Shiriri Mountain is located in South Central Rupununi, Region Nine. Picturesque landscape and pristine forest make Shiriri a natural wonderland.
According to Vaughn Duncan, whose grandparents live in Shiriri village, a place he considers his “second home”, Shiriri’s mountain has an interesting story to tell. Duncan said he met a village elder who knows of the many legends relating to Shiriri. These were passed down to the elder from his parents and grandparents.
“I sat and listen to him [village elder] as he educated me about this unique culture in Wapishana. Dad was the interpreter. This elderly villager told me the story of the rocks that were laid in an almost linear formation, which is found on a small hill on the eastern side of the mountains. These rocks represented the number of Wapishana fighters. I remember dad telling me of tribal wars that took place around this location. An old legend suggests that this was the last place of fighting between the Wapishanas and the Macushis. This conclusion came from the fact that Shulinab is the only Macushi village in the south Rupununi. However, this elderly villager has another tale as to why fighting among various tribes took place in this location.
“The elder person tale goes like this. A long time ago, the Indians [Amerindians] found salt on the plains of the nearby mountain. The inhabitants call the place ‘Chiizzih baar’, the salty plains. Over time, the Indians began to fight to keep possession of the ‘salty plains’. To measure their strength, the Wapichan fighters each laid rocks on the hill located on the southern part of the Shiriri Mountain…” Duncan recalled on his blog, https://vaughnduncan.wordpress.com (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)
