WHAT’S IN A NAME?

A week ago Devina Samaroo reported on a story for the Guyana Times about the horrible treatment meted out to a grieving grandfather whose grandson died during childbirth at the Georgetown Public Hospital. The unsympathetic treatment from staff at our public hospitals is, sadly, expected but what was unexpected was the bit of brightness the story offered amidst all that despair.

The report concerned an Amerindian family from St Cuthbert’s Mission and Ms Samaroo had the presence of mind to report not only the distress of the grandfather Damon Corrie but to include the name of the baby which was a beautiful Arawak name, Wiwa Shimara, which means “shooting star”.

Wiwa Shimara was one of twins and his sister is alive. Her name is also beautifully Arawak. She is called Warakoma which means “morning star”.

On reading the story, I remembered the meetings of cultural groups at the turn of the century in which I participated as part of the Indian Guyanese group, GIHA. One of the exercises in promoting understanding was a presentation of culture, traditions and values from each ethnic group.

After GIHA’s presentation, an Amerindian Elder named Frank (I do not remember his surname) commended us for having retained our names, religions, music, dress, etc., and I suggested to him that giving their children names derived from their Indigenous languages was one way Amerindians can start to reclaim their cultural loss.

(I did also suggest that they take back the lovely word “mashramani” which is being abused and has become synonymous with crudeness and vulgarity. But that’s another story.)

Names are a part of every culture and are of enormous importance both to the people receiving the names and to the societies that give them. Many cultures have naming ceremonies and parents take great care in choosing names for their children because they, in many ways, define us.

They can tell about ethnicity, religion, and culture, and that Arawak babies are being given Arawak names supports the view that there is a growing consciousness among Guyana’s First Peoples about their culture and identity.

Their traditions and heritage are protected by various UN conventions and in a recent letter to the press, Medino Abraham made the case for an education programme designed for Indigenous students that would ensure the preservation of Indigenous languages, culture and heritage.

Guyana’s First Peoples are becoming more proactive about issues such as their identity, education, and their political future as a growing ethnic group. Becoming more educated and mainstream, however, must not come at the price of cultural loss and while eco-tourism ventures could bring much needed jobs and development to hinterland communities, Amerindians would need to ensure that they are treated with dignity and are not ever reduced to being exotica or spectator sport for tourists.

Whereas they are encouraged even by successive local governments to protect and preserve their culture, Indian Guyanese were pressured into assimilation and oneness by the colonial powers and still face the intolerance and indifference that emanates from the African status quo of Caribbean culture.

Caribbean Africans do, however, know the importance of a name and a few have taken African ones, forgoing the “slave” names their families were given by their English masters. Among the better known in Guyana are Eusi Kwayana, Andaiye and Tacuma Ogunseye.

Being the largest minority here makes Indian Guyanese a political threat to the other large minority, Africans, and subject to every form of extinction including cultural extinction. Unlike Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, however, it’s not a case of our Indian names alone being the enemy.

It is not surprising that some Indian Guyanese succumb to the pressure of the assimilation message and have become Christians and taken Christian names in a country where Indian names can be a matter for ridicule at places such as public service offices with their predominantly African Guyanese staff.

News readers could not pronounce “Saraswati Vidya Niketan” when SVN topped the country at the CXC exams recently even though that, like every Indian, Amerindian and African name, is fully Guyanese.

While some parents choose their children’s names for their uniqueness, others, like those in immigrant communities who are anxious to fit in, opt for conformity. Warakoma’s parents have no need to ever conform.

Being among the world’s First Peoples, they set the standard. I hope that Warakoma will always shine as bright as the morning star and will grow up to be a proud Arawak in a homeland that will honour her uniqueness as defined by her name.