Cricket and football are the major outdoor sports, while the national indoor pursuit is dominoes. The majority of Afro-Guyanese are Christian, usually Anglican, and there's also a handful of Black Muslims. Most of the East Indian population is Hindu, but there's a sizeable Muslim minority. Guyanese food is distinctive and usually based on seafood or creole dishes like pepperpot, a spicy stew cooked in bitter cassava juice. Added to this are East Indian dishes such as curries and roti .
Chinese food is also common.
Beverages include Banks beer, local rum, brandy and whisky, and delicious fruit punches. The aboriginal inhabitants of the Guyanese coast were Carib Indians who had driven the peaceful Arawak north and westwards into the Antilles. European settlement didn't occur until 1615, when the Dutch West Indian Company erected a fort and depot on the lower Essequibo River. While the coast remained firmly under Dutch control, the English were busy establishing sugar and tobacco plantations west of the Suriname River. Conflict between the two countries meant parts of the region changed hands a number of times, but by 1796 Britain had become the major power.