Lethem

The Rupununi is the homeland of Indigenous peoples. The Wapishana live mainly in the southern savannah and the Makushi in the north, and the Wai-Wai and Patamona also live in the region. Early European explorers believed the flooded savannah was the legendary Lake Parime, and today cattle ranches dot the grasslands, some worked by vaqueros descended from 19th-century Scottish settlers.

In 1909 the Jesuit priest Cuthbert Cary-Elwes founded the mission that became St. Ignatius, on the Takutu River near the Kanuku Mountains, and the town that grew up beside it was named after Sir Gordon Lethem, governor of British Guiana from 1941 to 1947. It became the capital of the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region. In 1969 ranchers in the savannah launched what became known as the Rupununi Uprising, which was quelled within a few days.

Because the savannah is so far from the coast, most of its trade is with Brazil. The opening of the Takutu River Bridge in 2009, built at Brazil's expense, gave the two countries their only road link and turned Lethem into a shopping town for Brazilians from Boa Vista and beyond. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 a guarded gate was set up on the road to the river at St. Ignatius to control illegal crossings.

Lethem is a meeting point of three cultures: Guyanese, Brazilian and Amerindian. English is the official language, but most trade is with Brazil and Portuguese is widely spoken across the savannah; in villages such as St. Ignatius, Wapishana, Macushi and Patamona are spoken, with English and Portuguese as second languages. St. Ignatius is largely Roman Catholic, a legacy of the Jesuit mission, and launched a bilingual Wapishana and English education programme in 2017.

Ranching gives the town its character. The vaqueros of the savannah ranches come together at Easter for the Lethem rodeo, the main event of the year, which begins on the Saturday evening with bull riding, wild cow milking, a greased pig contest, horse racing and bareback and saddle riding for both men and women. Games and contests include a rope pull between vaqueros and vaqueras from Georgetown and teams of local Amerindians, and visitors come from all over Guyana and from neighbouring Brazil.

At St. Ignatius, village life follows a tradition of "self-help", resolving problems without outside assistance, and the community is governed by an elected council under a toshao. Amerindian crafts are sold in the town.

Lethem had about 1,700 people in 2012, and the whole Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region had about 30,000 at the 2022 census. As the regional capital it is a hub linking the surrounding villages to Georgetown, with government offices, a Brazilian vice-consulate and an office of Conservation International.

Commerce dominates the town. Shops selling shoes, bicycles, shirts and home electronics serve mainly Brazilian customers, who carry goods back to Boa Vista, Manaus, Pacaraima and Santa Elena de Uairén, and three currencies change hands across the counters. Around the town, cattle ranching, farming, brick making, fishing, plant and mineral extraction and tourism provide work; cashew trees grow wild, and the cooperative at St. Ignatius processes cashews and cassava bread and supplies school meals.

Water is often drawn from hand-dug wells, and the community supply is slightly salty, so bottled water is sold everywhere, even in five-gallon containers. The year turns on the rains: from May to August the savannah floods and the road north becomes slow and uncertain, while the long dry season is the time for travel and the Easter rodeo.

Food in Lethem reflects both the savannah and the border. The ranches mean beef is plentiful, and at the Easter rodeo stalls sell chicken- or pork-on-a-stick and sun-back beef. Cashews grow wild in the Rupununi, and roasted cashew nuts are a popular snack; the women's cooperative at St. Ignatius packages cashews and cassava bread. Mangoes and coconuts are common in town.

The everyday Guyanese repertoire is here too — curry, roti, dhal and cook-up rice, the one-pot dish of rice, beans, coconut milk and meat — but eating options in the town are limited, with a few basic local eateries including one at the bus station. Many travellers bring some food with them, and checking best-before dates on shop goods is wise.

Brazil is a short walk away across the bridge, and Brazilian food, drink and groceries are part of daily life on both banks of the Takutu. Bottled water is the norm for drinking, as the local supply is slightly salty.