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52-521: Historically, the group self-identified and still identifies as 'Lokono-Arawak' by the semi fluent speakers in the tribe, or simply as 'Arawak' (by non speakers of the native tongue within the tribe) and strictly as 'Lokono' by tribal members who are still fluent in the language, because in their own language they call themselves 'Lokono' meaning 'many people' (of their particular tribe), with 'Lokobe' meaning 'some people' (of their particular tribe), 'Loko' means 'one person' (of their particular tribe) as well as

104-622: A Shaman included being gifted from early childhood with accurate premonition dreams, visions, the ability to heal by touch and by auto-suggestion etc. The Lokono of Suriname are the only ones who have preserved their ancient clan names in their official surnames, with Karowfodi, Biswana, Jubithana and Sabjo being prominent names. Warrau The Warao are an Indigenous Amerindian people inhabiting northeastern Venezuela , Trinidad and Tobago , Guyana , and Suriname . Alternate common spellings of Warao are Waroa, Guarauno, Guarao, and Warrau. The term Warao translates as "the boat people", after

156-456: A hand-rolled Tobacco leaf cigar would be sacred, a factory-made commercial cigarette would be sacrilege. Tobacco smoke is also used in blessing and purification ceremonies such as in Lokono girls 9 days long and Lokono boys 4-day long puberty rituals, as well as when the followers of traditional Lokono spirituality gather together for ritual occasions, the lit Tobacco cigar would be passed around

208-599: A minority presence in the Surinamese villages of Cupido and Post Utrecht . William Austin (bishop) Lord William Piercy Austin (7 November 1807 – 9 November 1892) was the inaugural and long serving Bishop of Guyana from 1842 until his death. He was the son of William Austin (1759–1817), co-owner of the Land of Plenty plantation in British Guiana , and his wife Mehetabel Piercy; he

260-564: A much longer period. The Spanish were unable to subdue them throughout the 16th century. However, with increased encroachment from other European powers in the early 17th century, the Lokono allied with Spain against the neighboring Kalina (Caribs), who had allied with the English and Dutch. Subsequently, the Lokono engaged in trading relationships with the Europeans, an arrangement that led to prosperity. However, economic and social changes in

312-706: A reasonable fortune from his successful business entrepreneur father) to a ball that was being held in the Colonial Governments 'Assembly Rooms' in Georgetown, in honor of the Prince of Wales visiting Guyana at the time, and it was the Colonial Governor who introduced Marian to HRH the Prince of Wales as 'Princess Marian of the Arawaks' (because her father was the last Hereditary Chief), and HRH

364-409: A spiritual component to it, but only humans have what can best be described as a third immortal conscious energy core or true self, that comes from the spirit world into the physical world, and can choose to temporarily or permanently remain in the spirit world (Ayonbanan) after leaving the physical world, the spirit world is seen as the 'real world' and the true place of origin for all life, or return to

416-528: A traditional Bahi dedicated solely for the purpose of traditional animist spirituality. It exists at Ayonto Hororo at the most southern permanently inhabited family homestead in the 240 square mile autonomous tribal territory, about 5% of the tribe still follows traditional animist spirituality, some in secret, others openly at Ayonto Hororo, due to the fact that it was driven underground by European Christian Missionaries who tried to eradicate traditional Lokono spiritual beliefs. The traditional Lokono animist belief

468-598: A tribe. As of 2021, an estimated 2,500 refugees have settled in Guyana in Warao communities near Mabaruma and Port Kaituma . Whitewater near Maburuma has limited infrastructure, however it does have a recognised local government. About 250 have settled in Anabisi near Port Kaituma which is remote, lacks infrastructure, and has no access to clean water. Anabisi is part of the hunting and fishing grounds of Citrus Grove which

520-420: Is done with instructions from the elder female of the household, handed down by her daughters to their husbands. The other type of canoe is small, seating only three people, and is used for daily travel to and from food sources. The Warao diet is varied with an emphasis on the products of the delta, mostly fish. By 1500 they had acquired basic horticulture ; many of their daily fruits and vegetables come from

