I have a Guyanese friend who legally changed his LAST name from a Hindu to a Christian name, because he was working with an all white crew and was shamed of it. But when an office building was named after his family, he changed it again to its original name.
Black-SAGE is a wild plant in Guyana. About six inches of its branch, about quarter inch wide, is cut and one end is chewed to form a brush for brushing teeth. [I don't believe this is still being used.] Some people feel if charcoal is used, it will whitened the teeth. But whether black-sage or charcoal, I don't believe it did a good cleaning job, or provide any health prevention, like toothpaste. Some kids use black-sage dry leaves, wrapped in newspaper, as they first experience in smoking cigarettes.
HASSA...I don't believe fishes fell from the sky during rainfall, but they seem to be more plentiful during a rainfall.
Hassa nest seems to more plentiful in the sugar cane trench[creek] , while the sugar cane is growing.
We did not use a stick, but if the open left hand is kept just below the water line near the nest and the right hand on top clapping each other, a hassa can swim into the hands and caught. Near the nest is always some foam in the water, that I don't know how its caused. I was told the eggs that is located in the nest is delicious, but we seldom take it, because we feel it might hatch more hassa, to catch later.
I have not seen hassa jump, but when a cane field is flooded for months and drained , hassa is normally plentiful, including other fishes, with snakes and alligators, in the small sugar cane field drains.
In order to keep some fishes fresh like hassa in the market without refrigeration, it is kept alive in a container of water.
A small round net called GIRGERRA, about three feet across is used to 'juk hole' on sides of creeks. JUK HOLE is placing the net in front of hole and using a stick to dislodge the fishes in the hole. Some times a water snake will appear in the net and those afraid of snakes would immediately drop the net and run out of the creek. Later a long bamboo pole will be used to retrieve the net, somethings with the snake still inside.