Sunday March 31, 2019
Kaieteur News
PAGE 65
Lichfield Village - An almost serene location, where residents exist in humble contentment
Villagers are pleased that the RDC has finally begun repair works on the Lichfield Access Dam. It was such a luxury to lay back in the seat of the minibus as it churned its way around twists and bends in the road, the fresh crisp country breeze hitting my cheeks, and drawing tears from my eyes with its intensity. With eyes half closed and with a contented smile, I mused in my fancy as lush, green fields glided by on both sides. As I gulped in the unpolluted air, for some strange reason, I remained glued to the sight of healthy-looking cattle munching heartily on mouthfuls of grass and shrubs, some even wading shoulder deep in roadside trenches, ensuring they had their fill of juicy water weeds, shrubs and tender plant species. I was on my way to Lichfield Village located in Mahaica-Berbice, in Guyana, about 41 miles (or 66 km) south-east of the capital city of Georgetown. Lichfield is sandwiched between the slightly larger villages of Cottage to the south, and Belle Vue to the north. As the journey continued, I was jerked out of my musing by the sight of bare back young men, their bodies glistening in the sun as they stood by the roadside trenches, just waiting for a fish to somersault, indicating its location; a perfect chance for them to swing cass-nets, most times hauling in patwah, hurri, or sunfish, their scales glinting as they struggled for their freedom. Fattened dogs yelped in seeming delight at each catch, and if not watched carefully will pounce on any fish trying to escape back to water, running off in the bushes to enjoy the meal. History Shedding some light on the history of this quiet little village was centenarian, and oldest resident there, Layne Lewis, who incidentally was celebrating his 103rd birth on the day I visited. He told me that 12 former slaves purchased the land in 1840. The land was said to be initially used for the cultivation of many crops including coffee, cotton and tobacco. With returns from the crops, villagers built schools, railway stations, churches, etc. He explained that villagers are independent and contented. “Persons visiting can never understand how we live so simple. But we are independent people, and we exist in peace and comfort. We are contented to plant our rice, vegetables and grow our own stuff in our kitchen garden. We rear poultry and cattle to co-exist and we are quite okay with what we are doing. “Outsiders can never seem to understand how we are such a peaceful people. But our parents all came from humble beginnings, and they taught us to make the best of life and to be always contented.” Lewis explained that it was the custom for villagers to open small groceries and snackettes. Others are employed in the city and outlying locations as teachers, nurses, dentists and clerks. With not much scope for various forms of
employment, the younger males would normally take up positions in the gold mines, while some are into the construction business. Lewis who claimed that he was a vibrant cricketer, noted that though he was popular, he was not as celebrated as sports enthusiasts, Ian Archibald and Grewon Grant. He spoke briefly also of what he called ‘important people’ Wolsey Semple who was a renowned engineer in Washington, DC in the USA. Semple was the founder of the very popular Semple Family Reunion, which is held in the village every two years. This village is also known for producing quite a few talented doctors, among them Dr. Edward Belle, a/ka Nedd, who was a professor of medicine at Mc Masters University in Canada. The origin of the village The history books and other sources report that immediately after Emancipation, the European planters and the colonial government took a decision not to sell land to the freed Africans. The general aim was to ensure Africans continued to be a source of labour on the plantations. But economic circumstances forced the planters to soon change their position. Many cotton plantations, in particular, became unprofitable by 1838, because Britain began to purchase cheaper cotton from the United States, where there were very large cotton plantations, which used African slave labour. The smaller cotton plantations in Guyana could not survive in such a situation, and some of them were abandoned. The owner of Plantation Northbrook, a cotton plantation on the East Coast Demerara, decided to sell it to a group of 83 Africans for 30,000 guilders, equivalent to 2,000 British pounds or $10,000. Those Africans, like many others, had saved money that they had earned over time from work done during the years of apprenticeship, between the abolition of slavery in 1834 and the time when indentureship began in 1838. They were mainly headmen and mechanics from Grove, Paradise, Hope and Enmore; and since much of the money they had saved was in the form of coins, they had to transport the payment in wheelbarrows to the seller. Shortly after, Queen Victoria agreed to a request from the new owners to rename the plantation Victoria, in her honour. By 1839, Africans had purchased Plantations Lichfield, Golden Grove, St. John and Providence in West Berbice. Lichfield was bought by one person, Cudjoe Mc Pherson, for $3,000; and he later divided the plantation into 12 sections, which he sold to other Africans for a profit. By this time, the planters had realised that many Africans had accumulated much savings, so they immediately raised land prices. The moving away of Africans from the
estates placed added pressure on sugar production, and the planters used devious means to force them to return to work there. One of these means was to let loose water from the estate canals to flood the nearby African villages. The planters, no doubt, felt that if the Africans’ farms were damaged; they would return to the estates to work. The Lichfield Primary School was once controlled by the Anglicans before it became Government own and controlled. There are a few other churches in the village, as well as a health centre and a library, which was established in April 2004. These facts are documented and were quoted extensively. Real tasty countryside snacks I was hungry by the time I arrived, and my stomach was grumbling like a volcano readying for eruption. It was then that I caught sight of Annette Hemerding’s roadside snackette and was quite taken back by its bright, almost neon blue colour. “De sight ah dem mouth watering fried rice, cook-up rice, chowmein and baked chicken, really set my stomach on fire. There was food in galore; you name it and she had it to give to you. I looked longingly at the boiled and fried channa, egg balls, pholourie, the black and white pudding.
Finally, I settled for a box of chowmein and pot roasted chicken, and I washed it down with some ice-cold country brewed mauby. Annette’s daughter was very polite and smiling, but almost sprinted a mile when I attempted to take her picture. I asked her why she was so camera shy and her response had me doubling over with laughter. “Mista, nat me; me nah able mek paper. Me nah pretty and me nah want dem city people fuh seh, but ah wha she ah do in paper? She nah even ready. Not me mista. Yuh can tek out de snackette, but left me out ah it entirely.” The little snackette has been the centre of attraction in the village for over 15 years now according to villagers. Chatting with the residents As I was trudging down a dusty dam to take some photos, villager Tyron Nicholson, suddenly appeared out of nowhere with a set of fierce looking dogs in tow. My childhood fright of dogs bubbled over, and I just froze there with my heart in my hands. He was laughing and greeting me in merriment, but all I could think about was the moment when one of these animals will sink its teeth into a leg or ankle. They sniffed me up and down and I must have died for a moment until Nicholson rescued my by shushing the dogs, with peals Continued on page 66