by Harry McD. Persaud
Lal Balkaran’s book A Dictionary of The Guyanese Amerindians is an essence of modesty, since the book is very much more than a dictionary, and so much more than Guyanese Amerindians.
As a student and writer about Amerindian life, I find Lal Balkaran’s book an invaluable source of ready reference. This tome now occupies the most prominent place among my lexicon on the subject.
Lal Balkaran succeeded in documenting so many facets of Amerindian life and culture that it not merely represents fantastic research, but also encapsulates in a very succinct way most of what is necessary for a thorough understanding of these, our first peoples.
Serious students and writers alike will find the matter in the book of invaluable help in their research as a ready reference.
The “Time Chart of Amerindian and Related Events” sets out in a most convenient sort of chronological order the arrival of the first inhabitants of the Americas, supposedly across the Bering Strait from Siberia to Alaska, over 18000 (eighteen thousand) years ago BC. Guyana on the other hand was graced with the presence of these people over 9000 (nine thousand) years B.C. Balkaran traced their settlement to the Courentyne River. Burial urns traced the Macushis to the Rio Branco and the llanos of Venezuela. Researchers have surmised that the Macushis and the Wapishanas entered Guyana via Brazil. There is another theory not yet disproved that some inhabitants to the Americas may have crossed the Pacific Ocean and landed in Peru eons ago, perhaps pre-dating the Siberian migration. Thor Hyderdahl, who is the proponent of this theory, has done extensive work in this field.
There are still other theories based on the various food cultures of the various settlements of macro-population centers and of their original development. This is however outside of the present scope.
What Lal Balkaran’s Dictionary of Guyanese Amerindians has done, is to put under a single cover materials that can be used in a number of disciplines and which can ultimately lead not only to a greater understanding of our Amerindian peoples, but also to a better understanding of the Region as a whole.
Once one has lived among the Amerindian Peoples, a deep appreciation of their peaceful, pastoral, non-polluting and non-wasting way of life takes hold. Their attitude to all things animate and inanimate fosters not only the appreciation but also a new primordial understanding which has been lost to the peoples who come out of a more technological and complicated environment. I strongly suspect that this is what has motivated Lal Balkaran and continues to motivate him in this labor of love, so far from the scene of their habitation.
Having once numbed one’s psyche in the metropoles of the world, there is the eternal yearning to be among those who have experienced the speaking of the wind, the whisper of the land or an unknown bird, the dance of the haze of the savanna heat, to visit at least in the spirit, these sublime states of blissful serenity.
A listing of the various Missionaries and Governors that worked in the counties and in the colony is well documented. Their writings give valuable insights of the Amerindian People before such life was adulterated by malign outside influences. This opens up a whole facet for better understanding the Amerindians. The named villages, both present and past, need only to be located so that structured studies can be carried out to validate knowledge that may be lacking or in doubt.
The sections on “Books and Articles, Editorials and Letters to the Editor” are especially valuable since they provide a plethora of ready references to an almost forgotten source, these sources which may be pigeon-holed in the archives of the former colonizing powers and even libraries scattered throughout the world.
The A-Z compendium which defines and explains the terms that are all almost Guyanese. This section, which is the largest, makes great reading. It gives a new insight into the lives, not only of these exotic inhabitants, but also to an entire nation, even extending and straddling the borders of the country. However, it is first and foremost uniquely Guyanese.
One can go on and on interminably praising the immeasurable virtues of Lal Balkaran’s Dictionary of The Guyanese Amerindians, and I vouch that none would be superfluous. However, there is a single but understandable shortcoming for serious researchers. I refer to the omission in the nomenclature of the flora and fauna of their scientific names. This inclusion would have given the book a more international flavor. This however does not delete from the tremendous scope and usefulness of the book.
Indeed, it is a fantastic job well conceived, planned and executed. All commendation to Lal Balkaran to continue with enthusiasm, zeal and dedication in all his future endeavors especially in this field. This book gives a tremendous insight not only to the Amerindians of Guyana, but also to the misunderstood and exploited peoples wherever they may be found.
A Dictionary of the Guyanese Amerindians is well recommended to all researchers, scholars and readers worldwide.
Dictionary Of The Guyanese Amerindians by Lal Balkaran. LBA Publications, Toronto. 2002.
For info:
www.lbapublications.com
lbalkaran@attcanada.net