History through place names

When nations forget or fail to know that which was done before, that nation quickly becomes undone. In Guyana, History is one of the most neglected subjects of study at all educational levels. Indeed, historical facts and analyses are reduced to platitudes, ethnic biases, and one-day “cultural” celebrations. The result is a nation of individuals who remain ignorant of how they came to be and who they are. One’s sense of identity is linked inextricably to one’s history. This research project explores the perception of history as an academic discipline in Guyana. The study examines the views of teachers and students at the Secondary level. Even when history is taught at the secondary level, it is taught in dreary and arid ways, and becomes merely a naming of individuals and dates, quickly forgotten. Students, when they actually read for examinations, quickly become dismissive of the discipline. This research offers up at least one way to make history a living thing, a thing of interest which surrounds us each day of our lives. The study proposes that research into the names of villages and towns that we inhabit may offer unique insights into what and who have gone before, and into how those past actions live in the very names of the places where we live. Aderalegbe (1975) also describes history as “a study of how man influenced and has in turn influenced by his environment, in terms of physical, social, political, economical, psychological, cultural, scientific, and technological environment”. He goes on to refer to history “as a way of life”.