THE UNDISCOVERED
SOUTH RUPUNUNI
Experience
Article & Photos by Gregory Sukull
Born and bred in Georgetown , I would be considered a bonafide city boy . All I knew at seventeen years old were the intricate wooden colonial architecture of Georgetown , the commercial hustle and bustle of the City and the urban web of asphalt roads . This perspective of Guyana changed when I first ventured to the Rupununi Savannahs as an eighteen-year-old young man .
As a young boy and teenager , I visited the creeks on the Linden / Soesdyke Highway , and travelled the numerous trails to get to our many Sunday outing destinations with family and friends . None of that prepared me for the profound peace of mind , that mental calm and absolute joy that I felt when the Rupununi Savannahs burst open as I passed the Surama Village entrance . My first nirvana experience !
Travelers , historians , and scientists have all been fascinated by Rupununi ’ s remarkable natural environment for years . Many have explored the land through the decades for the fabled El Dorado from the Conquista era !
Harry Everard Turner ’ s book , “ The Rupununi Development Company , An Early History ,” detailed the long trip from Georgetown to Rupununi that took twenty-seven days in 1920 . He explained that a traveller would take the steamer from Georgetown to Wismar , then travel through the trail to Rockstone . Once at Rockstone , the traveller paddles all the way up the
Crossing the Rupununi on the way to Aishalton
Essequibo River to Kurupukari where they then travelled by horses to take them at last to the vast savannahs of the Rupununi . Fast forward one hundred years and that trip takes a mere ten to twelve hours along paved roads and wide dusty trails .
In this article , I will attempt , as a frequent traveller to the Rupununi , to share my personal experiences at and insights of the little known South Rupununi .
WaWiiziWa ’ idowauNi ’ o : Owning Their Territory
The South Rupununi is considered the South once you venture past the world famous Kanuku Mountains . The geographic area is comprised
of twenty-one villages and has a population of approximatey nine thousand indigenous people belonging to the Wapichan , Macushi and Wai Wai nations .
The villages of the South are Parikwarinau , Baitoon , Shiriri , Katu ’ ur , Potarinau , Quiko , Shulinab , Meriwau , Sand Creek , Rupunau , Katoonarib , Sawariau , Shea , Maruranau , Awarewaunau , Churikidnao , Aishalton , Karaudarnau , Achiwib , Bashaizon and Parabara which are all located across the Wapichan Territory . For generations , the southern part of Rupununi has been referred to as Wapichan Wiizi and the southerners are proud of their Wapichian heritage . Even though the South Rupununi
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