Pork-knocker

Last updated

Pork-knockers are freelance Guyanese prospectors who mine for diamonds and gold in the alluvial plains of the Guyanese interior. Pork-knockers have been responsible for discovering large deposits of gold and diamonds. The name "pork-knockers" refers to their regular diet of pickled pork of wild pig that is often eaten at the end of the day. [1] Caribbean author A. R. F. Webber suggested that the term may have originated as "pork-barrel knocker". [2]

Contents

History

Satellite image of Guyana from 2004. Guyana BMNG.png
Satellite image of Guyana from 2004.

Small-scale mining attracted many Afro-Guyanese before and after emancipation as a way to cope with unemployment and to avoid conflict-ridden agricultural work. Mining continues to be a traditional occupation for Afro-Guyanese since the bauxite industry began in the 20th century. [3]

A 1921 account observed that most pork-knockers of that era were of African descent and worked individually or in small groups. [4] Pork-knockers have often been dependent on bush traders, who carry mining supplies and sometimes grubstake the pork-knockers' operations. [5] [4] Pork-knockers may work in close proximity to each other and disputed claims may lead to violence. [6]

Pork-knocking is extremely hazardous and deaths are not uncommon. Miners were crushed under falling trees, earth, and rock. [7] Drowning often occurs as mining operations are typically based on rivers to capture gold and diamond-laden sediments. The remoteness and wild terrain are a challenge for receiving emergency medical care. [3]

Culture and conflict

Pork-knockers engage in a distinct social system, defined by their distance from home; "outside of the moral surveillance of a domicile". [8] : 40  Success demands conspicuous displays of generosity, giving the miner social prestige and inject money into the isolated economies. Selfishness is associated with distrust, and can damage a miner's access to credit, and also belief that when a miner is stingy, the earth will also deprive them of its bounty. [8]

The presence of pork-knockers in the Guyanese interior has upset traditional Amerindian life there. The Akawaio people have experienced land disputes with pork-knockers and have been adversely affected by a rising cost of living. Amazonian anthropologist Audrey Butt Colson observed that mining has led to a collapse of the subsistence economy. Butt Colson writes that mining village Kamarang, known as "Red Light City", typifies the "pork-knocker syndrome of drink, gambling, sex, conspicuous consumption and, from time to time, violence." [9]

Mining is also under-taken by Amerindians, but there are different social mechanisms in place creating a distinction from those who come from Guyana's urban coast (known as 'coastlanders'). Hinterland mining supplements farming, so proceeds are devoted towards household consumption. [8]

There are Guyanese folk songs influenced by pork-knocker culture, often addressing the danger of the occupation and the hope of finding gold. In 1996, playwright Harold Bascom won the Guyana Prize for Makantali, inspired by the folk song by the same name. [10]

Many Guyanese stories describe pork-knockers who have made fortunes only to lose them in a tragic or comic fashion. [11] Guyana-born author Jan Carew's 1958 novel Black Midas involves a boy leaving his coastal village to become a pork-knocker. [12] Sheik Sadeek, a novelist and playwright, produced stories about Guyana's colonial era working class, [13] and often used pork-knockers as the subject of his works, including the play Porkknockers. [14]

In 2010, Guyanese artist Barrington Braithwaite released a comic book Illustrated History of the Porkknocker as a collaboration with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission. [15] Another graphic novel by Braithwaite, Mighty Itanamie, is a supernatural fiction based on pork-knocker legends. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Guyana</span>

The economy of Guyana is one of the fastest growing in the world with a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 19.9% in 2021. In 2023, Guyana had a per capita gross domestic product of Int$60,648 and an average GDP growth of 4.2% over the previous decade. Guyana's economy was transformed in 2015 with the discovery of an offshore oil field in the country’s waters about 120 miles from Georgetown. Making the first commercial grade crude oil draw in December 2019, sending it abroad for refining.

