Catholicism in parts of the Rupununi came from Santa Rosa 

Confirmation and vow celebrations at Santa Rosa 

According to oral narratives and also documented history, the feast of St. John celebrated on June 24th each year was brought to the Rupununi by the Arawaks of Santa Rosa. This feast is celebrated by most Catholics of the Rupununi every year. It is also celebrated in neighbouring Brazil and the Catholics of the Rupununi working over there are also exposed to the solymn religious celebration.

Other significant contributions from the Santa Rosa Catholic Church to the indigenous people of the Rupununi was that they served as catechists and teachers who taught in the Primary Schools. Mr. Stephen Campbell, Guyana´s first Amerindian Parliamentarian, was among the first pioneers who served as catechist in the village of Sawariwau in the South among the Wapichans.

Under generous, hard-working persons like him and others who came later, along with the local indigenous teachers of the Rupununi, primary education flourished. It was an education grounded in Christian values and academics, and it produced brilliant Amerindians and prepared them for the advent of Guyana´s independence.

However, over the years the Catholic Church in Santa Rosa has itself undergone transformations from being the dominant one, to now trying to work with other Churches in the community. There are several other Christian groups that have been established and are growing in numbers in Moruca. At the same time the population has increased to approximately ten thousand, making it one of the oldest and biggest in terms of population size in the interior of Guyana.

The introduction of new ideas and experiences brought changes to the local culture and many challenges as well. In spite of this, many devoted Catholics have remained faithful to the Church while others have sought other paths, but live in understanding and harmony with each other.

It is a joy to look back and reflect on how the Catholic Church has contributed positively to the lives of the Morucans, while it also recognized her faults. The good has overweighed the bad by far. On this note I would like to wish a happy Bicentenary celebration to the people of Santa Rosa which they observe on April 1st 2018!

Bible study class Maruranau Village ( Photo credit: Medino Abraham)

               Santa Rosa celebrating 200 years of Catholic faith 

On April 1st 2018, Catholics in Santa Rosa and throughout the country will celebrate the bicentenary of the establishment of the Catholic Church in that Region.

 In the two centuries since the arrival of the first Catholics, the Church in the area has undergone some significant stages. In this issue we trace the more fundamental periods of the past 200 years.

The week-long celebrations of the bicentenary will be inaugurated with a solemn Mass of thanksgiving in Santa Rosa on Sunday April 1st.

During the week, tribute will be paid to the selfless contributions of those heroic, early pioneers, and those of more recent vintage, including priests and sisters both local and from abroad, along with laity from Guyana, by whose efforts and dedication the seeds of the Catholic Church were first planted in Santa Rosa and spread across other parts of Guyana.

The festivities will also include a Cultural/ Musical Treat, a Family Fun Day, historical perspectives, a sale of products from Santa Rosa and a craft-making demonstration and sale.

The articles have been submitted by Medino Abraham and priest of the Institute of the Incarnate Word Father Pedro Torres.

                                                                               

Catholic church at Santa Rosa Moruca

The history of the Catholic Mission to the Amerindians in Guyana actually began in Venezuela.

In April 1818 the Bolivar revolution in Venezuela against Spanish rule was taking place. There were Amerindian peoples in the Orinoco, in Venezuela, under the religious care of an order of Catholic priests who remained loyal to Spain. This made them vulnerable to attacks from those supporting the Bolivar revolution. Indeed this is what happened. Many of the priests were slaughtered and Amerindian villages were pillaged. Rather than remain under such conditions, the Amerindians who survived made their escape eastward into British Guiana and settled in Moruca, thus constituting for the first time a formal presence of the Catholic Church there. 

After their arrival, the group, who were Arawak, began to establish themselves among the local people, who were not Christians and who inhabited the area.

Juan Aguilar, also known as John, a lay person who was one of the refugees became the first captain of Santa Rosa, teaching catechism to the people and together with the community built a chapel. The British who ruled over this territory granted these refugees shelter to stay on because they perceived them as being Christians and speaking Spanish. So, the refugees legally settled in 1822 and practiced their Catholic faith in their new homeland. 