572-553: Is felt to be severely threatened. In the summer of 2008, indigenous leaders and researchers from the University of California, Berkeley issued a report detailing the deaths of 38 Warao in the Delta Amacuro state from a mysterious illness. The disease, which causes "partial paralysis , convulsions and an extreme fear of water" is believed to be a form of rabies transmitted by bats . Upon reaching Caracas to inform

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624-462: Is generosity and love for family, clan, and tribe. Historically, The Lokono people practiced animist shamanism, among the core beliefs is that every physical object has a spiritual carbon-copy of it, that is it exists in tangible form as well as simultaneously existing in an exact replica intangible spiritual form. The Shaman/Medicine Man (Semichichi) is not 'God's representative on Earth', the Shaman

676-406: Is no longer usable, a consensus is reached by the leaders of each household on which tree is best. At the start of the dry season, they find the tree and kill it. At the end of the dry season, they return to cut it down. It is then hollowed out and flattened with fire and stone tools traded from the mountains (or local shell tools). Traditionally, the work of making the larger canoes by the young men

728-407: Is that one cannot be trained to become a Shaman/Medicine Man (Semihichi), but a child who exhibits the necessary gifts and qualities of one destined to become a Shaman, can be guided and assisted in his learning by one who already is a Shaman. Women were not recorded as ever having been Shamans in Lokono culture, though knowledge of plant cures was not gender-specific. The gifts a child destined to be

780-591: Is the tribe's go-between from the physical world and the spirit world. The role of the Shaman is to answer questions or seek assistance for other tribal members, not to dictate ideas or opinions to others, each Lokono can communicate directly to the Creator Deity 'Adayahirli' which is often accorded the fatherly prefix 'Awa', as the Earth itself is spoken of in feminine gender. The Moon (Kaachi) and Sun (Hadali) are also spoken of in masculine genders, as they join

832-627: The 19th century, when Western scholars had established that the major indigenous population of the Caribbean during European contact (now known as the [Taíno] were culturally and linguistically related to the South American Lokono-Arawak, ethnologist Daniel Garrison Brinton proposed calling the Caribbean people "Island Arawak". Subsequent scholars shortened this convention to simply "Arawak", thereby causing confusion with

884-416: The Caribbean to refer to the Lokono. About 10% or 1,000 of the 10,000 Lokono alive are fluent in their language, all aged 50 and over, with another 10% of varying ages - but mostly 30–50 in age range being semi fluent, and 80% under 30 years of age being unable to speak their native tongue but only able to speak English, Dutch, French or Spanish - as Lokono is not taught in any school system in any country. In

936-781: The Chiefdom's remnant surviving tribal members on Pakuri have retained the fluency of the language. Princess Marian's second son David Arnold DeWever attempted to retain the former Demerara Chiefdom lands for his clan in the Law Courts of Guyana in the 1960s but was unsuccessful, he was the last member of the Clan in the diaspora to have contact with the rest of the Tribe in Guyana - until 1992, when Princess Marian's great-grandson Damon Corrie (at age 19) married an Eagle Clan Arawak girl on Pakuri Lokono Autonomous Territory called Shirling Simon (who

988-618: The Eagle Clan Lokono of Guyana was born in 1879 in the Upper Demerara River Chiefdom (Toh Isauka), 115 miles south of Mackenzie/ Linden , where her father was the last traditional ruler of in Guyana to evade colonization. She had a normal traditional birth and lived a naked childhood in the Jungle Chiefdom until her 12/13th year (after her traditional 9-day long Puberty ritual), she then became

1040-494: The Earth mother (Onabo-oyo Koyaha) to create life in the physical world (plants cannot grow without being 'fertilized' by sunlight) and women's childbirths tend to cycle with the moon, the tides also are Moon (Kaachi) assisted. Lokono women (Hiaro) are considered to be spiritually superior to Lokono men this is why the certain work or activities in the tribe are considered beneath the dignity of women, such as grave-digging, hunting, and killing other living things, with fish being

