The question of Guyana’s national...

FROM PAGE XI jolein Kars, on the 1763 revolutionary uprising, the author referred to “the tall Silk Cotton trees under which the Dutch allegedly buried their Silver at the start of the revolt. The height of the trees made it impossible to forget where the valuables had been hidden. The Dutch bewitched the trees to keep the coins safe from their slaves. Wherever you see such a tree rising above the bush, people say, there would have been a Dutch Plantation.”

The modern incident at Perseverance Village in the Mahaicony district, where a Silk Cotton tree located in the middle of a scheduled roadway, which defied removal, to the serious or fatal injury of an employee, is modern folklore. The authorities decided to build the road pleasingly, enveloping the Silk Cotton Tree. There’s no other tree that captures the both tangible and intangible heritage. I have explored several sources for a report document of the Perseverance incident, to no avail. However, I have not surrendered. In most families, including mine, there are whispers of strange known encounters handed down that includes the Silk cotton tree lore or otherwise. But records would imply that it’s not the coastal Silk Cotton Trees that are referred to as the Giants, but those in the interior. I pray that we have the enlightened vision to preserve such a gift that nature has blessed us with. The Silk Cotton tree is truly the national tree of Guyana.