Monkey Mountain (also Wandike) is an indigenous village in the

Potaro-Siparuni Potaro-Siparuni (Region 8) is a region of Guyana. It borders the region of Cuyuni-Mazaruni to the north, the regions of Upper Demerara-Berbice and East Berbice-Corentyne to the east, the region of Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo to the south and ...

Region of

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. The village is inhabited by the Patamona and

Macushi The Macushi (''Makuusi'', ) are an Indigenous people living in the borderlands of southern Guyana, northern Brazil in the state of Roraima, and in an eastern part of Venezuela. Identification The Macushi are also known as the Macusi, Macussi, ...

tribes. Monkey Mountain is located near the Brazilian border. The village shares its name with the nearby mountain with a height of . The name is derived from the seasonal migration of monkeys on and around the nearby mountains.

Overview

Monkey Mountain is located in the North

Pakaraima Mountains The Pacaraima or Pakaraima Mountains (, ) are a mountain range primarily in southwestern Guyana, and into northern Brazil and eastern Venezuela. Geography The range extends from west to east for over . Its highest peak is Mount Roraima at above ...

, and lies at an altitude of . The village has a school, a health centre, and a police station. The people in Monkey Mountain are multilingual, speaking Patamona,

, Portuguese and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. The village received internet connection in 2019. The toshao (village chief) as of 2019 is Lincoln Singh. A major attraction is the North Pakaraima Exposition, a two-day event with exhibits and sport competitions for the indigenous communities.

Economy

The economy used to be based on

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occ ...

, hunting and gathering. An important economic activity for the village is quarrying precious stones like crystals,

amethyst Amethyst is a Violet (color), violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek from - , "not" and (Ancient Greek) / (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from Alcohol into ...

jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

and

agate Agate ( ) is a banded variety of chalcedony. Agate stones are characterized by alternating bands of different colored chalcedony and sometimes include macroscopic quartz. They are common in nature and can be found globally in a large number of d ...

. In 2018, a

lapidary Lapidary () is the practice of shaping rock (geology), stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems (including cameo (carving), cameos), and faceted designs. A person who practices lapidary techniques of ...

was built with government assistance and in cooperation with the villages of Kato, Kurukabaru, Maikwak, and Tuseneng. The lapidary will allow the villagers to process the stones themselves, and export jewellery.

Transport

There is an unpaved road connection between

Karasabai Karasabai is an indigenous village of Macushi Amerindians in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. It is located in the South Pakaraima Mountains, and near the Ireng River which flows south to the Amazon River. Legend According ...

and Monkey Mountain. The main access is by air via the Monkey Mountain Airport located near the village.

References

{{Settlements in Guyana, state=expanded Indigenous villages in Guyana Mines in Guyana Populated places in Potaro-Siparuni