Club

The WaiWai and their neighbouring groups in Guyana made this particular ‘spatulate’ type of club to use in festivals and dances. They normally made dance clubs of lighter wood than war clubs and decorated them with basketry or feather work. Like many other Amerindians of the Caribbean and the South American mainland, the WaiWai had their own annual festivals that were spectacular affairs. They consumed quantities of cassava bread, meat and alcohol. The Waiwai’s famous ritual Shodewika dance and festival was an opportunity for neighbouring villages to get together.

Missionaries and colonial powers banned most of the festivals. As many Amerindians converted to Christianity or mixed their traditional beliefs with modern ones the need for dance clubs declined.