Santa Mission
Santa Aratak | |
---|---|
Village | |
Coordinates: 6°33′42″N 58°19′49″W / 6.5618°N 58.3304°W | |
Country | Guyana |
Region | Essequibo Islands-West Demerara |
Settled | 1858 [1] |
Government | |
• Toshao | Hilton Williams [2] |
Area | |
• Total | 220 km2 (84 sq mi) |
Population (2012)
[4] | |
• Total | 277 |
Santa Mission (also: Santa Aratak [2] or Santa Aratack [5]) is a village in the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara Region of Guyana. Santa Mission is mainly inhabited by Lokono Amerindians. [1] The village is located on the Kamuni Creek, a tributary of the Demerara River. [6] The village of Hopetown, an early Chinese settlement, is located about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Santa Mission. [7]
Santa Mission was founded in 1858 by Alfred Patterson, a lumberjack who was looking for Wallaba trees ( Eperua falcata). The village is built on white sand hills along the blackwater Kamuni Creek. [1]
The economy of Santa Mission is based on tourism, craft making, and logging. [2] The village has a Nursery and Primary school, [1] a healthcare centre, [6] and a local library. [3] In 2008, the festivities of the Amerindian Heritage Month were held in Santa Mission. [3] As of 2015, it was the only indigenous village in Essequibo Islands-West Demerara with titled land. [1]
Located on top of the hill is a giant silk-cotton tree. During the Dutch colonial era, the tree was used a navigation aid on the Demerara River. In the Lokono language, the tree is called Kamaka which means "mother of all trees." [1] There is a village monument dedicated to the past toshaos (village chiefs) and a kamuni Women Craft shop. [8] Near the village is the Arrowpoint Nature Resort, a privately owned tourist resort with its own nature reserve. [9]
Santa Mission does not have a connection to the road network and can only be accessed via the river. [1] Arrowpoint Nature Resort operates a ferry service from Timehri ( Cheddi Jagan International Airport) which makes a stop at Santa Mission. [9] The journey will take between 45 minutes and one hour. [1]
In 1864, Chinese missionary O'Tye Kim petitioned the Court of Policy for a Chinese settlement. [10] In 1865, Hopetown was founded on the Kamuni Creek and started with 25 settlers. The village was named Hopetown after Admiral James Hope who had visited the village. It is located at 6°31′58″N 58°16′51″W / 6.53277°N 58.2808°W. [7]
Hopetown flourished and peaked at 800 people in 1874. [7] The economy was mainly based on charcoal production. When the demand dwindled, many Chinese moved to other towns. [11] By 1914, about a third of the population was non-Chinese and there were only 46 Chinese left. [7]
Santa Mission had just celebrated its 157th anniversary