Local writer launches book of prehistoric saga

Apr 08, 2019 News

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By Feona Morrison

Already known for his book narrating Guyana’s vast folklore, local writer Michael Castello now has a new book available, Cloud Warriors—The Alpha-Warraus’ Story, a revised edition. The 76-page book consists of 15 chapters.
According to Castello, who hails from Region One (Barima Waini), “Cloud Warriors can lay claim to possibly being a miniscule part of the unwritten prehistoric saga, of a unique South American tribe called the Warraus (First People). They are not related to any other Amerindian grouping, and are one of the few still existing, whose origin has been lost in the mists of antiquity.”
Once a mighty people said to have dominated this planet at an ancient period, their fast-dwindling, indigenous population is now centered mainly between the Waini River of Guyana and the Amacura River of Venezuela, he said, adding that folklore and beliefs are diminished ancestral memories of actual events, on which the hypothesis around which this book has been woven.
“The well known Warrau’s story of The Hunter who in his Cloudland hunting grounds shot a bird that fell through a hole in the sky, and who followed it and discovered Earth. Along with the strange, unusually detailed dreams of a small village piaiman, triggered an (on and off) investigative odyssey that stretched over a number of years, and had me seeking out piaiman-priests of a certain mystical status.”

The writer explained that the sterling contributions of three of these clerics (a priest or religious leader, especially a Christian or Muslim one) forms the gist of this book, resorting to the clairvoyance or those who were born with a well developed third eye to access knowledge that could not be obtained by conventional means, is not unheard of.
“Immediately, there comes to mind documented incidents about world-famous psychics such as Marie Anne Lenormand of France, Edgar Cayce of USA, known as the sleeping prophet, Pythia the Pelphic Oracle (a woman) of Delphi Greece and Baba Vanga of Bulgaria. They prescribed effective unorthodox healing methods and remedies for those seeking such, accurately predicted important events in the lives of the major leaders of their times, and also explored and revealed details of little known past historical happenings. Venturing into the world of Extra Sensory Perception, did give hope to this seemingly impossible exploration.”
According to him, “In 2005, I attempted to structure a cohesive story only to discover what I had finally amassed, was a wealth of data whose time sequence had to be deciphered from events that kept clashing with each other. I shelved, and I delved, because knowledge was still lacking. In 2013, I completed a draft, my first edition. Although reviewers claimed otherwise, it left me with the uneasy, unshakable feeling, of not quite getting it right.”
He said that his investigations took him away from metaphysics to its periphery and a fascinating topic labeled, Futuristic Science. With much more insight, he began this review in 2017 and although the paranormal probes did not reveal certain specific details desired. For example, what event or events was responsible for the artifacts uncovered in Moruca by local archaeologists; or what happens to those whom the Cloud Warriors shift to Cloudland (via Bermuda triangle etc); it did give him a mind-boggling glimpse into the fantastic prehistoric saga of the Cosmic Hosts and their creations.
Disclosing an interesting revelation of the Cloud Warriors, Castello further said, “The Cloud Warriors (angelic hosts) were originally, beings sent by E’Shaquai (Hesakaquai-the Highest One) to convert the clouds of dust floating in the space of the Lower Universe into planetary systems, and populate them with suitable life forms. Our physical Lower Universe (the third dimension) is endowed with higher levels or dimensions, and is linked to corresponding parallel or positive counterparts.”
He continued, “Cloudland is the positive or parallel part of planet Earth’s manifestation in the third dimension. On Earth, the sudden opening of a doorway to Cloudland, would usually be heralded by the appearance of a patch of fog-like, silvery, magnetic cloud. Any physical being or manufactured object, enveloped by, or entering this manifestation, would be in almost every instance, transferred there.
Other entrances (often imposed unfamiliar landscapes involving mainly water) may also briefly materialize, without the cloud signature. The so called Devil’s Triangle (Bermuda to Miami to Puerto Rico) is believed to be the location of a natural doorway, which becomes active, particularly in the last quarter of every year. The positive thing about all this is that Science is fast encroaching on areas that were once regarded as, strictly Metaphysics.”

