Amerindian Life and Folklore (Guyana, South America)

In this book author Harry McD Persaud shares the legends and folklore of Native Guyanese. His picturesque and accurate description of the lifestyle, culture and taboos of of the Amerindians of Guyana is so compelling that I would not be surprised if the reader is encouraged to visit them in their natural habitat. This book is rather unique in that, perhaps for the first time, a non-native and an Indo-Guyanese has been privileged to be the repository of these legends, which, in essence,...
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In this book author Harry McD Persaud shares the legends and folklore of Native Guyanese. His picturesque and accurate description of the lifestyle, culture and taboos of of the Amerindians of Guyana is so compelling that I would not be surprised if the reader is encouraged to visit them in their natural habitat. This book is rather unique in that, perhaps for the first time, a non-native and an Indo-Guyanese has been privileged to be the repository of these legends, which, in essence, may very well be the highlights of the oral tradition of story telling by the Amerindians of Guyana.The author lived among these beautiful people for many years and earned their trust as an educator and they voluntarily entrusted their prized lore to his memory.The author, with this book, is ensuring the preservation of the vivid folklore and legends of a vibrant culture and is bringing it to the readers of the "civilized" world.He does, however, challenges our accepted notions of "civilization" and poses the question as to who is truly "civilized."There is no doubt in my mind that many readers my be encouraged, after reading this book, to travel to Guyana, South America, to witness first-hand the eco-friendly lifestyle of these Natives of Guyana. And I am further sure that, having visited, and perhaps having lived among them, many visitors will classify their experiences as memorable, enjoyable, and shall be ready to repeat it again and again.With the continuous march of "development" in Guyana and other countries of South America, it is not too difficult visualize that, at some point in time, these Natives' way of life and culture will be hard to come by. But this book (and a few others) will serve to record and perhaps preserve in written format these cultures that have now existed for hundreds of years.