followyourbliss
Mon Sep 01 2008, 6:27am
Since my parents were Guyanese, I am expected to be Guyanese. I am, but not by birth.
It seemed a mere coincidence that I was born (7 months) in Suriname while they were on vacation. Of course I never lived there but visited occasionally during my childhood years.
I have had a connection with the people and the land. For me, my experience has always been that the people are happy, and loving towards each other (regardless of race/religion). My only physical experience was seeing people move around in town,(since I was only allowed to go wherever my parents went - and that was to the market and to the place where we stayed) but it was something I felt and knew in my heart.
Of course, all of my family and friends were Guyanese (until i got the internet :dance: ) and I don't know any other language other than English. Everybody thought I was living a fairytale when I talk of Suriname people as it was not there experience. I gave up talking as I realise that I could never understand the racial/religious barriers that pop up whenever Guyana has elections.
So I was taken (by my boyfriend and close friends) to one of the Carifesta events last Saturday and to my surprise it was a Surinamese dance drama. So all the way there they were telling me I got to introduce them to "my people". Poor me, didn't know squat about the culture in terms of seeing a performance and didn't know the languages.
The members of the dance drama were in their costumes, at the entrance greeting all the guests (at that time it was an Amerindian song and greeting) !
On stage they did one play that included prayers in the native languages of the Amerindians, Indians, Chinese, Javanese, Africans (they had 2 types) and one integrated drama that included scenes from everyone's culture. Of course, no one left the stage, they other dancers did dance moves and sang (chorus) at the side lines for whomsoever cultural item was being acted out and all greeted and hugged each other when going into another scene with some one else's culture.
My friend looked at me and said "I know know why you are so complicated, listening to (and loving) everybody's music and you're always open to every body's culture".
:joylick:
We really do choose our birthplace!
:clap: rofl :clap:
It seemed a mere coincidence that I was born (7 months) in Suriname while they were on vacation. Of course I never lived there but visited occasionally during my childhood years.
I have had a connection with the people and the land. For me, my experience has always been that the people are happy, and loving towards each other (regardless of race/religion). My only physical experience was seeing people move around in town,(since I was only allowed to go wherever my parents went - and that was to the market and to the place where we stayed) but it was something I felt and knew in my heart.
Of course, all of my family and friends were Guyanese (until i got the internet :dance: ) and I don't know any other language other than English. Everybody thought I was living a fairytale when I talk of Suriname people as it was not there experience. I gave up talking as I realise that I could never understand the racial/religious barriers that pop up whenever Guyana has elections.
So I was taken (by my boyfriend and close friends) to one of the Carifesta events last Saturday and to my surprise it was a Surinamese dance drama. So all the way there they were telling me I got to introduce them to "my people". Poor me, didn't know squat about the culture in terms of seeing a performance and didn't know the languages.
The members of the dance drama were in their costumes, at the entrance greeting all the guests (at that time it was an Amerindian song and greeting) !
On stage they did one play that included prayers in the native languages of the Amerindians, Indians, Chinese, Javanese, Africans (they had 2 types) and one integrated drama that included scenes from everyone's culture. Of course, no one left the stage, they other dancers did dance moves and sang (chorus) at the side lines for whomsoever cultural item was being acted out and all greeted and hugged each other when going into another scene with some one else's culture.
My friend looked at me and said "I know know why you are so complicated, listening to (and loving) everybody's music and you're always open to every body's culture".
:joylick:
We really do choose our birthplace!
:clap: rofl :clap: