Skip to main content

Amerindian Testimonies

""

Edited by Janette Forte and Ian Melville
Illustrations by Stephanie Correia
ISBN 0-976-8087-xx-x
245 pp.
Cost $7.95
Purchase Amerindian Testimonies

Foreword

While research among indigenous South American peoples has increased dramatically in the past two decades, Guyana remains little known to many scholars. In Amerindian Testimonies, Janette Forte and Ian Melville provide a unique collection of ethnographic vignettes, documented through interviews of 22 Amerindian school teachers from the interior of Guyana. The accounts demonstrate the diversity and richness of the Amerindian experience. Seen through the eyes of those caught up in the rapid transformation of Amerindian lifeways, the book provides a non-traditional rendering of the geography, ethnography, and history of the region. Important and previously unpublished ethnobiological data are presented in the volume.

The publication of Amerindian Testimonies is supported by the College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs. It represents an ongoing interaction between researchers at the University of Guyana and the Anthropology program at Boise State University. These efforts support the continuing development of anthropological research in Guyana and preservation of the Amerindian cultural heritage. We believe that Forte and Melville’s work significantly contributes to that end.

Table of Contents

View Table of Contents (PDF)

Foreword i
Introduction 1
Amerindian Lands 5

The Wapishanas and the Makushis:

Amerindians of the Rupununi Savannahs 7

  • Dyer Junis Gomes 9
  • Michael Alexander 21
  • Claudia Joseph 29
  • Stephen Demetrio 37
  • Petronella Da Silva 45
  • Comacho Scipio 51
  • Elbert Joel 61
  • Phyllis Joel 67
  • Frances Johnny 73
  • Festus Williams 81
  • Claudette Francis 89

The Patamona, Akawaio and Arekuna:

Amerindians of the Pakaraimas 95

  • Lucillina Torres 97
  • Joy Ethel Isaacs 115
  • Patti Simon 123
  • Benson Thomas 133
  • Clive Williams 143
  • Anton Dick 149

The Waraus, Caribs and Arawaks:

Coastal Amerindians 159

  • Vernon Wilson 161
  • Charles Holmes 167
  • Cleta Rodrigues 179
  • Modesta Gomes 189
  • Clement Adams 197

Endnotes 207
Glossary 225
Sources Cited 235
Index 239