In the 1820s, an officer of the Royal Navy by the name of William Hillhouse had been appointed ͚ ‘Quarter Master General of the Indians’. Wishing to evangelize the Caribs, for some time he lived among them just as they lived, wearing only the Yayaco (lap) and painting his body with annatto dye. In 1822 he made contact for the first time with the group of Amerindians who had appeared on the Moruca river. He was struck by their standard of development, morality and industry. He settled among them and began to dress as they did. They were Arawaks, but spoke Spanish. He learned that they had come from the Orinoco, escaping Bolivar´s army. Finding that he could not break their attachment to their Catholic faith, he supported the appeal they soon addressed to the British Governor Sir James Carmichael Smith, to procure a priest, properly supported, to minister to them. 

In the year 1830, when the Spanish Arawaks heard that a priest had arrived in Georgetown, they informed him of their plight, deprived of the comforts of religion.

Written on the pillar of the church building in honour of Santa Rosa ( photo credit: Medino Abraham)

  

On June 24th 1830, the Feast of St. John, Father John Hynes O.P. arrived in Moruca. Father Hynes spent three days in Santa Rosa, during which he baptized 75 children and married 2 couples. From this solemn occasion in celebrating the arrival of the first priest´s visit on the feast of Saint John, the group of Catholics began the devotion to St. John which grew in the community.

This new Christian community was very dear to Fr. John Hynes, who later became bishop. Mr. Willian Hillhouse persisted year after year in his efforts, on behalf of the “Spanish Indians”, despite prejudice and opposition. At last in 1837, permission for them to have their priest was granted and a small salary offered. The Chevalier Abbe Appollina Ire Hernant, himself a refugee from Venezuela, then arrived from Trinidad and served the people till 1840. Under his pastoral care the mission of Santa Rosa was established.

The Saint chosen as the patron for the “Catholic Community” was Saint Rose of Lima, a consecrated indigenous mestiza of the Dominican third order, and patroness of Latin America. From that day to the present the people referred to the Moruca community as “Santa Rosa”, the Spanish translation of “Saint Rose”. 

Father John Cullen, a diocesan priest who succeeded Father Hernant in 1840, resided in the mission and built the first church which was opened on October 27th 1844 by Bishop John Hynes. Father John Cullen remained in the mission until 1853.

Various diocesan priests visited the mission of Santa Rosa after.

In 1857 the first Jesuits arrived in Guyana under Bishop John Hynes and visited the mission of Santa Rosa. These included the future bishop of Guyana, Father Etheridge S.J who was appointed Vicar General of the diocese of Georgetown in 1857 by Bishop Hynes. 

In 1859, Father Stanley Woollet S.J was sent by Bishop Etheridge to Santa Rosa to construct a presbytery and build a chapel to replace the Church that was about to collapse. After Father Woollet, many other Jesuit priests visited or stayed in this Mission. Some stayed for a year, others for ten years and even longer.

A significant service that the Catholic Church provided to the people of Moruca was the improvement of their spiritual and social welfare. Very important also was the academic advancement of most Morucans with the establishment of the first Catholic Primary School in 1880 under Father Mark Mesini S.J. 

The old Church had to be reconstructed several times. The first time was in the 1930s during the tenure of Father George Payne S.J., and more recently, in 2012 by Father William Montalvo IVE.

In 1989, under Father George Vanderwood S.J, the back part of the church was built, including the sacristy, the kitchen, and the parish office. The presbytery was also reconstructed. Also under Father Vanderwood the inauguration of the secondary school took place.

The education apostolate greatly enhanced the lives of the people of Moruca and produced renowned Morucans grounded in sound moral values and Christian teaching. For example Stephen Campbell and other earlier Toshaos were men of principle and great leadership skills. 

