Guyana’s intangible cultural heritage eroding by modern technology- Creighton

Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 April 2025, 21:47 by Denis Chabrol

Social media and other aspects of modern technology have eroded a lot of Guyana’s intangible cultural heritage, well-known literary critic and academic, Al Creighton said Wednesday.

He told the opening of the workshop on the ratification of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that Guyana’s masquerade, the Indian folklore character, Balgobin satirical tales, ring games, the 40-hour Ramleela play, Caribbean storytelling, wake for the deceased, and the Hindu ‘dig dutty’ pre-marital ritual are among several features of local culture that have virtually disappeared.

“This is a group of items of intangible cultural heritage, which are moribund, which are endangered, which have faded and which have become extinct,” said Mr Creighton, a playwright, poet, and literary critic.

He added that those aspects of Guyana’s cultural heritage were facing “major threats” in recent times from technological alternative modes of entertainment, particularly the “very powerful” social media.

“These things have had a devastating effect upon the survival of intangible cultural heritage in Guyana, in particular, and clearly in other parts of the Caribbean and of the world,” he said.

Mr Creighton said one of the tasks to halt and reverse the virtual disappearance of intangible cultural heritage must be catching the attention and imagination of youths.

“We have to get that attention to halt the march of the disappearance of so many items of cultural heritage,” he added.

According to the Director of the Guyana National School of Theatre Arts and Drama, the Caribbean Examinations Council’s (CXC) subject of theatre arts has remained largely unattractive to parents, teachers, students and school administrators.

He said the general population did not appreciate theatre arts compared to other subjects such as history and chemistry.

He said students pursuing theatre arts are expected to research cultural forms of the Caribbean and put them into forms of performing arts. “Those things are not easy to do,” he remarked.

He cited the disappearance of Amerindian folk tales as one striking example of the virtual fading away of oral literature.

He said the Amerindian folk tales represent an “unfathomable and unbelievable depth and store” of stories, myths, legends and beliefs.

“This is the largest caucus of stories and tales in the Caribbean and while Guyana, of course, is the basic place where you find this, I was a bit surprised to find a number of these tales in Jamaica,” said the Jamaica-born academic who has been living and working in Guyana for more than 40 years.

The workshop on 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was held by Merundoi Inc in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).