Georgetown: James ‘Jimmy’ Hamilton, the man who helped coin the word “Mashramani” died at the age of 88. Hamilton came to Linden as a young man where he worked in the bauxite industry for several years as a photographer in the Communications and Administration Department. He played a critical role in capturing and archiving the history of Bauxite mining.
The Linden Museum holds testimony of his work, but his biggest achievement was his contributions to Mashramani. In 1972, the Jaycees of Greater Mackenzie were advised by the then government that the celebrations would be decentralized.
As a founder member of the Jaycees of Mackenzie, Hamilton played a prominent and integral role, in conceptualizing the whole idea of Mashramani, right down to the naming of the festival.
The first Mashramani in Linden was such a monumental success that the event was later adopted at the national level.
Hamilton afterwards was offended when the event was “desecrated” by persons who referred to it as “Mash”.
He thought it was belittling for such an event.
Small in stature, but of lofty ideas and ideals, he will also be remembered as a well-dressed man in whose hands, a cigarette seemed a permanent fixture.
Mashramani, often abbreviated to “Mash”, is an
annual festival that celebrates Guyana becoming a Republic in 1970. The
festival, usually held on 23 February – Guyanese Republic Day – includes a
parade, music, games and cooking and is intended to commemorate the “Birth
of the Republic”
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