Pemon people

Pemon

Pemon girl, Venezuela
Total population
(6,000)
Regions with significant populations
Venezuela,  Brazil,  Guyana
Languages
Pemon, Spanish
Religion
traditional tribal religion, Roman Catholicism

The Pemon or Pemón (Pemong) are indigenous people living in areas of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana. They are also known as Arecuna, Aricuna Jaricuna, Kamarakoto, and Taurepang.

The Pemon are part of the larger Cariban language family, and include six groups including the Arekuna, Ingarikó, Kamarakoto, Tualipang, Mapoyo and Macushi/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. (e.g.) The Pemon were first encountered by westerners in the 18th century and encouraged to convert to Christianity. 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 grassland plateau dotted with tabletop mountains where the Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall, plunges from Auyantepui in Canaima National Park.

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

Arekuna, or Pemon (in Spanish: Pemón) is a Cariban language spoken mainly in Venezuela, specifically in the Gran Sabana region of Bolivar State. According to the 2001 census there were 15,094 Pemon speakers in Venezuela.