Wowetta is an

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

village in the

Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Upper Takutu-Upper Esequibo (Region 9) is a region of Guyana. Venezuela claims the territory as part of Bolívar (state) in Esequiban Guyana. It borders the region of Potaro-Siparuni to the north, the region of East Berbice-Corentyne to the ea ...

Region in Guyana. The village is mainly inhabited by

Macushi people The Macushi ( pt, Macuxi) are an indigenous people living in the borderlands of southern Guyana, northern Brazil in the state of Roraima, and in an eastern part of Venezuela. Identification The Macushi are also known as the Macusi, Macussi, Ma ...

. The village had a population of 332 inhabitants according to the 2012 census. The village got its meaning as "get soft" that dates back to historic time. The people depend on

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

and use of natural resources to sustain their livelihood. The men predominantly go hunting, fishing, and gather non-timber forest products for their families on a seasonal basis.

Geography

Wowetta is surrounded by the

Pakaraima Mountains The Pacaraima or Pakaraima Mountains ( pt, Serra de Pacaraima, es, Sierra de Pacaraima) are a mountain range primarily in southwestern Guyana, and into northern Brazil and eastern Venezuela. Geography The range extends from west to east for over ...

and Makarapan Mountain to the east, range of the

Kanuku Mountains The Kanuku Mountains are a group of mountains in Guyana, located in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region. The name means 'forest' in the Wapishana language, a reference to the rich diversity of wildlife found there. The Eastern Kanuku Mountain ...

that divides the

Rupununi savannah The Rupununi savannah is a savanna plain in Guyana, in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region. It is part of the Guianan savanna ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. Description The Rupununi Sava ...

in half, creating the North Rupununi Savannah that is predominantly occupied by the

, and the South Rupununi Savannah that is occupied by the

Wapishana people The Wapishana or Wapichan (or Wapisiana, Wapitxana, Vapidiana, Wapixana) are an indigenous group found in the Roraima area of northern Brazil and southern Guyana. Location Currently the Wapishana are located in the State of Roraima, Brazil, nor ...

and the

Wai-wai people The Wai-wai (also written Waiwai or Wai Wai) are a Carib-speaking Indigenous people of Guyana and northern Brazil. Their society consists of different lowland forest peoples who have maintained much of their cultural identity with the exception of ...

. The village is surrounded by pristine tropical rainforest and is one of the villages that border the Iwokrama International Rainforest Protected area. The people of the North Rupununi have all rights to continue their traditional rights, such as hunting as well as gathering non-timber forest Products in the Protected area. There is a signed Community Management Agreement (CMA) between Iwokrama and a standing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be signed with the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB). Additionally, the village benefits from a 15% paid to the NRDDB as forest users’ fee that is used for the further development of the various villages that surround that area. As such Wowetta is a member of the North Rupununi District Development Board that is bisected by the Georgetown to Lethem highway.

Population

The people speak predominantly

Macushi language Macushi is an indigenous language of the Carib family spoken in Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela. It is also referred to as ''Makushi'', ''Makusi'', ''Macuxi'', ''Macusi,'' ''Macussi,'' ''Teweya'' or ''Teueia''. It is the most populous of the Cariba ...

as their first language, and English as their second language. Their main staple foods are

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

bread,

farine Flour is a Powder (substance), powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, ...

and pepper pot. The men are skilled craftsmen who produce crafts that the women use to process the various by-product of the cassava. The men also practice traditional hunting, using bows and arrows, and traditional traps. The fish using line and hook, traps, and poisoning of small waterways. The homes are made of adobe wall and

thatched roof Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

s from the kokarite palm. Women engage in cotton weaving, making slings and hammocks. 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. 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 Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Additionally, some of the villagers practice small scale

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

to support their families.

Politics

Wowetta is located in the

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 The Macushi ( pt, Macuxi) are an indigenous people living in the borderlands of southern Guyana, northern Brazil in the state of Roraima, and in an eastern part of Venezuela. Identification The Macushi are also known as the Macusi, Macussi, ...

name is ''aweta nî pî'' which means "get soft", but the non-

corrupted the name to Wowetta. 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. After that, other Payako came from the south Pakaraima to settle in this place. They traded

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...

s, beads and earthen pots with the Arekuna who came from far off Roraima, receiving in exchange files, cutlasses and cloth. The Caribs came to hear of this trade and waged war on the

Payako. Out of envy, the Caribs killed all the men and took away the women. The few survivors had to flee, leaving the Caribs in possession of these lands. The Payako sought help from the Arekuna of Roraima, returning to battle the Caribs. The Caribs had firearms but the Arekuna and

used their clubs, ''taike''. There was one pitched battle at Karanambo, others elsewhere. The other enemies of the

were the Brazilians who also captured

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

. 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

eco-tourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

, agricultural processing and activities.

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 (''

Rupicola rupicola The Guianan cock-of-the-rock (''Rupicola rupicola'') is a species of cotinga, a passerine bird from South America. It is about in length and weighs about . It is found in tropical rainforests, near its preferred habitat of rocky outcrops. The f ...

''). When visitors visit the site they observe the mating rituals of the male and female birds.

Agro-processing

Cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

has been cultivated by the

s and

Wapishana The Wapishana or Wapichan (or Wapisiana, Wapitxana, Vapidiana, Wapixana) are an indigenous group found in the Roraima area of northern Brazil and southern Guyana. Location Currently the Wapishana are located in the State of Roraima, Brazil, n ...

for centuries. They produce their staple food by processing the cassava into end products of Cassava bread, farine,

cassareep Cassareep is a thick black liquid made from cassava root, often with additional spices, which is used as a base for many sauces and especially in Guyanese pepperpot. Besides use as a flavoring and browning agent, it is commonly regarded as a food p ...

and

tapioca Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, but whose use is now spread throughout South America ...

. 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. In 2018, a factory was opened for milling farine.

References

{{Settlements in Guyana Populated places in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Indigenous villages in Guyana