| By Sharmain Cornette Created with the aim of keeping the legacy of Guyana’s first people alive, the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology contains a wealth of historic information and artefacts about the Amerindian people.Situated conveniently at 61 Main Street, North Cummingsburg, Georgetown, the Museum doors are opened on a weekly basis to members of the public at absolutely no cost.The primary aim of the facility’s existence is to ensure that persons are able to gain firsthand and accurate information about the Amerindian tribes of Guyana, according to its Administrative Manager, Jennifer Wishart.Wishart, with the assistance of about six staffers, has been ensuring that the anthropology museum operates optimally.The possibility of creating such a museum was crystallised some time back in the 1880s when the first curator of the National Museum, Sir Everard im Thurn, delved into the field of archaeology and ethnography.“He was interested in these things because around that time the science of anthropology developed, so lots of people were looking for these ancients things…and we still have some of his tools here,” Wishart related.Sir Everard im Thurn was an author, explorer, botanist, photographer and Governor of Fiji. He was educated at prestigious universities in Oxford, Edinburgh and Sydney.And it was after his education that he travelled to British Guiana, now Guyana, following its independence from Great Britain and became the curator of the National Museum which was then called the British Guiana Museum from 1877 to 1882. He later became a Stipendiary Magistrate in the Pomeroon.According to Wishart, Sir Everard im Thurn was the first in a line of curators who were not necessarily anthropologists but who were simply curious about ancient materials and collected them.Following Sir Everard im Thurn’s stint at the National Museum,cheap jerseys nfl wholesale, curators the likes of J.J. Quelch, Dr Walter Roth, after whom the Walter Roth Museum is named, his son Vincent Roth and Denis Williams came to the fore. Williams, the only Guyanese of the pioneers, was in fact the one who founded the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology.“When we started this museum, through Denis Williams, the anthropological collections from the National Museum were transferred here in 1918. The largest collection is that of Dr Walter Roth so that is why the museum was named after him,” Wishart disclosed.According to her, Dr Roth’s involvement was very notable as he was a medical doctor as well as magistrate but yet was very interested in finding out about the Amerindians he encountered.In 1906 he was made protector of the Indians in the Pomeroon district of British Guiana but it was not until 1928, after retiring from Government service that he became curator of the national museum.“He was so interested in the Amerindian people that he started to write articles and books. We have one of his books on display, his masterpiece, that anyone who is doing anthropology in Guyana has to refer to. (It) was published in 1924 – An Introductory Study of the Arts, Crafts and Customs of the Guyana Indians.“That is one volume; he did two…the second one he did among the Wai Wai…and that was additional studies,” Wishart recounted.She said that Dr Roth was also artistic, a feature that was much appreciated as there was little photography in those days. Dr Roth’s son, Vincent, followed closely in his father’s footstep, Wishart added.Today the items displayed within the museum are not only considered a tourist attraction but a source of needful information for students at all levels of academia as well as teachers and general members of the public.In fact the facility has been working in close collaboration with the Tourism Department of the University of Guyana.“They have used here as a teaching centre for final year students in Tourism. They (students) had to develop a project and act as the curators of the museum and take people around with their lecturers and they were graded as part of their exams.”There is also a junior archaeology programme offered at the museum for eight-year-old children which is conducted by Wishart every other Saturday. The children she said are able to learn pottery and basketry even as they learn Amerindian words.Recently the museum was bestowed with a collection of re-printed Amerindian materials which will be distributed to various Amerindian communities and will be available for use by members of the public who have a desire to learn Amerindian languages.In addition to the assortment of displays splashed across an intriguing gallery, the three-storey museum also houses a library on its top flat. And according to Wishart, additional information about the Amerindian tribes are available in brochures that are distributed at a minimal cost of $20.And also as part of the efforts to keep the Amerindian legacy alive, Wishart disclosed that plans are apace to introduce a new feature aback of the Museum in the form of a benab which will be constructed exclusively by members of the Arawak tribe. |
