Guyana is a melting pot of cultures and every celebration takes on some part of that melting pot. It is no different with Mashramani since it is a time to showcase our unity as a people and truly live as “One People, One Nation, One Destiny”.
This year, Mashramani is being observed under the theme, “Guyana Together; Reflect, Celebrate and Transform.”
Mashramani is an Amerindian word which means “celebration after hard work”, and is usually observed on February 23 in observance of Guyana’s Republic status, which was achieved on that date in 1970. Mashramani, commonly referred to as “Mash”, is the most colourful, dynamic, inclusive, cultural and energetic of all the festivals in Guyana.
Each year, since 1970, Guyana has observed its Republic anniversary by hosting a series of activities. These activities usually culminate on Republic Day, February 23, with a grand display of costume bands, accompanied by Caribbean music, watched by thousands of spectators who either line the routes along where the revellers pass, or occupy the grass verges with their families and friends to picnic while they enjoy the festivities of the day.
Over the past years, the street parties have continued well into the night. The flag-raising ceremony, which takes place on the eve of the Republic celebrations, is attended by the President, Prime Minister and other Government officials, as well as Members of Parliament, the Judiciary and the Armed Forces. Later in the day, around 09:00h, the day’s main feature, the “Mashramani Float Parade”, begins.
The celebration came out of the Junior Chamber of Greater Mackenzie, which was already celebrating Guyana’s independence in Linden with a similar event since Independence in 1966.
It proved so successful that by 1972 it was declared a national event, and the following year, it was held nationally for the first time and annually ever since, in the capital city of Georgetown under the auspices of the Government, although there are events held in Berbice and Linden.
It is a time of revelry and dressing up in costumes and joining the float parades and has evolved in terms of creativity over the years.
Many activities are held prior to the main event on February 23; these include the children’s parade, Panorama, Chutney Soca Monarch competition and other cultural activities.
Mash origins
The origin of the word Mashramani has been a source of some dispute that has in the past led to various efforts to clarify the term.
According to historians, the word Mashramani was borrowed from the Arawak word to describe their celebratory period of feasting and dancing after a successful preparation and planting season; meaning, “celebration after hard work”, though other coinages include “celebration of a work well done”, “a venture”, or “cooperative effort”, and “a celebration after a harvest”.
However, it has also been said that the word is not directly an Arawak word, but sounds similar to a word used to describe a festival such as one when the village gets together to celebrate a young couple’s approaching marriage. Regardless, the term Mashramani was officially chosen in 1972 to symbolise the celebrations of the new Republic’s birth.
The first national celebration was described as a “a riot of colour, gaiety and scintillating pan music in the streets of Georgetown for over six hours … as a number of floats, costumes and steel bands in Carnival style tramped in the city and suburban areas to highlight the Mashramani celebrations in Georgetown,” by the Guyana Graphic on Saturday, February 24, 1973.
