Santa Mission
Santa Aratak
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Village
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  Santa Mission Location in Guyana | |
| Coordinates: 6°33′42″N 58°19′49″W / 6.5618°N 58.3304°W / 6.5618; -58.3304 | |
| Country |  Guyana |
| Region | Essequibo Islands-West Demerara |
| Settled | 1858[1] |
| Government | |
| • Toshao | Hilton Williams[2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 220 km2 (84 sq mi) |
| Population
(2012)[4]
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| • Total | 277 |
Santa Mission (also: Santa Aratak[2]orSanta Aratack[5]) is a village in the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara Region of Guyana. Santa Mission is mainly inhabited by Lokono Amerindians.[1] The village is located on the Kamuni Creek, a tributary of the Demerara River.[6] The village of Hopetown, an early Chinese settlement, is located about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Santa Mission.[7]
Santa Mission was founded in 1858 by Alfred Patterson, a lumberjack who was looking for Wallaba trees (Eperua falcata). The village is built on white sand hills along the blackwater Kamuni Creek.[1]
The economy of Santa Mission is based on tourism, craft making, and logging.[2] The village has a Nursery and Primary school,[1] a healthcare centre,[6] and a local library.[3] In 2008, the festivities of the Amerindian Heritage Month were held in Santa Mission.[3] As of 2015, it was the only indigenous village in Essequibo Islands-West Demerara with titled land.[1]
Located on top of the hill is a giant silk-cotton tree. During the Dutch colonial era, the tree was used a navigation aid on the Demerara River. In the Lokono language, the tree is called Kamaka which means "mother of all trees."[1] There is a village monument dedicated to the past toshaos (village chiefs) and a kamuni Women Craft shop.[8] Near the village is the Arrowpoint Nature Resort, a privately owned tourist resort with its own nature reserve.[9]
Santa Mission does not have a connection to the road network and can only be accessed via the river.[1] Arrowpoint Nature Resort operates a ferry service from Timehri (Cheddi Jagan International Airport) which makes a stop at Santa Mission.[9] The journey will take between 45 minutes and one hour.[1]
In 1864, Chinese missionary O'Tye Kim petitioned the Court of Policy for a Chinese settlement.[10] In 1865, Hopetown was founded on the Kamuni Creek and started with 25 settlers. The village was named Hopetown after Admiral James Hope who had visited the village. It is located at 6°31′58″N 58°16′51″W / 6.53277°N 58.2808°W / 6.53277; -58.2808.[7]
Hopetown flourished and peaked at 800 people in 1874.[7] The economy was mainly based on charcoal production. When the demand dwindled, many Chinese moved to other towns.[11] By 1914, about a third of the population was non-Chinese and there were only 46 Chinese left.[7]
