Literature on the Amerindians of Guyana, Part One
- By Petamber Persaud
September, in Guyana, is dedicated Amerindian Heritage Month. After the pomp and the ceremonies, here is a short list of publications on Amerindian issues to supplement the experience of the month-long activities.
A Selective Reading List on Guyanese Amerindians by Janet Forte, University of Guyana: Turkeyen 1995.
About Guyana’s Amerindians by Janet Forte, University of Guyana: Turkeyen 1996.
Iwokrami pantone: Stories about Iwokrama edited by Janet Forte, North Rupununi District Development Board, 2001
A Brief Introduction to Some Aspects of the Language and Culture of the Guyana Arawak edited by Walter Edwards, University of Guyana: Turkeyen 1980
Folk Tales and Legends of Some Guyana Amerindians edited by Walter Edwards and H. R. Hubbard, University of Guyana: Turkeyen 1980.
Encyclopaedia of the Guyanese Amerindians by Lall Balkaran, LBA Publications: Toronto, 2007
Amerindians Legends of Guyana by Odeen Ishmael, Artex Publishing: Sheboygan, 1995.
Amerindian Stories. Told in Makushi and English by Laureen Pierre and Adrian Gomes, CBR Program and Red Thread Women’s Press, 1994.
Amerindian Stories. Told in Wapishana and English by Laureen Pierre and Adrian Gomes, CBR Program and Red Thread Women’s Press, 1994.
Uncle Basil: An Arawak Biography by Justin Greene-Roesel.
Dark Shamans: Kanaima and the Poetics of Violent Death by Neil Whitehead, Duke University Press, Durham, 2002.
Folk Literature of the Warrao Indians by J. Wilbert, University of California, Los Angeles, 1970.
Indians Tribes of Guiana: Legends and Myths of the Aboriginal Peoples of British Guiana by William Brett, Bell and Daddy, London, 1868.
Indian Notices by William Hilhouse, 1825
An Inquiry into the Animism and Folklore of the Guiana Indians by Walter Roth, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, 1915.
Among the Indians of Guiana by Everard Im Thurn, Kegan Paul, trench & Co. London, 1883.
Sketches of Amerindian Tribes 1841-43: With an Introduction by Mary Noel Menezes. Edward Goodall, British Museum Publications: London, 1977.
It was a pleasant surprise to discover there were tonnes and tonnes of literature on the Amerindian, all for our elucidation.
Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@ yahoo.com
What’s Happening
· The first eleven titles of the Guyana Classics Library are now available to the public. Please contact me for more information.
· The Guyana Annual magazine 2010-2011 issue is under production; submissions of poetry, short story, articles welcomed.
· Final day (today) of the conference of The Arts and the Environment at the Cara Lodge.