Guyanese culture reflects the influence of African, Indian, Amerindian, British, Portuguese, Chinese, Creole, and Dutch cultures. Guyana is part of the mainland Caribbean region. Guyanese culture shares a continuum with the cultures of islands in the West Indies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Kaituma</span> Place in Barima-Waini, Guyana

Port Kaituma is a small village within the Barima-Waini administrative region of Guyana. It became known internationally as a gateway village to the Peoples Temple settlement in nearby Jonestown. It has long been a hub for mining in the area.

Matthews Ridge is a small village within the Barima-Waini administrative region of Guyana. The village name comes from the name of a public official, Matthew Young, as well as the ridges in the area. The village is divided into three sections, Heaven's Hill, Hell Hill and the valley.

The Knocker, Knacker, or Tommyknocker (US) is a mythical, subterranean, gnome-like creature in Cornish and Devon folklore. The Welsh counterpart is the coblyn. It is closely related to the Irish leprechaun, Kentish kloker and the English and Scottish brownie. The Cornish described the creature as a little person 2 ft 0 in (0.61 m) tall, with a disproportionately large head, long arms, wrinkled skin, and white whiskers. It wears a tiny version of standard miner's garb and commits random mischief, such as stealing miners' unattended tools and food.

A coblyn is a mythical gnome-like creature that is said to haunt the mines and quarries of Wales and areas of Welsh settlement in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mazaruni River</span> River in Guyana

The Mazaruni River is a tributary of the Essequibo River in northern Guyana. Its source is in the remote western forests of the Pakaraima Mountains and its confluence with the Cuyuni River is near Bartica. As it descends from the Guiana Highlands the river runs south-east, past Issano, then northward to Bartica. The river is a source of alluvial gold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potaro River</span> River in Guyana

The Potaro River is a river in Guyana that runs from Mount Ayanganna area of the Pakaraima Mountains for approximately 255 km (158 mi) before flowing into the Essequibo River, Guyana's largest river. The renowned Kaieteur Falls is on the Potaro.

Imbaimadai is a community in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni Region of Guyana.

Baracara village was founded by people of African descent in the East Berbice-Corentyne Region of Guyana, located on the Canje River. The community has also been called New Ground Village or Wel te Vreeden. Baracara is 20 miles west of Corriverton and just north of the Torani Canal's connection to the Canje River.

Campbelltown is an Amerindian village in the Potaro-Siparuni Region of Guyana, north of Mahdia. The village has been named after Stephen Campbell, the first Amerindian member of Parliament in Guyana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guyana</span> Caribbean country in South America

Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic mainland British West Indies. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". Georgetown is the capital of Guyana with the largest population. Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Venezuela to the west, and Suriname to the east. With a land area of 214,969 km2 (83,000 sq mi), Guyana is the third-smallest sovereign state by area in mainland South America after Uruguay and Suriname, and is the second-least populous sovereign state in South America after Suriname; it is also one of the least densely populated countries on Earth. It has a wide variety of natural habitats and very high biodiversity. The country also hosts one part of the Amazon rainforest, the largest tropical rainforest in the world.

Prostitution in Guyana is illegal but widespread. Prostitution law is antiquated and dates from the colonial era. Law enforcement is inconsistent and sex workers report violence and abuse by the police. Many turn to prostitution for economic reasons and the lack of other job opportunities. Prostitution continues to receive greater public attention due to the high incidence of HIV/AIDS among prostitutes. Prostitution in the country is separated into three types: "uptown", servicing affluent clients, "downtown", servicing the working classes, and mining sites. UNAIDS estimate there to be 6,000 prostitutes in the country.

Surama is an Amerindian village in the North Rupununi area and the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana, with a population of 274 people as of 2012.

