Bagotville

Story by Mandy Thompson with photos by Arian Browne

Situated along the busy West Bank Demerara road is the quiet community of Bagotville, which is cooled by a steady breeze blowing from across the canal separating the village from its neighbour, La Grange.  Bagotville was one of the first villages to be bought by freed Africans on the west side of the river, and today it is home to just over three hundred people. It was also the home of Guyanese World War I veteran, Gershom O B Browne, who passed away in 2002.

Like many small villages in the countryside, Bagotville is a tranquil community where people are friendly and social gatherings are few.  For most villagers bedtime begins around 8 pm, after which lights are out in homes and people are hardly seen or heard on the streets. The obverse of this is that the day starts very early indeed for vast majority of inhabitants.

Granny Volda

For most residents, farming and small businesses are their main occupations while some persons are employed by the private or public sectors. The farming is predominantly of the market gardening variety, and the commercial activity is found in bottom houses, and includes the usual sprinkling of grocery stores.

The majority of the Bagotville population is African and belongs to the Christian faith. We caught up with Granny Volda, one of the elders of the village, who told us that she has been living there since she got married and has no intention of moving. “Me and me neighbours dem living nice; me aint get a problem.” When asked about the attitude of young people in the community she replied, “Me nah put it in dem way so me nah get problem… long time the young people dem nice, now them young people nah get manners.”

During the conversation Granny Volda also commented on the choice of clothing worn by young people in today’s society.

“You nah see them clothes…me tel me grandchildren dem, anybody you see you like, when dem clothes deh hey (pointing to her ankle) bring them or else nah bring dem.” She urged young people to respect themselves in terms of the way they dress, and then others would respect them. Granny Volda added that in her view the mode of dress among the young nowadays contributed to them becoming sick:  “You nah see how all them back deh outside, and next thing you know them get all kind  thing,” she said.

The tamarind tree where libation ceremonies are held every year on Emancipation Day

She talked about the foods they used to consume long ago as compared with the present time: “Long time when you come home from church you had you nice foo foo soup, but nowadays dem get all kinda fancy thing… long time we use to eat yard fowl but now dem seh dem nah want dah, dem want chicken. But de yard fowl, to me, been more sweet.”

Welder Eon, only name given, has a small mechanic shop in the community. He told us that Bagotville is a cool place to live, but it is still boring. Part of the tedium lies in the lack of activities available for youths. When asked what he would like to see happen, he responded, “We need more recreational activity for the youths cause dem deh riding bicycle or walking on the road idle.”

In addition to the lack of recreation available to young people, this newspaper was also told that there was a high level of unemployment among them.

The house of former World War 1 veteran, Gershom O B Browne which was declared a National Heritage Site in 1999.

Miss McCalman, who is a teacher at the primary school, lives in front of the tamarind tree where libation ceremonies are performed every year at Emancipation. The tree is said to be over one hundred years old. On the day before Emancipation Day, people in the community would gather and clear the weeds around the tree, and later would come dressed in their African wear and perform African dances there.

Ms McCalman also told us that there was much room for development in the community. “One of the things… we don’t have an ATM or the big stores, and there is hardly a supermarket,” she said.

While there is a snackette in the village, residents said there was no hang-out spot where people ‘limed.’ In addition, they also told Sunday Stabroek that crime was not a problem.

Welder Eon at work
A barber at work

Bagotville does have water and electricity, and the drains appeared to be clear. There is a primary school and a nursery school, but children have to leave the community to attend secondary school. Since it is a small village, residents too are required to go out of Bagotville to seek

Relaxing from the heat at their small food stand
Enjoying a game of ‘ketcha’ in the yard

treatment for any health issues they may have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This youngster took a cool afternoon bath in his yard.
Melanie McCalman