The YanomamoThe Fierce People

History• One of the oldest and last remaining ancient

cultures in the world• Their existence wasn't really known to the world

until the 20th century• 1940-1960 first missionaries• got infected with an illness that caused many

deaths• 1970-1980constant compact with the regional

border by development projects, large losses• 1980, rich mineral stores were discovered, gold

diggers came• 1993, Haximu massaccre where 16 people of the

Yanomami were killed by Gold Diggers

LocationIn the Amazon region of Venzuela and BrazilTropical Rainforest of Northern Amazonia on the

border between Brazil and Venezuela(Ornico-Amazon interfluvial region where there is

fertile land near the Amazon river)

Past Location: Headwaters of Parima and Orinoco Rivers

Parima Mountain range and the watershed between the upper orinoco and right bank affluents of Rio Branco t

Climate

• Very warm climate

• During the rainy season it is humid

Migration of Culture• Migrated across the Bering Straits between Asia and America

some 40,000 years ago making their way slowly down to South America

• Inhabited the region of Orinoco and Parima Rivers for the past 1,000 years

• Past 700 years, split into subgroups and developed different languages

• In the Early 1800's migrated from Parima mountain regions to nearby lowlands

• Considered "Primitive" because they have not discovered wheels and metals

• Isolated Culture, haven't really spread around much• Missionaries have come in hopes of converting them to

Christianity, others have come introducing them to new technologies but it hasn't worked

• Live in their own little world, best for them

Resources• Rainforest plants are rich in secondary

metabolites, particularly alkaloids• At least 3000 fruits are found in the

rainforests; of these only 200 are now in use in the Western World. The Indians of the rainforest use over 2,000

• One-fifth of the world's fresh water is in the Amazon Basin.

• Fertile Land for growing crops, diverse wildelife

Economic Lifestyle• Hunter-Horticulturalists• Hunter because they hunt• Horticulturalists because they have an advanced

knowledge on crops and gardening• Also may use slash and burn technique to clear

gardens and nurture growing seeds• Trade is important among tribes for acquire

basic resources and distribute surplus items, also trade for political reasons to form alliances

• Trading items include recreational drugs, cotton, tobacco

Decline or Rising Status

• Stagnant/slow decline• 1,000 goldminers are working on thier

land illegally• Cattle Rancher's are invading and

deforestating the eastern fringe of land

• malria, polluting rivers with mercury• Survival efforts are there

Government• Leadership determines' the village's relationship

with other villages• The result of kinship/marriage• Leaders "big men" come from the largest

kinship; do not recognize Chiefs• Consider males more important/powerful than

women• Clear Gardens, plant crops, collect wild foods

and hunt• Leaders are peace makers/warriors, referred to

as fierce because peirce making takes forcefulness

RelationshipsRelationships between groups are maintained

through alliance and warfareIn this patrilineage, fellow lineage members are

close relative, call each other brother and sisterIf they aren't as close may develop hostile

relationships which results in segmentation of the village which forms new settlements

People may be tied together by affinal ties or consanguine ties ( house/village)

Settlements not linked by marriage or divided by way invite each other to elaborate feasts which includes gifts of

Exogamy rare, usually for military alliancesMarriages not for love

CultureNeo Indians with Culture that date backs to 8,000 yearsDescendants of an indigenous group that had remained isolated for

a remote period of timePopulations kept dispersing, process of internal differentiation,

forming new languages

Each community is independent from each otherDescisions are made my a consensusConsider women to be inferior, male dominantMen hunt for prey, women tend the gardensMutifamily houses called shabanos/Yano (in the shape of a cone)

Each collective village an autonomous economic/political entityApproxamately 200-250 villages, about 40-350 in one village

Culture

Daily Life includes: gardening, collecting firewood, making crafts, fetching water, gossiping/visiting with eachother

Contributions to Society/World• Have not made and significant contribution the the world other

than being a topic of study• Research their diets because they have high potassium levels

Religion/Belief System• Practice Animism (every creature, rock, tree, mountain has a

spirit)• Shaman's control these spirits by inhaling a hallucinogenic

material. Inhaling the hallucinogen gives the shaman the power to control these spirits or Xapripe Davi Kapenawa

• Believe there is a God called Omama, who blessed them with forest, trees and animals

• Believe that animals were once humans to but were made animals because of the bad things they did

• Men become Shaman's, main job is to heal the sick. Ironically, they also believe that illness is called by the shaman who is making the hekura, or spirit sicken the body

• Training period with food depravation and abstinence from sex• Pull the demon out with the help of his own demons

Religion/Belief system• Cosmos consist of 4 layers• The top layer is empty but was once occupied by ancient beings

duku ka misi• Second Layer (sky)) contain spirits of dead men and women It resembles earth but everything is better hedu ka mis• Third Layer is the earth hei ka mis• The fourth layer is the underworld hei ta bebi• The Amahi Teri are spirits who live in the underworld and cause misfortune to humans

Music/Literature/Art

• Pass information orally, not from writing

• Play on words, chanting, myth telling, story telling to preserve thier history and entertain themselves

• No Musical instruments, women sing

• Drawing and paintings• Sparse geometric designs, bold

symbols, black/red, adorn common objects such as pots

Clothing• Men wear little more than string around thier

waist, it is is a clear indication that a boy has become a man when he does that

• Women use cotton and yarn to make clothing, also make waistbands but it covers close to nothing

• Halter neck adornaments• Feathers may be worn on the head upper arm or

earlobes; express the relationship between man an animal, social status, personality, etc

Customs (Marriage)

• Older kin, usually men, brothers, uncle's or father

• Girls usually marry right after thier first period• Practices Endogamy by marrying within thier

village, exogamy in thier culture would be marrying from another village

• Settlements wouldn't be linked• Bilateral cross cousing marriage• Polygamus marriages, more specifically

polygany with one man with multiple wives• The oldest wife has precedence of the other

wives

Customs (Death)• Called Reahu• Lament by singing and chanting• Corpse is quickly burned, women and children

absence themselves• After cremating their dead, they crush and drink

thier bones in a plantain pure• A way of showing affection for the dead,

intended to keep the loved ones with them forever

• Helps ensure that the soul of the dead will find its way back to hedu (paradise above earth)

Customs (holiday/celebrations)• Settlements not linked by marriage

or divided by war invite each other to elaborate feasts which includes gifts of valuable trade items given by the host to the guest village

• Celebrate good harvest with a big feast

Cuisine• Snakes, Wild Pigs, deers, insects, larvae, fish, crabs, wild honey,

nuts, shellfish, plantain, sweet potato, palm fruits, fish• 80-90% of its food is eaten from their gardens• Hunting accounts for about 10% of its food supply, as is shared

equally• A Brazilian research study showed that the Yanomamo tribe has

significantly low body fat and sodium, and also contain high levels of potassium, compared to other distinct populations in other continents,

• Wild Honey is greatly valued

Education• Behavior is learned and taught by parents• Number system is 1, 2 and more than two• Children practice shooting and throwing, no formal school

Technology• Finished cords made from twisted inner bark. Used as materials

to make hammocks• Tools are devised from materials that can be made immediately

from the environment• Curare and Timbo, poison used for catching fish• Special pots used to prepare food deasts• Bow Staves; 5-6 ft longs made of palm wood very dense• Bow Staves are also made by shaving the sock with incisors• Fire Drill, a two piece gadget. The one piece of wood about 10

inches long that has several holes due to friction. The lower piece is held down by the foot while the other piece is spun until a fire ignites by feeding from the glowing dust with tinder

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