OTHER WRITINGS
Castello is also the author of Twice Upon 2, the sequel to Twice Upon A Time. He said that his objective was to produce narratives that would hold the attention of both the young and old.
“These are of course original, never-told-before tales (except the Janacree incidents, which actually occurred). It is a cosmopolitan mix, which keeps the reader leaping into different worlds at supersonic speed. After the script was completed, a few randomly selected stories were exposed to my chosen test audience consisting of teens and over. The whole document was requested. Word got around, and live narrations for juniors now acquiring reading skills also became a part of the assessment mode,” he said.
The book consists of 10 short stories: ‘Janacree’, ‘The Hassa Hunt’, ‘Monkey-Boy’, ‘The Man-Kite’, ‘The Yam Deal’, ‘The Stowaways’, ‘The Trawler-Trip’, ‘ House Across the River’, ‘The School Leaver’, and ‘The Manicole Hut’.
‘The Manicole Hut’, Castello confessed, is of significance to him. He revealed that Manicole Huts existed at the Barimani River, Region One in the early 1980s. He recalled that there was where persons went during the dry season to fish and hunt for animals.
Like his previous book, ShadoWalkers, a collection of indigenous short stories inspired by historical and other real events, digital copies are also available of Twice Upon 2. ShadoWalkers is a 101-page collection of adult fictional stories dedicated to the late Minister within the Ministry of Education, Dr. Desrey Fox, who died on December 11, 2009, three days after she was involved in a car accident.
His inspiration for chronicling this collection came from working in the interior and listening to the experiences of villagers and following up with serious research. “During my research for folk history data in Guyana, I was fortunate to meet and hold dialogues with the late Dr. Desrey Fox (then junior Minister of Education) who had conducted an in-depth exploration of the Kanaima Cult in the south of Guyana.”
Castello recalled that when Dr. Fox was questioned about the dangers inherent in such an undertaking, she responded, “If one throws a pebble in a pond, there are sure to be ripples.” He said that she then paused, smiled absently and continued, “Like the Leopard Men of West Africa these Kanaimas, ‘Jaguar-Men’ locally known as ‘Turn-tigers’ have an outer circle, an inner circle and a centre. The outer circle could be revealed without consequences, the inner circle only if one knew how, the centre however, has its price.”
Other books written by Castello includes Devildoer (contemporary stories based on real life incidents in North West Region, Down Rubber Road and Riptide (a cosmopolitan short story collection).

EARLY BEGINNINGS
Castello began his writing career years ago by writing short stories for children. The most well-known are Mezee and the Moco-Moco Tree (an Ol’ Higue story) and Hard Times All Round (A Kanaima story). His first adult short story, ‘Write it Off to Experience’ was bought by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for its World Service Programme.
He is remembered for producing the North Western Region’s first news magazine, The Samborah (message drum), which highlighted the amalgamated lifestyles of the Warraus, Lokonos (Arawaks) and the Karinyas (Caribs). This former teacher, NIS Inspector, Social Worker and then radio broadcaster, said he quit his day jobs to take up full-time writing. Like any other writer, he reads extensively and is also a singer/song writer.
Apart from writing, he dabbles with studio software, home recordings and pursues photography. On the lighter side, Castello is a lover of physical fitness and has a thing for motorcycles. Added to that, he believes in the A3T principles of accomplishing today’s task, today. Another thing this writer confesses is that he developed a love for writing as a little boy, “I read because I wanted to write,” he proudly said, adding that he has never experienced the so-called condition of “writer’s block.”
He added that a situation like this usually happens when you are being pressured to meet deadlines by agents and/or publishers. He spends about eight to 10 hours daily writing “with maybe a short break or two. As soon as I am finished with a book, I move on to the next one.”
His main focus is on getting material to print his novels. Castello prints several copies of his novels, which are sold or given away to persons in his community. With Guyana not having active copyright laws, Castello still hopes that the relevant authorities will help in promoting local writers by establishing a publishing company on the lines of the defunct Caribbean Press.

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