1092-596: The Prince of Wales had Marian and her husband seated near to him, later dancing with her twice that night, as was recorded in family oral history. That was how Marian acquired the title 'Princess' that she is still affectionately and respectfully accorded to this day because there are no words for 'Prince' or 'Princess' in the Arawak language, son or daughter of the Hereditary Chief. In 1925, after her husband business in Guyana collapsed and his fortune had been lost,

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1144-605: The Warao's lifelong and intimate connection to the water. Most Warao inhabit Venezuela's Orinoco Delta region, with smaller numbers in neighbouring Guyana , Trinidad and Tobago , and Suriname . With a population of 49,271 people in Venezuela during the 2011 census, they were the second largest indigenous group after the Wayuu people . They speak an agglutinative language, Warao . Warao use canoes as their main form of transportation. Other modes, such as walking, are hampered by

1196-469: The circle of Lokono persons in the circular traditional Bahi (house), as the circle is considered the most sacred shape, and each person would smoke it briefly as it is believed that there will be no lies between those smoking the Tobacco, or the transgressor would incur a personal misfortune for breaking this taboo. Pakuri Village in Guyana (population 1700 Lokono) is the only Lokono community left that has

1248-490: The couple married, they then moved to Georgetown in 1900 - where they lived on Robb Street in the building that is now the 'Guiding Light Hotel', as upper-class socialites in the colonial business community. The title of 'Princess' was given to Marian in 1921 by the British Governor of Guiana Sir Wilfred Collet when she was invited with her husband (who then had inherited the ownership of The Argosy newspaper and

1300-469: The couple with their 6 surviving children - Vidi Arnold DeWever, David Arnold DeWever, Ruth Della DeWever (who married James Serrao in Barbados), Martha Isabella DeWever (who married William Keith Chandler in Barbados), Hannah Mariah DeWever (who married George Cecil Corbin in Barbados), and Joshua DeWever - all emigrated to Barbados Island in the Caribbean. Marian died of a ruptured appendix in 1928, and she

1352-409: The difficulty of choosing to stay with the Warao traditions and life or to leave to gain an education among the "Creoles". The film includes a detailed look at Warao culture and life along the river. Tourism has come to the Warao which brings relative wealth for some. Several individuals have set up rough and ready tourist accommodation in their own homes. They offer canoe trips (hand and power) to see

1404-516: The domesticated and cultivated Palm orchards of the delta. In July and August, Warao feast on crabs when they come to the delta from the beach. Hunting is generally avoided due to cultural taboos. They occasionally also eat grubs found in the moriche palm tree. Pith of the palm was also eaten, but contemporary consumption is more likely to have it added as an additional ingredient for cassava bread. The Warao are, according to their own reports, descended from an adventurous heavenly figure —

1456-532: The first inhabitants of Guyana, predating the arrival of Arawak and Caribs. The Warao of eastern Venezuela's Orinoco first had contact with Europeans when, soon after Christopher Columbus reached the Orinoco river delta, Alonso de Ojeda decided to navigate the river upstream. There, in the delta, Ojeda saw the distinctively stilted Warao huts, balanced over the water. Similar architecture in Sinamaica far to

1508-595: The first member of the Eagle Clan Arawak ruling family nobility to become Christianised - and she was given the new English name 'Marian Lucky' by the Anglican Bishop William Austin in 1892 (though she kept her traditional animist spirituality and practiced it in secret, praying with sacred Tobacco for her children's protection - as was observed years later by her youngest daughter Hannah who described it). Marian's father's Chiefdom

1560-515: The government of the outbreak and request assistance, the leaders and researchers were "met with disrespect on every level, as if the deaths of indigenous people are not even worth anything." The Crisis in Venezuela in the early 21st century has resulted into a migration of Warao into neighbouring countries. The refugees in Boa Vista , Brazil are not recognised by the Brazilian government as

1612-493: The hole in the floor made by the bird and looked through. He saw lush and fertile land (Earth) and resolved to descend to it to partake of its pleasures: beauty, abundant game, fruit, et cetera. The hunter took a long rope of heavenly cotton, tied it to a tree, and threw it through the hole and lowered himself through the clouds to what is now Earth, forsaking his sky world. The Warao have shamans, who perform music such as rain dances and songs. The Warao have been considered to be

