Guyanese Americans recall traditional Diwali celebrations in Guyana

Guyanese immigrants in the United States who moved during the 1960s to the 1980s remember the cultural atmosphere of Diwali in Guyana.

These individuals describe the Festival of Lights as a deep connection to their childhoods and village lives. They recall a time when the celebration served as a national cultural event that included people of various ethnicities and religions.

Families in Guyana prepared for the festival by cleaning and decorating their homes to welcome Mother Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Residents purchased new clothes, groceries, and clay deyas, which are earthen lamps. In villages, children looked forward to school holidays and the collective effort of lighting rows of lamps along windowsills, rooftops, and garden pathways. These flickering lights transformed entire neighborhoods into displays of light.

The celebration also featured a wide variety of traditional Indian sweets and savory dishes prepared by relatives. The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha introduced a Diwali motorcade in 1974, which grew into a procession of illuminated floats featuring music and dance. The author of the letter, Vishnu Bisram, notes that he organized the first Diwali celebrations at Corentyne High School in 1976. These traditions traveled with Guyanese people as they migrated to the United States over several decades.