The Pemon or Pemón (Pemong) are

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

living in areas of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

.See pp.112,113 and 178 of ''Venezuela: the Pemon'', in ''

Condé Nast Traveler ''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards. The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club memb ...

'', December 2008. They are also known as Arecuna, Aricuna Jaricuna, Kamarakoto, and Taurepang.

People

The Pemon are part of the larger Cariban language family, and include six groups including the Arekuna,

Ingarikó Ingarikó (Ingaricó) or Kapon is a term that collectively refers to three closely related tribes of indigenous people of South America, living in areas of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. Linguistically, the three groups fall within the Cariban lan ...

, Kamarakoto, Tualipang, Mapoyo and

Macushi The Macushi ( pt, Macuxi) 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, ...

/Makushi (Macuxi or Makuxi in Brazil). While ethnographic data on these groups are scant, Iris Myers produced one of the most detailed accounts of the Makushi in the 1940s, and her work is heavily relied upon for comparisons between historical and contemporary Makushi life. The Pemon were first encountered by westerners in the 18th century and converted by missionaries to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Their society is based on trade and considered egalitarian and decentralized, and in Venezuela, funding from petrodollars have helped fund community projects, and ecotourism opportunities are also being developed. In Venezuela, Pemon live in the

Gran Sabana La Gran Sabana (, en, The Great Savanna) is a region in southeastern Venezuela, part of the Guianan savanna ecoregion. The savanna spreads into the regions of the Guiana Highlands and south-east into Bolívar State, extending further to the bo ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

plateau dotted with tabletop mountains where the

Angel Falls Angel Falls ( es, Salto Ángel; Pemon language: ''Kerepakupai Merú'' meaning "waterfall of the deepest place", or ''Parakupá Vená'', meaning "the fall from the highest point") is a waterfall in Venezuela. It is the List of waterfalls by hei ...

, the world's highest waterfall, plunges from Auyantepui in

Canaima National Park Canaima National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Canaima) is a park in south-eastern Venezuela that roughly occupies the same area as the Gran Sabana region. It is located in Bolívar State, reaching the borders with Brazil and Guyana. History Ca ...

. In Brazil, Pemon live among other indigenous people near the borders of Venezuela and Guyana in villages within the Terras Indígenas São Marcos and Raposa Serra do Sol. There are 792 Pemon according to a 2014 estimate. The Makuxi, who are also Pemon speakers, are found in

and

in areas close to the Venezuelan border.

Language

Arekuna, or

Pemon The Pemon or Pemón (Pemong) are indigenous people living in areas of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana.See pp.112,113 and 178 of ''Venezuela: the Pemon'', in ''Condé Nast Traveler'', December 2008. They are also known as Arecuna, Aricuna Jaricuna, ...

(in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: Pemón), is a

Cariban The Cariban languages are a Language family, family of languages indigenous to northeastern South America. They are widespread across northernmost South America, from the mouth of the Amazon River to the Colombian Andes, and they are also spoken ...

language spoken mainly in

, specifically in the

region of Bolívar State. According to the 2001 census there were 15,094 Pemon speakers in

Myths

The Pemon have a very rich mythic tradition which is merged into their present Christian faiths. Pemon mythology includes gods residing in the grassland area's table-top mountains called ''

tepui A tepui , or tepuy (), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran S ...

''. The mountains are off-limits to the living, as they are also home to ancestor spirits called ''mawari''. The first non-native person to seriously study Pemon myths and language was the German ethnologist

Theodor Koch-Grunberg Theodor Koch-Grünberg (April 9, 1872, in Grünberg, Hesse, German Empire – October 8, 1924, in Caracaraí, Brazil) was a German ethnologist and explorer who made a valuable contribution to the study of the Indigenous peoples in South America, i ...

, who visited

Roraima Roraima (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas ...

in 1912. Important myths describe the origins of the sun and moon, the creation of the ''tepui'' mountains – which dramatically rise from the savannahs of the

— and the activities of the creator hero Makunaíma. Makunaíma is described as an individual or a group of brothers, sons of the sun ''Wei'' and a woman made of clay. He goes searching for his father who had been captive of malevolent spirits. After finding his father, Makunaíma finds the "tree of the world", which he cuts down and the resulting stump becomes Mount Roraima. The falling of the tree caused a great cataclysm, with floods and fire, and humans were recreated by Makunaíma. Makunaíma also turned people and animals into stone that are a part of Pemon description of the natural world. Missionary work among Amerindians has impacted Pemon belief; and ''Jechikrai'' is the Pemon adaptation of Jesus Christ.

"Kueka" stone controversy

In 1999, Wolfgang Kraker von Schwarzenfeld arranged the transport of a red stone boulder, weighing about 35 metric tons, from Venezuela's Canaima National Park to Berlin Tiergarten for his "global stone" project. Since that time, a dispute had been ongoing of the Pemon trying to get the stone back, involving German and Venezuelan authorities and embassies. On 16 April 2020, the Kueka stone was finally returned to Venezuela.

References

External links

Pemon Myths and LegendsPemón health
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pemon People Indigenous peoples of the Guianas Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples in Guyana Indigenous peoples in Venezuela