Santa Mission (also: ''Santa Aratak'' or ''Santa Aratack'') is a village in the

Essequibo Islands-West Demerara Essequibo Islands-West Demerara (Region 3) is a region of Guyana. Split in two by the Essequibo River, Venezuela claims the territory to the west of Essequibo river as part of Delta Amacuro state, what represents Essequibo Islands. Unlike Wes ...

Region of Guyana. Santa Mission is mainly inhabited by

Lokono The Lokono or Arawak are an Arawak people native to northern coastal areas of South America. Today, approximately 10,000 Lokono live primarily along the coasts and rivers of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Barbados and French Guiana. They speak t ...

Amerindians. The village is located on the Kamuni Creek, a tributary of the

Demerara River The Demerara River is a river in eastern Guyana that rises in the central rainforests of the country and flows to the north for 346 kilometres until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. Georgetown, Guyana's largest seaport and capital, is situated o ...

. The village of Hopetown, an early Chinese settlement, is located about from Santa Mission.

Overview

Santa Mission was founded in 1858 by Alfred Patterson, a lumberjack who was looking for Wallaba trees ('' Eperua falcata''). The village is built on white sand hills along the blackwater Kamuni Creek. The economy of Santa Mission is based on tourism, craft making, and logging. The village has a Nursery and Primary school, a healthcare centre, and a local library. In 2008, the festivities of the Amerindian Heritage Month were held in Santa Mission. As of 2015, it was the only indigenous village in Essequibo Islands-West Demerara with titled land.

Sights

Located on top of the hill is a giant silk-cotton tree. During the Dutch colonial era, the tree was used a navigation aid on the Demerara River. In the Lokono language, the tree is called Kamaka which means "mother of all trees." There is a village monument dedicated to the past ''toshaos'' (village chiefs) and a kamuni Women Craft shop. Near the village is the Arrowpoint Nature Resort, a privately owned tourist resort with its own nature reserve.

Transport

Santa Mission does not have a connection to the road network and can only be accessed via the river. Arrowpoint Nature Resort operates a ferry service from Timehri ( Cheddi Jagan International Airport) which makes a stop at Santa Mission. The journey will take between 45 minutes and one hour.

Hopetown

In 1864, Chinese missionary O'Tye Kim petitioned the

Court of Policy The Court of Policy was a legislative body in Dutch and British Guiana until 1928. For most of its existence it formed the Combined Court together with the six Financial Representatives. History The Court of Policy was established in 1732 by th ...

for a Chinese settlement. In 1865, Hopetown was founded on the Kamuni Creek and started with 25 settlers. The village was named Hopetown after Admiral James Hope who had visited the village. It is located at . Hopetown flourished and peaked at 800 people in 1874. The economy was mainly based on charcoal production. When the demand dwindled, many Chinese moved to other towns. By 1914, about a third of the population was non-Chinese and there were only 46 Chinese left.

References

{{Settlements in Guyana Indigenous villages in Guyana Populated places in Essequibo Islands-West Demerara Tourist attractions in Guyana