Was your umbilical cord (navel string) buried?
Mine was — in El Dorado Village, West Coast Berbice, at my family home.
While this practice is not as common for those of us who grew up outside of Guyana, it’s something that my parents insisted on doing for me.
The Guyanese identity is very diverse and nuanced. Many of us have ancestry from Africa and India. Others from Europe, China, and/or are Indigenous to the land. Despite our multi-ethnic lineages, mixed culture, and different religions, Guyanese gold is something that all of us can relate to.
The rich yellow color, the distinct designs and styles of our jewelry, the gold teeth and bangles that many of our family and friends sport, and the way babies are adorned with gold rings and chains from the moment they’re brought home are identifying features of our community, despite there not being a universal physical “look” to our people.
When I came up with the name “G.O.L.D.R.U.S.H.” for this organization back in 2020, I wanted to ensure that the name of the association not only evoked feelings of familiarity, opportunity, collective effort, and progress, but also retained a piece of me as a founder.
To capture the nuance of our identity and values, I knew the organization had to include a symbol that unites us all — gold.
Not to mention, El Dorado, the name of the same village where my mother buried my navel string to symbolize a lifelong connection between me and my homeland, translates to “The Golden One” from Spanish.
While many of you may not have access to your navel string to bury it back in Guyana, I encourage you to find opportunities to build that connection with our homeland.
Whether that’s donating to Guyanese organizations working on the ground to develop Guyanese youth and society, participating in diaspora events that unite community members and uplift our culture internationally, or patronizing Guyanese entrepreneurs and creatives advancing our representation through their products and services, these are all ways we can stay connected.
This is the spirit behind G.O.L.D.R.U.S.H. — and just some of the ways we honor ourselves, our culture, our community, and Guyana’s founding principle of cooperativism, together.
