Historical Reconstruction and Cultural Identity Building as a Local Pathway to ‘Living Well’ amongst the Pemon of Venezuela

Abstract

Indigenous people in Latin America have their own way of talking about wellbeing. The Quechua from Ecuador call it Sumak Kawsay, the Aymara, Suma Gamana, the Guarani from Paraguay, Teko porâ o teko kavi, and the Mapuche from Argentina call it Kyme Mogen.1 Inspired by indigenous notions of Living Well, many Latin American countries including Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela, which are undergoing processes of re-conceptualisation of development, have incorporated the notion of Good Living into national development plans, goals, discourses and legal frameworks such as national constitutions. Although this is a major breakthrough in terms of recognising cultural difference in the frameworks of nation states, there is still a considerable gap between the discourse and practice of pluri/interculturality. Narratives of national identity and modernity are deeply rooted in Latin American society even within emerging pluri-cultural nation-state models such as those present in Venezuela, Bolivia, Mexico, Paraguay, Guatemala and Ecuador (Mendez 2008).