Georgetown: The Umana Yana will rise once again like a phoenix at the site where it was destroyed by fire in 201 4. Addressing a simple sod turning ceremony Wednesday , Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples affairs Valerie Garrido – Lowe described the occasion as a fitting end to Heritage celebrations. The Minister said that it the day it was formally constructed and handed over in 1972 was a historic one and added that its destruction by fire in 2014 was a “sad day” for all.
The Minister opined that the rebuilding of the edifice will serve to, “remind all that the nine indigenous peoples of Guyana are highly skilled and capable”. She further expressed her gratitude to the Minster of Public Infrastructure David Patterson for including the reconstruction costs in his ministry’s 2015 budget and to Minister of Education Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine for the architectural design to be utilized.
For the Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, it was a “tremendous honor” to be able to assist with the reconstruction process. He revealed that of the total cost of 66.7 million dollars, 6 million will be used for a fire suppression system to avoid a repeat of the 2014 fire, and 16 million will be spent on a solar power system, as an alternate energy source. The foundation will also be raised some 12 inches to alleviate possible flooding. It is expected that the new benab, which will be built using traditional methods by Wai Wai tribe members led by master builder and former Toshao Colin Andrews, will be completed within the next six months. Materials, which are already being gathered, will be supplied by the villages of St. Cuthbert's Mission and Moraikobai
In brief remarks, Minister of Tourism Kathy Hughes noted her, “tremendous sense of loss, like most Guyanese”, describing the event as a cause for celebration “in terms of restoring an important landmark in the capital city”. She also urged the builders to, “Do your work well and make us proud”.
The Umana Yana was a conical palm thatched hut (benab) erected for the Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference in Georgetown, Guyana in August 1972 as a V.I.P. Lounge and recreation centre. Situated on Main Street next to the Pegasus Hotel, it is now a permanent and much admired part of Georgetown's scenery, and is in constant use as an exhibition and conference centre.
The structure was 55 feet (16.78 meters) high and is made from thatched allibanna and manicole palm leaves, and wallaba posts lashed together with mukru, turu and nibbi vines. No nails were used. It was erected by a team of about sixty Wai-Wai Amerindians, one of the nine indigenous tribes of Guyana. Fashioned like the Wai-Wai benabs or shelters which are found deep in Guyana's interior, it occupied an area of 460 square metres, making it the largest structure of its kind in Guyana.
On 26 August 1974, President Forbes Burnham unveiled the African Liberation Monument outside the benab "in memory of all of those who have struggled and continue to struggle for freedom from Human Bondage". The monument consists of five polished Greenheart logs encased in a jasper stand on a granite boulder.
"Umana Yana" is a Wai-Wai word meaning "Meeting place of the people". Renovated in 2010, on September 9, 2014 the Umana Yana was gutted by an electrical fire and destroyed.
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