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Karaudarnau

Karaudarnau
Lumid Pau
Village
Karaudarnau is located in Guyana
Karaudarnau
Karaudarnau
Location in Guyana
Coordinates: 2°24′24″N 59°27′32″W / 2.4068°N 59.4589°W / 2.4068; -59.4589
Country Guyana
RegionUpper Takutu-Upper Essequibo
Government
 • ToshaoArnold Stephens[1]
Area
 • Total
453.32 km2 (175.03 sq mi)
Population
 • Total
1,053
 • Density2.3/km2 (6.0/sq mi)

Karaudarnau (also Lumid Pau) is an indigenous village of Wapishana Amerindians in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. It is located in the Rupununi savannah on the Rupununi River.[2]

Name

The name Karaudarnau means "snake hill" in Wapishana and refers to a legend that a snake lives underneath the village.[3] A big black rock in the centre of the village is claimed to be the head of the snake.[2]

Overview

Karaudarnau has a school, a health post, a community centre,[1] and two churches.[2] As of 2017, education is bilingual in Wapishana and English.[4] The community has close links to the Brazilian Wapishana community[2] who live in the Jacamim Indigenous Territory.[5] The village has no access to the telephone network or internet,[6]

Karaudarnau has been awarded a territory of 453.32 square kilometres (175.03 sq mi).[1] There is a 2am curfew, and liquor has been banned in the community.[3] In 2018, the village was given access to clean drinking water by a joint exercise of the Brazilian Army and the Guyana Defence Force.[7] In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic the community blocked access to the gold mine.[8]

Transport

The nearest town is Lethem which is accessible by road.[1] Karaudarnau can also be reached from the Lumid Pau Airport.[9]

Economy

The economy of the village is based on livestock in particular cattle ranching and pig farming, agriculture,[2] and industrial-scale gold mining at the Marudi Mountain by Romanex Guyana Exploration.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Karaudarnau". Ministry of Indigenous Peoples' Affairs. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Karaudarnau". Stabroek News. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Life in the village of Karaudarnau". Guyana Standard. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Quality bilingual programme for Region Nine". Guyana Chronicle. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Terra Indígena Jacamim". Terras Indigenas (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  6. ^ "COVID-19 restrictions upturn life in Deep South Rupununi village". Stabroek News. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Exército Brasileiro envia técnicos com larga experiência em perfuração de poços para apoio à Guiana". Military of Brazil (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Region Nine Villages prevent miners from accessing mining lands". Newsroom Guyana. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Lumid Pau Airport". World Airport Codes. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Study sees limited impact from Romanex gold project on villages". Stabroek News. Retrieved 7 April 2021.