Yakarinta and Kwaimatta are two scenic villages in the North Rupununi where the indigenous villagers hold true to their traditions.
Yakarinta is closer to Annai, and Kwaimatta to Karanambu Lodge – all in the North Rupununi region.
Yakarinta
The area that is now Yakarinta was known as “Konowaije” by the Makushi people; named after a bush in the area. The Carib people called that same bush “yakarmiti”, which is the name the village originally came from.
The first Makushi person who came to the area was Charley Brown. He came from north of Yakarinta. Later Sidney Benjiman, a fellow Makushi, ended up joining him in the area during a trip to Georgetown. Later other settlers from Pikiriikire came and joined the area. At this point, the community was largely controlled by the Anglican Church.
The community has now grown into a village in the Rupununi, Region Nine, and mostly speak Wapichan.
In Yakarinta, there is a nursery and primary school, health post, church, women’s sewing centre, village office, teachers’ quarter, guest house and a community centre.
Kwaimatta
Kwaimatta means “the place”. Kwaimatta started out as an out-station of Kwaimatta Ranch. A few vaqueros (cowboy) families had resides near Kwaimatta and so it eventually grew large enough to become a satellite of Massara. The people in the village speak Makushi.
In Kwaimatta, there is a health post, primary school, village office, teachers’ quarters and a hot meal kitchen.
Villagers in Kwaimatta engage in farming, fishing and hunting activities, while in Yakarinta villagers engage in farming, fishing, hunting, making bricks and crafts. (Info on villages from Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs. Photos by Neketa Forde)
