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Rodeo_in_Lethem
Easter weekend in Guyana can be
spent in various ways. Activities this year ranged from going to church on Good Friday to
Phagwa on the Saturday, Lethem Rodeo and the Bartica Regatta and on Easter Monday family
pick nicks and Easter Kite Flying at the Seawall. Usually the Annual Easter Bunny Parade
and the Easter Bonnet Competition add to the fun in Georgetown. The ones who really wanted
to have a taste of adventure and excitement this year headed, by road or by plane, for
Lethem, the small town in the Rupununi Savannah on the South West border with Brazil.
To reach the Rupununi
Savannah you have to pass through the Iwokrama Rainforest, a 360,000 hectare protected area in
the Upper Essequibo Region, used for the promotion of sustainable rainforest management
and for research which should bring ecological, economic and social benefits for the
indigenous peoples, the people of Guyana and the world in general.
The Rupununi Savannah is located in the southern part of Guyana, some
360 miles from the capital town, Georgetown, and extends into neighbouring Brazil. It is
understood that this area is considered the largest open range savannah in the world. It
lies between the tropical rainforest of Guyana and the Amazon Jungle in Brazil. The
savannah is divided by the Kanuku Mountains into North and South Rupununi. The area is
known for its mountains, fresh water systems, various Amerindian villages, large rustic
cattle ranches and majestic termite mounds which can be as tall as six feet.
How to get to Lethem?
You can get from Georgetown to Lethem by air plane or by road. Local
airline operators like Trans Guyana Airways and Roraima Airways operate a flight schedule
between the Ogle airport on the East Coast and the Lethem airstrip. Air travel between
Ogle and Lethem is approximately two hours.
By road, either private transportation or the bus service
Georgetown-Lethem, it takes between fourteen to sixteen hours. Stops along the way include
Mabura Hill, the Kurupukari pontoon crossing, the Iwokrama Rainforest with its Canopy
Walkway and Annai.
Lethem is located in Region Nine at the bank of the Takutu River that
borders Guyana from Brazil. With a population of approximately 2500 people, main
activities in this area are cattle rearing, farming and trade with Brazil. The indigenous
population comprise mainly of Makushi and Wapishana tribes.
Lethem is the largest town and the administrative centre of the
Rupununi Region and includes a hospital, a police station, an army camp, a
telecommunication station, schools, guesthouses, restaurants and stores.
The Lethem Rodeo
The Lethem Rodeo or Rupununi Rodeo is held each year in the Easter
weekend by the ranches in the area. It is said that the rodeo was introduced by an
American from Dakota by the name of Ben Hart in the late nineteenth century. His idea of
entertaining guests was then picked up by the local ranchers and became an annual
tradition in the Rupununi.
This sports event, which is now developing to a popular cultural
festival, attracts many visitors and participants from every where, from the coastland as
far as Berbice and from neighbouring Brazil. In addition, the rodeo has growing support,
not only from the local ranches, but also from the private sector in Georgetown. All of
this has strengthened the wish to give the Lethem or Rupununi Rodeo more regional and
international exposure.
The fun kicks off on the Saturday and continues to
Easter Monday with day time activities like wild bull riding, horse racing, wild cow
milking, wild horse riding, a female barrel race, steer roping, etc. The evening programme
presents festivities in the form of a cultural fair with food, games, music and the lively
so-called "Faha" dance, which is a pair dance and, is said, to have its origin
in the popular Northeast Brazilian "Forró" dance.
The front entrance of the Triple R rodeo ground
gives access to the vendors and fair games section with various stalls exhibiting their
items ranging from the popular cowboy head gear and leather works to various dishes and
drinks including the favourite BBQ chicken and Brazilian style beef and pork. At the back
of the ground the local Amerindian people have set up their camps from wood and tarpaulin
or just use their horse carts.
The rodeo ground is then further divided into a
wooden fenced arena and the various compartments housing the wild horses, cows and bulls.
One side of the arena is reserved for the officials and special guests platform and a
public grandstand, while from the other side the Rodeo Judging Committee as well as other
spectators can have a closer view of the proceedings in the arena.
In the wild cow milking competition the challenge for
competitors is in roping the wild animal and trying to milk them. If this would be a daily
routine in dairy production, our population would have a diet very low in lactose. One of
the major attractions is bareback bronco in which Guyanese as well as Brazilian
competitors, including one female vaquero, challenge each others skills in the riding
and break-in of wild horses. The winning vaquero is the one who manages to stay the
longest time on the back of the untamed bucking horse. The same principle applies for the
wild bull riding, which looks like a far more dangerous event not only in terms of the
bull’s temper but also for its weight.
The barrel race is another attraction in which local amazons can
demonstrate their riding skills. The winner is the one who can finish the track within the
shortest possible time. Auntie Pat, one of the few amazons in the rodeo and the eldest
among the competitors, proved to be still the best.
Easter Rodeo is the busiest time of the year in Lethem and it is
recommended to make reservations for accommodation months in advance. Apart from hotel
accommodation, campers may find a spot to set up their tents in the backyard of the
guesthouses.
To learn more about Guyana, see our other Guyana Pages
To learn about the other islands in the Caribbean, visit our Island Adventures Page
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