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After being elected as Customary Chief, the first woman of the moment on
our Website, Brigitte Wyngaarde, gave us a conversation on the telephone. We previously
ask her about the meaning of a village, a people, a community, a tradition, in an
Amerindian point of view. Here is the outline of her answer. B.Wyngaarde the Amerindian society is based on community, which is why it constitutes the basic element of social organisation. An European or Caribbean village is an urban entity, contrary to the Amerindian one, which is settled on a collective land, considered as a private |
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Amazonia
Brigitte Wingaarde |
space of familial matters as well as a
public one, welcoming outside matters. Everyone moves in a fenceless space without
barrier. Every body talks to everyone else and people are equal. The group's spirit
prevails over individualism. During the maryuris, everyone is confident to take part in
the collective effort. This contribution was made in kind, this allowing the more
destitute to give an invaluable support to the social group, with help and assistance in
return. Therefore, there are no rejected people in this society.
rencontres -In this society with no hierarchic organisation, what is the Customary Chief's role? B.Wyngaarde- First of all to those who might ignore it, I must state that there are 6 ethnic groups among French Guyana Amerindian, namely Kali'na, Pahikweneh, Lokono, Wayana, Wayapi et Teko. The group members acknowledge the customary rules and the Customary Chief's authority as well, that are, at times, formalised by a customary charter. This means that the ties are strong between group members, who are nonetheless open to the outside world, which is worth emphasising. | |
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As to the Customary Chief's role you are asking me about he is both the administration and
spiritual authority and the guardian of his people's tradition as well. He is undoubtedly
the one who plays an essential role in the village's cohesion. He represents the
group’s interest, its evolution and is on the look out to ward off all troubles,
settle a disagreement here and take the right decisions there, rules, weights up and
course arbitrates as well! He is the one who very often takes charge of the civil
service's deficiencies.
rencontres- Is the Customary Chief's authority unquestionable? B.Wyngaarde - Of course not. It might be questioned. Protesting is the mark of a democratic society, and precisely, Amerindian society is a democratic one. However, the community's members unanimously acknowledge the importance of his work and respect his decision. The modern administration, by acknowledging his authority over his people, has actually recognised a very old practice of this people. A strong example of the scope of the Customary Chief's authority: he has grounds for deciding to dismiss a community member who seriously offended the village's integrity. A Customary Council assists the Customary Chief and the moral authority of his decisions as accepted and respected. rencontres- Even if this village people of Balaté is rather tiny, the responsibility must be heavy, in view of the extent of abilities and its representativeness towards local government authorities! . . . Now, we have hit a sensitive point and the young Chief started talking with more fire. We are unable to express, line by line, the long statement she strongly wanted to give us. We are just giving you the essential, with some quotation of the main passages. That is, we hit an important point, which is at the very heart of her claims: practising democracy of proximity in the village is no easy job. That is why the Guyana Regional Council's decision to stop subsidising Customary Chiefs is liable to heavy consequences. However, we are often witnessing administrative measures, which are irresponsible. Let us take, for example the case of a village within St Laurent, called Charbonnière about that Brigitte Wyngaarde told us. Under the pretext of slum clearance, a traditional village has been broken down into housing development. As a result, there has been a disintegration of the village community and the housing development policy has created what we are now witnessing as pitiful consequences, Once, the moral tie is destroyed in a human group. In this system, the chief's authority is lost and quickly outdated, with nothing left but suppress this office altogether. In repeat all the common urban violence with social nuisance are confused, lack cultural references or any reference at all, since they have been deprived of it in their group, without an alternative reference to replace it. Brigitte Wyngaarde concludes with this chapter that we do not want to close yet. "Much effort remains to be done, in order to straighten out this bad situation. French Guyana is rather sick. Amerindians are vigilant, because the stake is vital. They are nothing to sit idly, looking at the progressive dissolution of their culture. French Guyana’s looking at the progressive dissolution of their culture. French Guyana is political and social stability is subordinate to the legal acknowledgement of their delegates' customary institutions, that is the Customary Chiefs". There is nothing to add, for the time being, but we all know that statements like these should count and they go far indeed. The true" lost paradises" are being so because of so called some" modern" Western arrogance. It's actually the religion of individualism that enslaves collective interest to the immediate interest of an individual, of organised group's ambition and greediness. By promoting and mediating all so-called "successes" you just allow some imitations to crush the weaker ones in this "modern society": puppet-like greediness, gross distortion of what should be the true human modernity. |
