial present as a ‘disappearing nation’. Multimodal in approach, the volume combines memoir, creative non-fiction, poetry, photography, art and curatorial essays to collectively examine the mutable notion of ‘homeland’, and grapple with ideas of place and accountability. This volume is a welcome contribution to the scholarly field of international migration, transnationalism, and diaspora, both in its creative methodological approach, and in its subject area – as one of the only studies published on Guyanese diaspora. It will be of great interest to those studying women and migration, and scholars and students of diaspora studies. Grace Aneiza Ali is a Curator and an Assistant Professor and Provost Fellow in the Department of Art & Public Policy, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. Her curatorial research practice centers on socially engaged art practices, global contemporary art, and art of the Caribbean Diaspora, with a focus on her homeland Guyana.

The Guyanese Culture

The Guyanese Culture
Author: Rudy Insanally
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2017-01-09
Genre: Guyana
ISBN: 9781530913374

On the fiftieth anniversary of his country's independence, the author looks in Janus - faced fashion, at the culture of his native Guyana from its early days of slavery and indenture to the present, and speculates on its development over the next half-century. His account records the trials and tribulations of the laborers who were imported by the British plantocracy to toil under cruel and oppressive conditions. Strict control was achieved by the British though the imposition of their culture on the captive population and a "divide and rule" policy which sowed the seeds of racial conflict between the various ethnic groups. The British Governors were replaced by elected representatives of local political parties, some of whom did not hesitate to adopt the British policy of division to ensure victory at the polls. As a result of these political machinations, cultural diversity and racial harmony were diminished by ethno-racial animosities and violence, especially between Afro- and Indo-Guyanese. Several proposals have been made in the past to resolve the situation, including power-sharing and more inclusive governance, but unfortunately, thus far, no significant progress has been made. The author reviews these recommendations, both old and new, to see if a change in the political culture can bring about the social cohesion and national unity which are critical to the nation's future.

Walk Wit’ Me...

Walk Wit’ Me...
Author: Helena Martin
Publisher: BalboaPress
Total Pages: 477
Release: 2011-12-16
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1452503109

My memoir is laced with nostalgia and at the same time it is my sincere intention to portray the true essence of the Guyanese culture without offence. Keep in mind that this is not based on the experience of every Guyanese. This was the way I saw and experienced things back then. The use of colloquialism is of utmost importance; it is the vernacular we understand. It may sound like another language so unless you were born and bred in Guyana you will need to refer to the glossary provided. Folklore and mothers preaching life lessons through proverbs played a large part in Guyanese life. This is not only an account of the first twenty-one years of my life in Guyana; it also contains anecdotes of visits back to my homeland. You will also find a sprinkling of information pertaining to my new life in Australia. Before immigrating to Australia I believed the sun only rose and set in Guyana; I never imagined another paradise existed on the planet. There is a saying that most Guyanese use to identify their roots after they have voluntarily immigrated or simply fled to another country. When we say, My navel string is buried in Guyana, we simply mean: My roots are there. Its a place where true and enduring friendships were formed forever. We will meet one another decades later and feel as if it was yesterday, reminiscing about our beloved land; lapsing into the language only a fellow Guyanese can understand. A famous Australian crooner said I still call Australia home, and I can assure you that saying applies to Guyanese who have immigrated to every corner of the globe. Navigating the labyrinth of family secrets was my one mission in life; I just had to know.

An Inquiry Into the Animism and Folk-Lore of the Guiana Indians

An Inquiry Into the Animism and Folk-Lore of the Guiana Indians
Author: Walter E. Roth
Publisher:
Total Pages: 447
Release: 2020-01-19
Genre:
ISBN:

When, some seven years ago, I took up the duties of stipendiary magistrate, medical officer, and protector of Indians in this mosquito-cursed district of the Pomeroon, I determined upon devoting all my spare time--and there has been plenty of it--to an ethnographical survey of the native tribes of British Guiana, somewhat on the lines I had already followed in the case of North Queensland. As the work progressed, I recognized that, for the proper comprehension of my subject, it was necessary to make inquiry concerning the Indians of Venezuela, Surinam, and Cayenne, with the result that the area to be reviewed comprised practically that portion of the South American continent bounded, roughly speaking, by the Atlantic seaboard, the Orinoco, and the northern limits of the watershed of the Rio Negro, and the lower Amazon; and it was not long before I realized that for the proper study of the Arawaks and the Caribs I had to include that of the now almost extinct Antilleans.

Nation Dance

Nation Dance
Author: Patrick Taylor
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2001
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780253338358

Dealing with the ongoing interaction of rich and diverse cultural traditions from Cuba and Jamaica to Guyana and Surinam, Nation Dance addresses some of the major contemporary issues in the study of Caribbean religion and identity. The book’s three sections move from a focus on spirituality and healing, to theology in social and political context, and on to questions of identity and diaspora. The book begins with the voices of female practitioners and then offers a broad, interdisciplinary examination of Caribbean religion and culture. Afro-Caribbean religions, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are all addressed, with specific reflections on Santería, Palo Monte, Vodou, Winti, Obeah, Kali Mai, Orisha work, Spiritual Baptist faith, Spiritualism, Rastafari, Confucianism, Congregationalism, Pentecostalism, Catholicism, and liberation theology. Some essays are based on fieldwork, archival research, and textual or linguistic analysis, while others are concerned with methodological or theoretical issues. Contributors include practitioners and scholars, some very established in the field, others with fresh, new approaches; all of them come from the region or have done extensive fieldwork or research there. In these essays the poetic vitality of the practitioner’s voice meets the attentive commitment of the postcolonial scholar in a dance of "nations" across the waters.