Grade Six Social Studies
Hello Boys and Girls,
Do you love learning about our Interior Savannahs?
Great! So let’s continue finding out more about this natural region.
The people of the villages are known for their culinary skills (preparing and cooking food). When they slaughter animals, they also cut up and smoke the meat so that it would last a long time without spoiling. Whenever they have excess meat, this is done and they store the excess.
Cassava bread made from the root of the cassava plant is often used with dried or smoked fish or meat, which is sometimes boiled in cassareep, another product from the cassava root, to make pepperpot. The juice from grated cassava, when boiled for some time until it becomes dark brown then treated with spices and pepper, is called cassareep.
There are other uses of cassava. After it is grated, the juice is squeezed out and left to settle. The sediment becomes a hard substance which is put to dry. It is called starch. Starch is used in industry to thicken things or to make cloth stiffer, especially cotton and linen. The juice from the cassava can also be used to make drinks, such as cassiri and piwari.
Travelling around in the Interior savannahs
The inhabitants of this region travel long distances on foot over rough terrain. They carry heavy loads in warishis made of straw, with straps which make them easy to wear on the forehead and shoulders. They carry their very young children in this way too. They use dug-out canoes made from the trunk of trees to travel by water. Other means of travelling around are on horseback or by the use of carts pulled by bullocks, bicycles and 4x4 vehicles. With the improvement of the road that links the Rupununi with Linden more vehicles of all types are able to traverse the roadway – buses, 4x4s, and heavy-duty trucks. These vehicles provide Amerindian communities with a vital link to Georgetown and Brazil. People can travel from Georgetown on the coastlands to Lethem in the Interior Savannahs by land or by air.
The Takutu River Bridge across the Takutu River links Bonfim in Brazil to Lethem in Guyana, which is linked to Georgetown by the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. These links have brought about an increase of trade between the two countries, Guyana and Brazil, and also a heavy and steady flow of people from both countries crossing the border regularly to do business. They buy, sell or barter goods, such as footwear, clothing, foodstuff, bicycles and household appliances.
Resources of the Interior Savannahs
● Livestock: Cattle rearing – most of the cattle are reared for beef, while some are kept for milk. Much of the beef is sold to Brazil, which is nearby and some is sent to Georgetown by air.
● Timber: The forest covered Kanuku and other mountains in the area contain many rare and valuable species of redwood, purple heart and other woods, which are used in the construction of houses and furniture.
● Gum: The etay (ité) palm produces a type of gum suitable for varnishes. ● Balata: This substance is collected from the bulletwood trees in the mountains. ● Medicinal plants and fruits
● Materials from forest trees such as mucru, tibisiri, nibbi, straw from palm trees and beads: These are used to make beautiful craftwork – hammocks, furniture, bags, mats, sifters, warishis, matapi, necklaces and other articles.
● Dye: This is made from the bark and fruits of some trees.
● Agricultural resources: Crops of corn and tobacco are grown in the foothills and in the corrals (a space surrounded by a fence where cattle are kept). Other crops grown are cassava, beans, ground provisions, rice, peanuts and some vegetables and fruits.
● Diamonds: Mining for diamonds in the Ireng River
● Eco-tourism: This caters for tourists who wish to have the experience of the natural environment of the flora (plants) and fauna (animals) in the area without damaging or disturbing it and observe wildlife. Several villages and ranches are now engaged in eco-tourism, such as Surama, Annai, Rewa Dadanawa and Karanambu.
Important places and places of interest in the Interior Savannahs
● Lethem – the town, administrative centre and main airstrip for the region
● The Takutu River Bridge across the Takutu River connecting Lethem in Guyana to Bonfim in Brazil
● The Kanuku Mountain Range ● Eco- lodges like Surama and Rewa
Surama Eco-lodge
● The Savannahs themselves with the forested mountains, flat rolling grasslands in the distance, a few trees and shrubs here and there, the blue sky and the brilliant sunset are said to be a spectacular sight to behold.
● Aishalton, the main population centre of the South Savannahs, is one of the more developed Amerindian villages in the area. This village is accessible by road and air.
● Dadanawa Cattle Ranch: This ranch was considered to be the world’s largest open ranches. Today, an eco-tourism business is being run from the ranch for visitors from around the world who would like to come to Guyana to bird watch or go on river trips in the savannahs and rainforest and take photographs of the huge mansized ants’ nests and balata-bleeding.