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1664-499: The hundreds of streams, rivulets, marshes, and high waters by the Orinoco River. Warao babies, toddlers, and small children are famed for their ability to hold tight to their mothers' necks, as well as to paddle. They often learn to swim before they learn to walk. The Warao use two types of canoes. Bongos , which carry up to 5 people, are built in an arduous process that starts with the search for large trees. When an old bongo

1716-548: The mainland people. In the 20th century, scholars such as Irving Rouse began using the older term Taíno for the Caribbean peoples to distinguish them from mainlanders. The mainland Arawak call themselves "Lokono" (also spelled "Locono" and "Lokomo"); this has become more common in scholarly literature since the late 20th century. The Arawakan languages may have developed in the Orinoco River Valley, and subsequently spread widely as speakers migrated, becoming

1768-532: The name of the language they speak...so one would say 'Da Jiabo Loko' to mean 'I speak the language' (of our tribe), the term 'Arawak' does not exist as a word anywhere in the Lokono language, and instead was given to them by the Warrau tribe of the Orinoco delta who had more frequent contact with the Spaniards of Trinidad since the early 1500s, and the name 'Arawak' was subsequently adopted by all other Europeans in

1820-471: The physical world in a new and different human body, at a different time, to temporarily inhabit it and dwell among the living once again. The use of Tobacco (Yuri) was central to this ancient belief system, however, Tobacco being a sacred plant was never traditionally smoked for recreational purposes, but only during prayers for the physical or spiritual healing of others. It is also taboo to mix Tobacco with any other substance to smoke while praying. So whereas

1872-430: The primordial hunter. This man originally dwelt in a sky world which had men, but was completely devoid of all animals except birds. Hunting these heavenly birds, the founding man used his bow and arrow to strike a bird in mid-air. The bird fell from the sky and eventually hit the heavenly floor. The birds burst through the floor and proceeded through the clouds and towards terrestrial land ( Earth ) below. The hunter went to

1924-617: The region in the early 19th century, including the end of the plantation economy, adversely affected the Lokono, and their population began to decline. In the 20th century, the Lokono began to supplement their traditional agricultural economy by selling fish and lumber and through migrant labor, and their population has begun to rise again. There are approximately 10,000 Lokono living in Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, as well as thousands of others with Lokono ancestry. There are 100 Lokono in Barbados, these are all descendants of

1976-455: The region's most extensive language family by the time of European contact . The group that identified as the Arawak or Lokono settled the coastal and river valley areas of what is now Guyana , Suriname , French Guiana , Barbados and parts of the island of Trinidad . While the Spanish rapidly colonized the Caribbean islands, the Lokono and other mainland peoples resisted colonization for

2028-536: The same family that can all trace back to the last surviving daughter of one of Guyana's last Lokono Hereditary Chiefs, Amorotahe Haubariria ('Flying Harpy Eagle'), her Lokono name as a girl was Shoko Laliwa (Little Yellow Butterfly) - later given the Christian name Marian Lucky (and later was called Princess Marian by an English Governor in colonial Georgetown Guyana), she emigrated to Barbados from Guyana in 1925 with her Dutch husband and 6 children. Princess Marian of

2080-426: The sole exception, Lokono women and men can kill fish, but only the men can hunt and kill other animals, both genders can gather fruit and crops, though certain crops only women are supposed to plant the seeds, and only men may dig the holes in the ground that the women will then plant in. There are strict gender roles in traditional Lokono society. The belief is that everything in the physical world can be said to have

2132-663: The surname 'Simon' by Bishop Austin, left the Upper Demerara River Chiefdom in its last years of decline after ravages by various epidemics, and they became the 2nd founding family to create a new Lokono village called Pakuri ( St. Cuthbert's Mission ), on the Mahaica River , Charles Bernard and his wife from Moraikobai village on the Mahaicony River was the first person to start Pakuri Village in 1882. The 3rd Founding Lokono family of Pakuri

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2184-423: The west had been likened to Venice , with its famous canals below and buildings above; this new encounter propagated the name of Venezuela ("little Venice") for the whole land. The inaccessibility of the Warao's lands makes access to health care difficult. Tuberculosis is common. The Orinoco delta has minimal infrastructure, no sanitation, and limited education resulting in a high degree of illiteracy. HIV

