Paramakatoi is an Amerindian community in the
Potaro-Siparuni
Potaro-Siparuni (Region 8) is a region of Guyana. Venezuela claims the majority of the Region located west of the Essequibo River as part of Guayana Esequiba.
It borders the region of Cuyuni-Mazaruni to the north, the regions of Upper Demerara- ...
Region of
Guyana, located in the
Pacaraima Mountains. With an altitude of , it is east of
Kurukabaru.
History
Paramakatoi is part of the traditional lands of the indigenous
s.
The village name comes from the name of the nearby creek, which is surrounded by Palamaka plants, and "toi" means savannah in the
. "Palamakatoi" became "Paramakatoi" when missionaries arrived in the area.
Description
Paramakatoi functions as a regional centre for the
catchment area
In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
. It is the largest and most developed of the
Amerindian
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.
Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...
communities in the region, and is home to the
Patamona
The Patamona are an Amerindian people native to the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana and northern Brazil.[Patamon ...]
,
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, ...
and
Wapishana
The Wapishana or Wapichan (or Wapisiana, Wapitxana, Vapidiana, Wapixana) are an indigenous group found in the Roraima area of northern Brazil and southern Guyana.
Location
Currently the Wapishana are located in the State of Roraima, Brazil, n ...
tribes.
It has a secondary school and has participated in the Hinterland Employment Youth Service (HEYS) programme since 2016.
The village has a processing factory for
sun-dried tomato
Sun-dried tomatoes are ripe tomatoes that lose most of their water content after spending a majority of their drying time in the sun. These tomatoes are usually pre-treated with sulfur dioxide or salt before being placed in the sun in order to i ...
products.
In 2019, Paramakatoi hosted a debate held in the Patamona language, in observance of the
International Year of Indigenous Languages
The International Year of Indigenous Languages was a United Nations observance in 2019 that aimed to raise awareness of the consequences of the endangerment of Indigenous languages across the world, with an aim to establish a link between languag ...
.
Transport
Paramakatoi is served by the
Paramakatoi Airport.
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Populated places in Potaro-Siparuni
Indigenous villages in Guyana