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26-831: The Macushi are also known as the Macusi, Macussi, Makushi, Makusi, Makuxi, Teueia, and Teweya people. Macushi, as well as the Arecuna, Kamarakoto, and Taurepan are considered sub-groups of Pemon . Macushi people speak the Macushi language , a Macushi-Kapon language, which is part of the Carib language family . Some in Brazil also speak Portuguese , while some in Venezuela speak Spanish , and some in Guyana speak English . The Macushi language

52-590: 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. 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

78-457: A real spirit of prayer my life as a missionary would be impossible». Once he had mastered the Makushi language he used to sit long hours into the night, surrounded by men, women and children, talking, singing and instructing them in an informal way. Rupununi people called him ‘Little padre’, an affectionate title. In January 1923, struck by a severe mental breakdown that left him disoriented in

104-466: Is divided into three principal dialects, which are; Arekuna, Kamarakoto, and Taurepang. 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 . 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

130-599: Is in Macushi and Wapishana territory, two Amerindian groups whose langue he learns. For two years he has to rely entirely on interpreters for communicating with them. But soon his progressive fluency in the languages allows him to make himself understood among the Patamona people who receive him well. He builds many simple houses and a few churches. Quite a few people receive baptism . His pastoral area covers 300 square miles (780 km ) through which he walks for hours and days, finding this more helpful for prayer: «without

156-746: Is ordained priest the 18 July 1900, in London. Inspired by an uncle, missionary in South Africa , he writes in 1902 to the Superior General of the Jesuits , Luis Martin , offering to be sent to any mission land, China or ‘the wild Indians of Brazil’. The General leaves the decision to the local provincial who accedes to the desire of Cary-Elwes and sends him to British Guyana in 1904. After three years in Georgetown , headquarter of

182-591: Is written in the Latin script , and the New Testament was translated into the language in 1996. Macushi were hesitant to teach their language to outsiders, thus the language was threatened in the 1950s, as it was considered "slang" compared to the official Portuguese. They live in villages linked together by tracks and paths, with houses built round a central courtyard. When married, the Macushi couple lives in

208-685: The Tree of Life . The Macushi believe in the life principle – stkaton – and they believe it comes from the sun. Similar to other Amerindian groups (such as Patamona or Akawaio people ) is the importance of the piaiman , a medicine-man or spiritual leader and belief in keinaimi (kanaima) , a type of evil spirit that is personified as an "outsider" that brings death and misfortune. Kanaima have been associated with shape-shifting (usually animals such as jaguars, bats, or armadillos) and attacks are often directed at individuals when they are alone, in which they would be assaulted and die some days later. Another use of

234-543: 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. In 1999, Wolfgang Kraker von Schwarzenfeld arranged

260-462: The 18th century and converted by missionaries 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 ,

286-496: The 1900s, many Macushi worked as laborers doing balata-bleeding or cattle-ranching. Brazilian indigenous policies have had a more visibly significant effect on Macushi culture compared to the Guyana side, which on the most part had been to leave them alone. During the 18th century in Brazil, non-native people occupied Macushi territory, establishing mission villages and farms and forcing Macushi people to relocate. The Brazilian Government have set up schools, as well as hospitals for

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312-695: The British colony, Cary-Elwes is finally sent to the interior of the country. He is stationed first at Morawhanna , at the border of Venezuela where he does catechism and pastoral work. But a new mission is to be opened further south in Guyana , close to the Brazilian border. Cary-Elwes is chosen for the challenging task. In 1909 he travels through the Amazonian forest to reach the Takutu River . He

338-717: The Dutch and English, limiting the extent of their lands to the Rupununi Savannah . While there are reports of Macushi selling their own into slavery, it has also been noted that this was done under duress. In the 1800s, Macushis "specialized in producing hammocks, various crafts, and a potent form of curare" which were traded among other Amerindian groups in the region often for cassava graters and blow-pipes. Prior to European colonization, Macushi were semi-nomadic, but permanent settlements have since formed usually around Catholic or Anglican missions or government-built schools. By

364-546: The Macushi and since 2005 they are campaigning for land rights to be recognized throughout Brazil. Macushi are the largest indigenous group in the Roraima, and make up a segment of the population of Boa Vista . Raposa Serra do Sol is a recognized indigenous area of the Macushi. In Guyana, the Macushi settled in the Northern Rupununi Savannah. Cuthbert Cary-Elwes , a Jesuit missionary settled among

390-489: The Macushi of the Rupununi Region (Guyana) in 1909, learned the language and stayed with them for more than 23 years. The Iwokrama International Centre is managed by Macushi and the villages of Annai , Kwatamang, Surama , Rewa , Crash Water, Karasabai and Yupukari are considered Macushi settlements. In the southern Rupununi, St. Ignatius and Moco-Moco also Macushi settlements. The Rupununi Uprising which

416-578: The Venezuelan border. 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

442-478: The forest for several weeks he was taken back to Georgetown and repatriated to England . He recovered fairly well, but a return to Guyana was deemed unthinkable. His Rupununi congregation of Christians kept on asking news about his ’Little padre’ but Cary-Elwes had to remain in England. For another 20 years he gave lectures, missions and retreats, and published his notes on the Makushi, and other tribal languages of

468-575: 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. The Pemon were first encountered by westerners in

494-421: The term applies spiritual context to stealth, assassin-like tactics as a form of protection, but can come back to harm the beneficiaries as well. The earliest recorded mentions of Macushi was in 1740 in context of Luso-Brazilian slave raids led by Irishman Lourenço Belforte. From the 1700s to the late 1800s, the Macushi were pushed north by Portuguese and Brazilian raids, and south by Caribs and Akawaio proxies for

520-613: 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. Cuthbert Cary-Elwes Cuthbert Cary-Elwes (1 October 1867, Boulogne ( France ) - 22 August 1945, London)

546-442: The wife's family's village and the father-in-law is of great importance in Macushi kinship. Macushi practice hunting and agriculture methods such as shifting cultivation and fish-poisoning. Similar to other indigenous groups in the area, Macushi traditional life relies a great deal on the bitter cassava, and cultivation tasks are divided by gender. Men traditionally clear the land and women tend and harvest. In Macushi lore, cassava

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572-610: The world's highest waterfall, plunges from Auyantepui in Canaima National Park . 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 Brazil and Guyana in areas close to

598-665: Was an English Jesuit priest, itinerant missionary and founder of the Rupununi Mission, in South- Guyana . After studying at Downside Abbey and Stonyhurst College he joined the Society of Jesus on 7 September 1887. He followed the regular course of philosophical studies at St Mary’s Hall, Stonyhurst (1890-1893) and Theology with the French Jesuits, first at Jersey and then Lyons (1897–1901). He

624-532: Was created for cultivation purpose and is overseen by a Cassava Mother ( kisera yan ). Women are the main processors, and the main products are cassava bread, farine, parakari , wo (drink), starch tapioca, and casereep. Village status is correlated to success in cassava farming. Macushi oral history describes them as descendants of the sun's children, the benevolent Insikiran (Inshkirung) and his malevolent brother Makunaima (or Negi) who created fire, as well as diseases, and they also believe they discovered Washacá ,

650-423: Was led by prominent European and Amerindian ranching families, covered much of the traditional Macushi territory and many Macushi were also killed. Pemon The Pemon or Pemón (Pemong) are indigenous people living in areas of Venezuela , Brazil , and Guyana . The Pemon people are divided into many dialects and traditions, which are Arekuna , Kamarakoto , and Taurepang. The Pemon are part of

676-582: Was the German ethnologist Theodor Koch-Grunberg , who visited Roraima 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 Gran Sabana — 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

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