I could never do that....: Traditional Games

I sat on the stage and weaved an intricate basket from the palm tree. I was almost finished, far ahead of the women from the 6 other villages. My basket was tightly weaved, each leaf wrapped around the next in just the right pattern. All eyes were on me - I was winning the August Games competition for Aishalton!

Well, almost. I didn’t weave a basket, or compete in any of the games, but I did take some awesome pictures! The final day of August Games were local activities. Representatives from each village showed how well they could weave baskets, make pari cari (local alcoholic drink), drink pari cari, grate cassava, climb trees, shoot archery, design arrows, cook pepperpot (Amerindian dish), make rope, and spin cotton. While I am basically skill-less in all of the above, the locals are skill-full. The competition was slim; everyone can perform these acts with their eyes closed, and probably have since they were young.

The competitions give life and excitement to the daily tasks of living in the Savannah as a Wapishana in Southern Guyana. They seemed to legitimize local culture for the younger generation, bringing a sense of fun and excitement to what could otherwise be construed as tedious and boring. Suddenly, the back-breaking work of bending over the cassava grater and pumping with one cassava in each hand now has the appeal of winning points! Now, instead of making an arrow just to shoot a parrot or armadillo, the arrow must have beautiful feathers and just the right point. Instead of endless spinning to weave a 12-pound hammock (for which the Wapishanas are famous), you are spinning to have the perfect piece of thread. It is just one method in the fight to keep traditional culture alive and well.

One final event of the August Games coming up in tomorrow’s blog! The best!

Palm tree Climing