The Omai Gold Mine is located in Guyana on the north coast of South America near the west bank of the Essequibo River in the interior of the country. Access to Omai is by road from the capital of Georgetown on the coast, and from the town of Linden approximately 60 km away. There is an operational airstrip on site which can accommodate aircraft from Georgetown. Gold mining at Omai is known from at least the 1880s, and when it was developed as a large scale mine in 1992 by Cambior, the mine was the largest gold mine in the Guiana Shield and a major source of income and employment in Guyana. During the period from 1992 – 2005, Omai produced 3.7 Moz of gold at an average grade of 1.5 g/t Au from the Fennell and the Wenot open pits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Guyana</span> Overview of the status of women in Guyana

Women in Guyana are a cross-section of Asian, African, and indigenous backgrounds. British colonization and imperialism have contributed to the sexism against Guyanese women in the household, politics, and education.

Mining in Guyana is a significant contributor to the economy owing to sizable reserves of bauxite, gold, and diamonds. Much of these resources are found in Guyana's Hilly Sand and Clay belt, a region that makes up 20% of the country.

Karen de Souza is a Guyanese women and child's rights activist who has worked to advocate for victims, educate and provide support for victims of violence. Founder of the NGO Red Thread anti-violence campaigns, she has been involved in training programmes of judicial officers and contributed to the drafting law to protect trafficking and anti-violence. Her advocacy has been recognized by both regional and international organizations.

Aranaputa is an Amerindian village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana. It is located in the Pacaraima Mountains.

Isseneru is an Amerindian settlement in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni region of Guyana, approximately 15–20 miles west of Kurupung.

References

  1. ↑ "Pork-knocker". Dictionary of Caribbean English usage . Kingston, Jamaica [u.a.]: University of the West Indies Press. 2003. p.  450. ISBN   9789766401450. pork knocker.
  2. ↑ Menezes, Mary Noel, ed. (1979). The Amerindians in Guyana, 1803–73: A Documentary History. London: Cass. p. 300. ISBN   978-0-7146-4030-3.
  3. 1 2 Josiah, B. (7 November 2011). Migration, Mining, and the African Diaspora: Guyana in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Springer. ISBN   978-0-230-33801-2.
  4. 1 2 "Diamond Production Makes Great Increase". Engineering and Mining Journal. 111 (8): 363. 19 February 1921.
  5. ↑ Lee, R. J. (July 1981). "Diamond Production in Guyana". The Journal of Gemmology. Gemmological Association of Great Britain. XVII (7): 477.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  6. ↑ "Mining Reporter: Life on the Cayenne Gold Fields". Mining American. 49: 86. 28 January 1904.
  7. ↑ GTIMES (22 November 2018). "Woman miner crushed to death after pit collapses". Guyana Times. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 Roopnaraine, Terry (1996). "Symbolising Value: Culture and Economy Among Guyanese Gold and Diamond Miners". Cambridge Anthropology. 19 (3): 22–42. ISSN   0305-7674. JSTOR   23818796.
  9. ↑ "Maps, Power, and the Defense of Territory". Communities and Conservation: Histories and Politics of Community-based Natural Resource Management. Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press. 2005. p. 289. ISBN   978-0-7591-0506-5.
  10. ↑ Creighton, Al (31 August 2014). "The porkknocker contribution to Guyanese culture". Stabroek News. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  11. ↑ "Searching for Diamonds". World Digital Library. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Lewis, Gordon K. (2004). The Growth of the Modern West Indies. Kingston, Jamaica: I. Randle. p. 292. ISBN   9789766371715.
  13. ↑ "THE ARTS FORUM". Kaieteur News. 24 August 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  14. ↑ Rubin, Don; Solorzano, Carlos (8 October 2013). World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: The Americas. Routledge. p. 187. ISBN   978-1-136-35921-7.
  15. ↑ "Braithwaite launches 'Illustrated History of the Porkknocker'". Guyana Chronicle. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  16. ↑ Jordan, Michael (27 February 2017). "Barrington Braithwaite's 'Mighty Itanamie'". Kaieteur News. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.