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
![Lovely Savannah View - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Lovely_Savannah_View_-_panoramio.jpg)
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