2236-562: The wild life of the delta, also a chance to experience their traditional life and culture. These visits can be arranged in the state capital town of Tucupita through one of many travel agents. The majority of Warao live in the Orinoco Delta in Venezuela. There are approximately 364 villages in the delta. The main town is Curiapo . About 5,000 live in the border area of Guyana . The main villages are Assakata , Kamwatta Hill , Koriabo , and Whitewater . The Warao have

2288-682: Was "the youngest and handsomest of my Bishops." In 1884, Austin was appointed Primate of the West Indies and in 1891, Prelate of the Order of St Michael and St George . In 1884, Austin founded the Anglican Grammar School for Boys , which was intended to educate the elite. The school was later renamed Queen's College, and has provided education for four presidents and three prime ministers, among others. The Austin House ,

2340-898: Was 17) - herself a descendant of the Simon brothers from the old Eagle Clan Upper Demerara River Chiefdom and four of the couples children (Hatuey, Aderi, Tecumseh and Laliwa), were born on the Tribal land of Pakuri Village in Guyana. As of 2019 the Eagle clan Lokono diaspora descendants of their last Hereditary Chief number 100 in Barbados, 100 in the UK, 80 in Cuba, 10 in the US, and 10 in Canada, with an estimated 1700 on Pakuri Lokono Territory in Guyana - where almost every tribal member alive today has some direct ancestor who

2392-460: Was a Simon (and therefore a descendant of one of those 3 founding Simon brothers from the old Chiefdom). Traditional Lokono practice an animist spirituality, which is different from other religions, as one can join or leave, but one is born with a natural spirituality, an inherent knowledge of what are positive actions that should be done, and what are negative actions that should not be done. The greatest virtue taught to every traditional Lokono child

2444-482: Was born in Stone, Staffordshire . He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford in 1825, graduating B.A. 1829, and M.A. 1835. Ordained in 1831, Austin was in rapid succession curate , vicar and Rural Dean of Georgetown , then Archdeacon and Bishop. He was consecrated a bishop at Westminster Abbey on 24 August 1842, to serve as first Bishop of British Guiana . In the words of the youthful Queen Victoria , he

2496-585: Was buried in Westbury Cemetery in Bridgetown , where her grave is the only known burial place of a Lokono royal in the Caribbean, and her tombstone is the only one in existence worldwide that is written both in English and the language of the Lokono people. Marian was the last fluent speaker of the Lokono language in the ruling family of the Eagle Clan, however the middle-aged and older rest of

2548-477: Was first detected in 2007 in the Warao communities of the lower Orinoco Delta region of Venezuela. In some communities already 35% test positive for the HIV virus . With Venezuela's failing health care system, there is an absence of prevention programs; this, together, with severe language barriers — many Warao are illiterate and do not speak fluent Spanish — have allowed ignorance about the disease to flourish. The culture

2600-406: Was one of only 2 Palisaded Lokono villages ever found in Guyana, from present-day Muritaro village to Malali Village, thence to Great Falls village, thus prompting Marian to tell her children "Guyana became bigger when the English took over our land". Three Eagle Clan Lokono brothers from the general Chiefdom's Lokono population (including Henry Simon and his wife), and who were Christianized and given

2652-509: Was originally home to Warao and Kalina people , however manganese was discovered in the 1950s, and is not an Amerindian village, because of a mixed population. In April 2017, The Museum of Modern Art in New York presented a film by Cuban-Venezuelan director Mario Crespo with a cast of nonprofessional actors. The film, titled Dauna. Lo que lleva el río ( Gone with the River ), presents

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2704-560: Was that of Richard Dundas and his wife who also came from Moraikobai. Marian met a young creole Dutch businessman called Vivian Arnold DeWever in 1899, when he worked as an apprentice trader transporting commercial goods from the Sprawstons company in Mackenzie British Guiana, to her father's Chiefdom to exchange for gold and diamonds that were found in the tribal lands. Vivian fell in love with her at first sight and

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