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Hands Around the World |
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Indian Cultures from Around the World
Penare Indians
Penare (Panare, Panari, Abira, Eye): 1,200 in 20 or more villages. 150 mile perimeter south of Caicaro de Orinoco
basin of the Cuchivero River; Bolivar State. Two groups: jungle and highland. Carib,
Northern, Western Guiana. Communal life. Nearly all are monolingual. Tropical forest, mountain slope.
Penare (Pah-nah-ree) Indians live in the Amazon Basin of Venezuela. The Penare are a very
traditional people. They still live in thatched huts, usually on a river bank.
The men wear traditional loin cloths that are dyed red from the onoto berry.
Penare men and boys wear blue and white beads around their upper arms and below
the knees and ankles, whereas the women and girls wear huge necklaces of blue and
white beads around their necks as well as on the wrists and ankles. Penare women wear lengths of cloth as skirts in addition to their beads. Penare
women are not allowed to learn Spanish and only speak in their Indian tongue.
When speaking to outsiders they must speak through a man as an interpreter.
While this is obviously sexist, it has been a good for the tribe because the
women continue to pass down the traditional myths, stories, and culture. It has
been said that after a tribe begins speaking Spanish, their Indian culture
disappears within 25 years.
All photos property of Hands Around the World.
The Penare are one of the few Amazon tribes left
that live and dress traditionally. The Penare make a large variety of necklaces with beads, seeds, bone and other natural objects, as well as Venezuelan coins.
They also are fine basket weavers. The men traditionally weave the baskets while
the women weave and dye cloth and make necklaces. They live much the same way
the North American Indians did two hundred years ago. They are hunters and
gatherers and tend small garden plots. The
residents live in familial huts made of palm thatches. There is a chief for each
village.
Click
on the thumbnail pictures below for a full-size picture, then click the top-left
BACK button to return.
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| Penare Mother and Child |
Penare Children |
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Penare Indian beaded necklace is painstakingly beaded in a woven design and has 4 seed pods at the end. |
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Penare Indian beaded necklace |
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This is the traditional necklace worn by the Penare women.
This necklace has 18 strands of small white and multicolored beads. It hangs
to a length of 15". |
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Gorgeous collar necklace by the Penare Indians. Necklace
length if measured fromend to end is about 14" making the necklace hang at
about 7 to 8 inches down on the neck. |
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Penare Necklace made of beads and monkey teeth hanging to a
length of 11". |
These necklaces by the Penare Indians are made
of beads with some featuring teeth or nails of rainforest animals such as
tapir, monkeys, or caiman. The necklaces hang from 12" to 14" in length.
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This back pack is hand made of palm by the Penare Indians. Designed to wear on a man's back, it is strung with hand made fiber to hold and carry home game. Approximately 19" tall, 11" wide and 6 1/2" deep. |
These flat baskets called "wapa" are woven only by the Penare men. Geometric and
animal figures woven into the design denote magical aspects or potential powers.
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| Monkey motif - 14 3/4" in diameter. |
Toad motif - 14 3/4" in diameter. |
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| Scorpion and dog motif - 14 3/4" in diameter. |
Lizard motif - 14 3/4" in diameter. |
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| Frog motif - 17" in diameter. |
Monkey motif - 14" in diameter. |
These traditional Penare loincloths are hand woven
of natural cotton and dyed with onoto to give them the reddish color. These loin
cloths are becoming more and more rare.
Additional Information
Spiritual experience through psychoactives
Panare language
Click here to visit our Native
American Indian
market for baskets, pottery, and
other hand made crafts
 Index
Hands Around the World
111 E. Main, Jonesborough, Tennessee 37659
Phone: (423) 753-8177 Fax: (423) 913-2489
E-mail: handsaroundtheworld@earthlink.net
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