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Sunil

Compilation of Folk Tales Shares Guyanese Culture to the World

Ambassador Gathers and Puts into Writing the Myths and Legends of His People

BOSTON – Guyana Legends: Folk Tales of the Indigenous Amerindians is a collection of 50 folktales of the first people to inhabit Guyana and the contiguous regions of the north coast of the South American continent. It is compiled and written by author Dr. Odeen Ishmael.

Very little is known of Amerindian history in Guyana before the arrival of European settlers in the early 17th century and, actually, no written form of their languages existed until about 70 years ago. Indeed, much of the history of the Amerindian people is based on oral traditions which are not quite clear because the periods when important events occurred are difficult to place. Still, native oral traditions are very rich in folk stories of the ancestral heroes and heroines of these indigenous people.

These stories which interweave in the realms of mystery, romance, humor, superstition, magic and fantasy, are part of the rich oral traditions of these people. Above all, they tell of their closeness to their natural environment and this is reflected in the roles of the forest animals in many of the stories in this collection. Undoubtedly, these folktales, and the lessons they impart, add to the rich cultural blend of the people of Guyana and the wider Caribbean region.

This present collection of Amerindian legends was compiled over a lengthy period of many years during which the author listened to and collected versions of these tales from elderly Amerindians in various regions of Guyana, and more recently from Amerindian residents of the Delta Amacuro region of Venezuela, on the frontier with Guyana.

Readers will find these legends of the original inhabitants of Guyana informative in the anthropological sense, in addition to being interesting and entertaining at the same time.

For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to www.Xlibris.com.

About the Author

Dr. Odeen Ishmael, a veteran Guyanese diplomat, is currently the ambassador of Guyana to the State of Kuwait. He previously served as ambassador to Venezuela (2003-2011) and to the United States (1993-2003) where, simultaneously, he was his country’s Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States. Since the 1970s, he has been a premier writer on the problems and perspectives of education in Guyana and the wider Caribbean region. He has also written extensively on Guyanese history and culture as well as political developments in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Guyana Legends * by Odeen Ishmael
Folk Tales of the Indigenous Amerindians
Publication Date: August 30, 2011
Trade Paperback; $19.99; 212 pages; 978-1-4653-5668-0
Trade Hardback; $29.99; 212 pages; 978-1-4653-5669-7
eBook; $9.99; 978-1-4653-5670-3

To request a complimentary paperback review copy, contact the publisher at (888) 795-4274 x. 7879. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (610) 915-0294 or call (888) 795-4274 x. 7879.

For more information, contact Xlibris at (888) 795-4274 or on the web at www.Xlibris.com.

TO ORDER

http://www2.xlibris.com/bookst...y.aspx?bookid=103202

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SunilAdmin

Amerindian Heritage Month launched - President assures the Amerindians that their culture will grow and survive even as he demits office

President Bharrat Jagdeo has assured Guyana’s first people that their culture will not only survive, but will grow from strength to strength, even though he is departing office. He was addressing the launch of Amerindian heritage month 2011 at the Sophia exhibition complex.

The President expressed satisfaction that the event has grown significantly over the years, while reflecting on the first Amerindian heritage celebration, where there was only a handful of people present. This, he said is testimony that there is greater tolerance among Guyanese.

Mr. Jagdeo said his administration has been fulfilling its promises to Amerindian people, highlighting the solar panels that will be installed in every indigenous community within another two months. He boasted that Amerindians, who were once ignored, now have a bright future, due to the opportunities provided by the government.

He however pointed to the fact that the focus placed on indigenous people is not because of a Jagdeo government, but the people’s progressive party civic. This year’s Amerindian heritage month celebrations are being observed under the theme, “ Our culture, out heritage, our life: a fusion of indigenous diversity.”

http://ncnguyana.com/ncngy/ind...-as-he-demits-office

9/2/119:23 PM

Former Member

Thank-you for the information, Sunil.

9/2/119:35 PM

SunilAdmin

Odeen Ishmael, Guyana’s ambassador in the United States from 1993 to 2003, has written extensively about regional politics and diplomacy since leaving Washington and going on to serve as ambassador to Venezuela (2003-11) and now to Kuwait.

But he was inspired by very different subject matter for his new book, “Guyana Legends: Folk Tales of the Indigenous Amerindians,” a collection of 50 folktales encapsulating the myths and legends of the first people to inhabit Guyana and South America’s northern coast.

Very little is known about Guyana’s indigenous Amerindian people before the arrival of European settlers in the early 17th century, and no written form of their languages existed until about 70 years ago. Native oral traditions provided rich folk stories of Amerindian ancestral heroes, but these oral narratives were difficult to place in recorded history.

It’s certainly a change of pace from Ishmael's usual diplomatic dissertations. Although he left eight years ago, Washingtonians may still be familiar with Ishmael’s work through the regular commentaries he sends by email analyzing regional developments such as what’s happening in the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).

A veteran Guyanese diplomat who’s written about Guyana and the wider region since the 1970s, Ishmael spent years listening to and collecting versions of these tales from elderly Amerindians in various parts of Guyana, and more recently from the Delta Amacuro region of Venezuela, on the frontier with Guyana.

The result is a compilation of stories that interweave mystery, romance, humor, superstition, magic and fantasy — all with a focus on the Amerindians’ closeness to their natural environment, reflected in the roles of forest animals in many of the stories.

For more information on the book, visit www.xlibris.com.

http://www.washdiplomat.com/DP...911news.html#Anchor4

9/9/117:52 AM

TK_REDUX (Guest)

I'd like to buy a copy. Is it on Amazon yet?

9/9/117:55 AM

SunilAdmin

quote:
Originally posted by TK_REDUX:
I'd like to buy a copy. Is it on Amazon yet?

Not yet but you can get it from
http://www2.xlibris.com/bookst...y.aspx?bookid=103202

9/9/118:45 AM

Mr.TI pity the fool

Look to what a great man like Odeen has been reduced to by jagdeo and the PPP. A gifted politician with leadership potentials Ramotar will never achieve, being forced to fill his idle time with writing folklore. How demeaning.

9/9/118:58 AM

SunilAdmin

quote:
Originally posted by Mr.T:
Look to what a great man like Odeen has been reduced to by jagdeo and the PPP. A gifted politician with leadership potentials Ramotar will never achieve, being forced to fill his idle time with writing folklore. How demeaning.

Get a copy. This is a laudable attempt by Odeen as a historian to preserve our folkfore which otherwise may die out.

9/9/119:04 AM

Mr.TI pity the fool

I am sure it will be required reading, but my heart bleeds that such a potential rescuer of Guyanese politics is languishing in the political wilderness.

9/9/119:42 AM