The Pemon or Pemón (Pemong) are Indigenous people living in areas of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana. The Pemon people are divided into three principal dialects and traditions, which are Arekuna, Kamarakoto, and Taurepang. 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.

The Makuxi, who are also Pemon speakers, are found in Brazil and Guyana in areas close to the Venezuelan border.

Lifestyle

The Pemon language and people have been extremely affected by tourism and historical events like the establishment of the Canaima camp founded by the Boulton family nearby the Canaima town, where the demographic concentration of Pemon people is established. Many Pemon people work in hotels and tourism. This deeply affected the tradition of the Pemon people, as they turned out to be a Catholic majority population, and left behind their ancestral language and belief, still, many Pemon people, known as "Chamanes" still practice the ancestral religion, mostly for healthcare.

Language

Pemon (in Spanish: Pemón), is a Cariban language spoken mainly in Venezuela, specifically in the Gran Sabana region of Bolívar State. According to the 2001 census there were 15,094 Pemon speakers in Venezuela. It is divided into three principal dialects, which are; Arekuna, Kamarakoto, and Taurepang.

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.

See also

  • Pemon conflict

References

Further reading

  • Theodor Koch-Grunberg 1917 – Vom Roraima Zum Orinoco ("From Roraima to the Orinoco")
  • David John Thomas 1982 – Order Without Government: The Society of the Pemon Indians of Venezuela (University of Illinois Press)
  • Pemon Myths and Legends
  • Pemón health