Wowetta
Wowetta | |
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Village | |
UTC-4 (GYT (Guyana Time)) |
Wowetta is an
The village had a population of 332 inhabitants according to the 2012 census.
Geography
Wowetta is surrounded by the
Population
The people speak predominantly
The people rely heavily on their agricultural products as well as their handicrafts to earn their income. The average household income that a household earns per month is about $5,000 (25 USD) per month.[3] The village has a number of projects that contribute to income generation, some of which are ecotourism, farine production, a village shop, vegetable garden, and a youth joinery project. These earn a small percentage of income generated from revenues paid for the use of resources, such as non-timber forest products and timber. These projects employ about 10% of the residents and the remainder go out into the gold mines, and often seasonally migrate to Brazil. Additionally, some of the villagers practice small scale forestry to support their families.
Politics
Wowetta is located in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region 9, approximately 450 km South of the capital city, Georgetown. It is a satellite village to Annai, and is governed by a Village Council along with four other villages, Surama, Kwatamang, Rupertee, and Annai. These five villages hold one land title with a population of 1,500 people (2006 census) with a total land area of 188,000 km², and falls under the administration of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Georgetown, and the Regional Democratic Council.
The Village Council of Wowetta ensures that the people are adequately represented based on issues affecting individuals. The village Council is mandated to manage natural resources on communal land and to develop rules and regulations that control the use by outsiders. The village council holds its statutory meetings on a quarterly basis. At these meetings persons are given the opportunity to raise issues, as well as an update of the village operation. The issues of individual are noted and taken on board at various levels. The village council consists of seven Councillors, headed by a Toshao (Chief), and has a three term in office before they are replaced or re-elected.
Additionally, the development of the Linden-Lethem road link will contribute to positive and negative development for the people, hence there is need to resolve the problem in order to prepare the people for the imminent changes that will emerge with the various developments.
History
Wowetta is located about 7 miles to the northeast of Annai. The local Macushi name is aweta nî pî which means "get soft", but the non-Macushi corrupted the name to Wowetta.[1] The first people to settle here were the Payako. Almost all were all wiped out by a terrible sickness – fever, vomiting and diarrhoea – which led to the severe dehydration and death in the early 1960s. The survivors moved away to the riverain locations like Makapa, Crash Water and Rewa. From that time the place was named Aweta, since the sickness made the people's flesh ‘get soft’, putrid.[4]
After that, other Payako came from the south
The Caribs had firearms but the Arekuna and Macushi used their clubs, taike. There was one pitched battle at Karanambo, others elsewhere. The other enemies of the Macushi were the Brazilians who also captured Macushi women and took them away.
As a result of their alliances to fight the Caribs, the resulting people of the Annai area are a mixture of Arekuna and Payako Macushi. Their tactics involved setting the Caribs camps alight during the night. Over time they succeeded in chasing the Caribs north of the coast where they can be found to this day.
Economy
Wowetta has a number of economic activities that assist the village generate income, such as
Tourism
Eco-tourism helps to promote the conservation of natural resources as well as help to gather information on the existence of other natural resources that can be managed by the community. Wowetta has a unique by-product that is a tourist attraction, the Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock (
Agro-processing
Cassava has been cultivated by the Macushis and Wapishana for centuries. They produce their staple food by processing the cassava into end products of Cassava bread, farine, cassareep and tapioca. This is their main meal, with fish or meat.
The women's group of Wowetta has started to process cassava into large quantities that is supplied to the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs as part of its relief program to help the problem of flood affected villages. The processing takes the effort of a number of women who are engaged in processing, such as the initial harvesting to the final stage. This project is supported by a mill that makes it somewhat less labor-intensive. The processing requires harvesting the cassava, and soaking the cassava for four days, while the women return to their farm to harvest fresh bitter cassava. When it is transported to the processing site, the women scrape the skin outside of the cassava. The peeled cassava is then washed and placed into the cassava mill.[5] In 2018, a factory was opened for milling farine.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Wowetta". Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ a b "2012 Population by Village". Statistics Guyana. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ Xavier,B.: "Community Participation in the Management of the Cock-of-the-Rock as an eco-torusim initiative", p. 14. University of Guyana (2007)
- ^ Makusipe Komanto Iseru (1999). Forte, J. (ed.). Sustaining Macushi way of life. Annai, Guyana: North Rupununi District Development Board.
- ^ "Wowetta women commission farine factory". Ministry of Agriculture. 2018-10-29. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
- ^ "Wowetta women unveil farine factory". Stabroek News. 2018-10-29. Retrieved 2020-12-24.