Besides these, the Santa Rosa Community also produced outstanding persons such as government ministers, politicians, nuns and other religious persons. Also, there are at least three ordained Anglican priests who have links to Moruca and are serving their flocks in different parts of Guyana.

A piece of craft work depicting the 200 years of Catholism of Santa Rosa ( photo credit: Medino Abraham)

                         Three September baptisms and a wedding at Maruranau

                                      The newly-married couple, Mr and Mrs Shu-Shu, with flower girls on

                                      their wedding day at Maruranau Village. (Photo Medino Abraham).

In the interior and especially in the Rupununi, the Catholic communities normally celebrate baptisms and weddings around Easter and Christmas. However, this year, this tradition changed a little for Maruranau village in the South Rupununi when a wedding and three baptisms were celebrated on September 10th in this Wapichan community, There is only one priest available to serve the people of the South Rupununi (Fr. Paulouse Valakada SJ), so the faithful and church team of Maruranau, along with Fr. Paulouse, made a plan that during this September there will be baptisms and holy matrimony conducted during Mass in the village. The Catholic community therefore celebrated two holy sacraments: three baptisms and one marriage on Tuesday September 10th, at 9.00am. Because of the two sacred sacraments happening during Mass, the church was packed to capacity with villagers and visitors.

September is Indigenous Heritage Month - a time to showcase the rich culture and traditions of Guyana’s first people. As a way to observe Heritage Month, before the Mass began there was the ritual of face painting using Annatto Dye on worshipers as they entered the church building to celebrate the sacred and joyful occasion. Most of the Mass - such as songs, readings and prayers - was celebrated in the local language, Wapichan. Additionally, the church was beautifully decorated with indigenous art and craft, including small baskets and other handicrafts made by the people that boosted the spirit and environment of the Catholic/ Wapichan Mass celebration.

A beautiful Wapichan song was played on a speaker for the Bride and Groom as Fr. Paulouse called them forward to get married, and also when he blessed and declared them husband and wife. The homily had a good message to the faithful which highlighted the importance of baptism in the Catholic faith, and welcoming of the new members to the church. An inspiring message was given on the sacred covenant of marriage based on the love between husband and wife being centered on God.

The aspects of indigenous culture and language were emphasized by the priest, to maintain and preserve them, because they are important for identity and contribute to making them indigenous Catholics. At the Mass, there was an interesting aspect of the solemn occasion, which was centered on the young couple Mr. and Mrs Shu-Shu. It was their beautiful traditional wedding outfit that stood out from the regular wedding celebrations around the Rupununi. Their wedding outfits were made locally from colourful bird feathers and beautiful beads and cotton.

After the mass I congratulated the newly-weds and had a little chat with the happy bride about her wedding outfit. She narrated to me the following: “I made my wedding outfit myself. It was made out of cotton and beads. All the local materials I gathered from the environment since I know how to make cultural outfits and hammocks from cotton and also from beads etc. While my husband´s headdress was made from bird feathers, he didn´t kill any birds to get them. He gathered them in the bush when they fell from the macaws and parrots on the ground. We began a long time to prepare our clothing for the marriage and I am happy we got married using local materials”.  

In a conversation with the bridegroom about his wedding outfit, he said that “we opted to get married with indigenous wear. I found it appropriate to get married in our traditional wear because firstly, it’s during September our Indigenous Heritage Month. A time to tie the knot and be blessed by God as Indigenous Catholics.

Secondly, we saw that economically, making our marriage outfit is far cheaper than buying expensive clothing from the stores that make us feel very sweaty in this hot weather. I hope I am not sounding like we want to promote Indigenous weddings in September or to make it a show. No, it’s nothing like that. We are serious about our married life as Indigenous Catholics. Especially having it centered on the plan of God with a view to live a good Christian life as husband and wife, in a world where we are seeing that the sacred covenant is being taken for granted by many”.

Congrats to the young married couple and may God richly bless their married life.