Umana Yana

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The Umana Yana is a “palm thatched” structure built by the Wai Wai Amerindians, one of Guyana’s nine indigenous tribes in 1972. The Umana Yana was built for the Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference where it was used as a V.I.P lounge and recreation center. The word Umana Yana is Amerindian meaning “meeting place of the people”. The structure stands 55 feet high and is now apart of Georgetown’s historic landmarks. Within the property of the Umana Yana stands the Liberation Monument. It was erected for the visit from the Council of Namibia in 1974 as a memorial to the “struggle for freedom around the world”. Engraved on the monument is the saying,

“Mourn not for us who died
But for our brothers everywhere
Who live in bondage
And mourning, turn away to act”

The memorial is composed of “five timber columns standing behind a granite boulder, surrounded by jasper pavement”. The Umana Yana is one of Georgetown’s most honored attractions.

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• The Botanic Gardens
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