Umana Yana

Umana Yana is located on High Street, Kingston, Georgetown. The word Umana Yana is an Amerindian term used by the Wai Wai people to describe the huge benabs they usually congregate in as a meeting place. The first Umana Yana to be built in the city of Georgetown was erected in 1972. Approximately 60 Wai Wai men and their leader, Chief Elka were transported from Konashen, Rupununi to Georgetown along with the structure’s core materials to get it constructed. Construction of the present Umana Yana involved a group of 35 men who were transported from Maskenari, South Rupununi under the supervision of Toshao Paul Chekema, nephew of Chief Elka, to complete the roof of the benab. The Umana Yana is considered the most prominent Amerindian structure in the city of Georgetown.

Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology

The Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology is located on Main Street, Georgetown. The museum is housed in a late 19th – early 20th century, three-storey colonial timber structure designed by British Guiana architect, Mr. John Bradshaw Sharples. The building was home to many pre-eminent figures before the British Government acquired it in 1942. The structure continued to house public offices until it was transferred to the state agency called the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology, named after Walter Roth, a famous English Anthropologist, who settled in British Guiana in the early 1900s. Features of the structure include its enclosed gallery, Demerara windows and tower. The museum showcase aspects of Guyana’s Amerindian people’s heritage.