Paddle - local name: Nale. Purchased from Christiani Oselmo, an Arawak elder in St. Cuthbert's, Mahaica River, Region 4, Guyana, on the 1st June 2003. The paddles were used for canoes that carried out fishing and transportation activities on the Mahaica River. This longer paddle, which is painted yellow, is the 'male' counterpart of the other [2003.434]. It was probably made from Yarola wood but was painted yellow by the owner. I do not think there is any symbolic meaning attached to the type of colour used to paint the paddle. The tree that produces the Yarola wood is not destroyed when making the paddle. One cuts a branch or only a part of the tree that one would need for the paddles and leaves the tree intact. A plain wooden canoe paddle with broad blade, made of greyish-brown coloured wood. The handle end is bifurcated.
