Culture of Guyana
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The Culture of the South American nation, Guyana, is very similar to that of the English speaking Caribbean, so much so that Guyana is considered a Caribbean Nation. Guyana shares similar interests with the islands of the West Indies, such as food, festive events, music, sports, etc.
Guyanese culture reflects the influence of African, Indian, French, Amerindian, Chinese, British, Dutch, Portuguese, Caribbean, and American culture.
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[edit] Cultural events
- Mashramani
- Phagwah
- Deepavali (Diwali)
- Folk Festival
- Rodeo
[edit] Music
Guyana's musical tradition is a mix of Indian, African, European and native elements. Popular music includes American, Caribbean (reggae, calypso, chutney[1]), Brazilian and other Latin musical styles.
Popular Guyanese performers include Terry Gajraj, Mark Holder, Eddy Grant, Dave Martins & the Tradewinds, Aubrey Cummings and Nicky Porter. Among the most successful Guyanese record producers are Rohit Jagessar, Eddy Grant, Terry Gajraj and Dave Martins.
[edit] Theatre
The beginnings of theatre in 19th century Georgetown was European in nature. In the early 20th century there was an emergence of new African and Indian Guyanese middle-class theatre. In the 1950s there was an explosion of an ethnically diverse and socially committed theatre. There was a struggle to maintain theatre post-1980 in spite of an economic depression. Serious repertory theatre was highlighted by Carifesta and the Theatre Guild of Guyana[2].
Wordsworth McAndrew has been prominent in Guyanese theatre since the 1960s.
[edit] Literature
Popular Guyanese authors include Wilson Harris, Jan Carew, Denis Williams and E. R. Braithwaite. Braithwaite's memoir, To Sir With Love, details his experiences as a black high school teacher in a white London slum.
Edgar Mittelholzer is well known outside of Guyana for such novels as "Corentyne Thunder" and a three-part novel known as the Kaywana trilogy, The latter focusing on one family through 350 years of Guyana's history.
[edit] Visual arts
Art takes many forms in Guyana, but its dominant themes are Amerindians, the ethnic diversity of the population and the physical beauty of Guyana. Popular artists include Stanley Greaves, Ronald Savory, Philip Moore and the late Aubrey Williams.
[edit] Film
Guiana 1838, a film by the US based Award Winning Guyanese born director Rohit Jagessar, is a historic epic film depicting the abolition of slavery in British Guiana and a new form of slavery of indentured Indian servants on their first arrival to the Caribbean in 1838. Guiana 1838 was released on September 24th., 2004 when it scored the highest screen average of all movies released that weekend at the North American box office. View the trailer www.guiana1838.com
The story of the cinema in Guyana goes back to the 1920s when the Gaiety, which was probably British Guiana's first cinema, stood by the Brickdam Roman Catholic Presbytery in Georgetown, and showed Charlie Chaplin-type silent movies.
The Gaiety burnt down around 1926, but was followed by other cinemas such as the Metro on Middle Street, in Georgetown, which became the Empire; the London on Camp Street, which became the Plaza; and the Astor on Church and Waterloo Streets, which opened around 1940.
The Capitol on La Penitence Street in Albouystown had a rough reputation. The Metropole was on Robb and Wellington Streets; the Rialto, which became the Rio, on Vlissengen Road; the Hollywood was in Kitty; and the Strand de Luxe on Wellington Street, was considered the luxury show place.
Cinema seating was distinctly divided. Closest to the screen, with rows of hard wooden benches, was the lowly Pit, where the effort of looking upwards at the screen for several hours gave one a permanent stiff neck. The next section, House, was separated from the Pit by a low partition wall. House usually had individual but connected wooden rows of seats that flipped up or down. Above House was the Box section, with soft, private seats and, behind Box, Balcony, a favourite place for dating couples. These divisions in the cinema roughly represented the different strata existing in colonial society.
[edit] Architecture
Much historic architecture reflects the country's British colonial past. Many of these buildings in Georgetown and New Amsterdam were built entirely of local woods.
[edit] Sports
The major sports in Guyana are cricket (Guyana is part of the West Indian cricket team), softball cricket (beach cricket) and football (soccer). Minor sports in Guyana include netball, rounders, lawn tennis, basketball, table tennis, boxing.
[edit] Cuisine
Guyanese cuisine is enriched by traditional foods from every ethnic group in the country. These dishes have been adapted to Guyanese tastes, often by the addition of spices.
Favourite dishes include pepper pot, a stew made with bitter cassava juice, meat, hot pepper and seasoning; roti and curry; garlic pork; cassava bread; chow mein and "cook up", a one-pot meal which can include any favourite meats or vegetables.
Popular homemade drinks are mauby, made from the bark of a tree; sorrel drink, made from a leafy vegetable used in salads; and ginger beer, made from ginger root.
Over 400 Guyanese recipes are listed at Guyana Outpost.
[edit] Religion
Many religions are practised in Guyana, the predominant ones being Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ From Caroni Gyal To Calcutta Woman: A History Of East Indian Chutney Music In The Caribbean by Rajendra Saywack December 1999, Black & Puerto Rican Studies Dept., Thomas Hunter College http://www.saxakali.com/caribbean/Hemchandra1.htm
- ^ A History of Theatre in Guyana 1800–2000, Frank Thomasson. ISBN 1-84523-045-0
[edit] References
- Manuel, Peter (1995). Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-55639-338-8.
- Manuel, Peter. East Indian Music in the West Indies: Tan-singing, Chutney, and the Making of Indo-Caribbean Culture. Temple University Press, 2000. ISBN 1-56639-763-4.
