The Yanoman :: essays research papers

The YanomanThis ethnography is about the Yanomam. Most battalion will think of these great deal as primitive. besides we do not consider the fact that these people look atus and call us primitive and subhuman. This is why it is important to estimatethese people with an unbiased mind.The Yanomam are Indians that live widely scattered in southern Venezuelaand northern Brazil. They usually live in villages of 75 to 80 people. But thereare villages in which there are as little as 40 people or as many as 250 peoplein a single village.The Yanomam live by a combination of horticulture and foraging. Eachhousehold in the village clears their own land and cultivates it themselves.Chiefs, who have to receive more food to meet their obligation to providehospitality, commonly receives help from others. A village can produce all ofits needs from only ternion hours worth of work per person.One characteristic of the Yanomam is that they are accustomed toviolence. Violence is a part of their li ves because of their values and culture.Because of this, the Yanomam live in a constant earth of warfare. Warfareappears as a main interest supported by a set of beliefs urging strong villagesto take advantage of the weaker ones.A fixedness series of degrees of violence has been institutionalized. Itranges from chest pounding to side slapping. Both are likely to cause injury ordeath.The Yanomam do not utilize more than technology except in their weapons. Themain weapon produced by the Yanomam are arrows. They make arrows that are sixfeet long. These arrows are very accurate. Arrows not only help oneself as weapons butas valuable possessions that are commonly exchanged as gifts among the Yanomam.Villages that are nearby may sometimes ally. One reason in which theally is so that they can team up against another larger village. In order todemonstrate their friendship towards each other, the two villages trade andfeast.The manpower drug themselves on a daily basis with a substance called ebene.It causes for the eyes to become watery. Another effect of this drug is andexcessive production of mucous. The pass catcher allows for the mucous to dripfreely from each nostril. It is believed among these people that the usage ofthis drug will have an effect in which bad spirits are amend of.The dead are highly respected in this culture. Once a person dies, it isforbidden to describe the name of the person ever again. It is considered anoffense to mention the name of a family member that has passed away.