Chagnon’s
Yanomamo
Yanomamö
Based upon Napoleon Chagnon 2013 Yanomamo: The
Legacy Edition (6th Edition), Orlando: Harcourt Brace.
ISBN: 10: 1111828741
HISTORY/BACKGROUND:
• There is few case studies better documented than this one.
• Chagnon has spent more than five years [60 months] in
the field with the Yanomamö during some 20+ field trips.”
Cultural Ecology
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT:
TOTAL AREA OCCUPIED BY THE YANOMAMÖ:
117,500 km²
KAOBAWÄ’S VILLAGE: lies at an elevation of about 450
feet above sea level on a generally flat, jungle-covered plain
that is interrupted occasionally by low hills.
CULTIGENS: “Manioc ... is cultivated in small quantities by most
Yanomamö. Three other root crops are also widely cultivated and provide
relatively large amounts of calories in the Yanomamö diet ... ohina
(Xanthosoma), sweet potatoes (hukumo), and mapuey (kabiromö) ... all ...
usually roasted in the hot coals of the hearth ... Avocados, papaya trees, and
hot pepper [are grown, as well as] several very important inedible cultigen
ns ...
Cotton is also an important cultigen.
Without a doubt, the most significant nonfood cultigen in any Yanomamö
garden is tobacco, to which men, women, and children are all addicted. Their
word for ‘being poor’ is literally to be without tobacco: hori.
WILD PLANT FOODS: “Vegetable foods most commonly
exploited by the Yanomamö consist of the fruits of several
species of palm, fruits of several hardwoods, Brazil nuts,
tubers, seed pods of the feral ‘banana,’ and a host of lesser
items, including ... mushrooms. Palm hearts can be eaten
almost endlessly ... [and] orgies of palm heart eating in which
40 or 50 pounds [were consumed] among a dozen or so people
[were] not uncommon.
WILD HONEY: “is one of the most highly prized foods of all, and the
Yanomamö will go to great extremes to get it.
FISHING: “The Yanomamö do not rely extensively on fish, but during certain
times of the year fish are abundant and easily taken. One method is to simply
wait for the rainy season to end. ... Fish poisons ... are used [in] small streams.
The men put the poison into the water upstream from where a small dam has
been made from sticks and mud, and wait for the fish to become stupefied. ...
Fish ... are taken in considerable abundance in certain seasons and, as
introduced fishhooks and fishline become more common, are becoming
increasingly important in the diet.
*
HUNTING--GAME ANIMALS: “ ... the most commonly taken ... are two varieties
of large game birds that resemble our pheasant and turkey respectively (marashi and
pururi), two species of wild pig, several varieties of monkeys, tapir, armadillos,
anteaters, alligators (caiman), deer, rodents, and a host of small birds. Many varieties
of insects, fish, larvae, tadpoles, and
freshwater crabs are eaten with gusto and
highly prized. In some areas, large snakes
are also eaten but are not considered to be
very desirable. ... Large toads and frogs
are also eaten in some regions. Certain
species of caterpillars are prized foods, as
are the fat white grubs of the insect that
lays its eggs in the pith of palm trees, or
the grubs that live in the seeds of many
palm fruits.
SETTLEMENT
PATTERN:
palisade
Demographic Pump
• Demography: the study of populations
• There are demographic differences
between lowland and highland
villages.
• The lowlands are much richer in
animal and plant resources, and the
land is easier to cultivate.
• Large lowland villages act as
demographic pumps.
Lowland Villages
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bigger villages
More warfare
Pushy and aggressive men
Elaborate alliances
Large regular feasts
Ally feasting and trade
Bellicose
Raiding and abduction to control their
area
Highlands
• Men more sedate and gentle
• Fewer abducted women
• Fewer of the adult men are unokais
(men who have participated in the
killing of other men)
The Protein Debate
=
?
- Harris (and several of his students) argued
that the Yanomamo were suffering from a
shortage of animal protein.
-Claims that warfare, infanticide, and
aggression are a result of animal protein
deficiency.
Chagnon’s Rebuttal
1) The Yanomamo do not suffer from protein
deficiency.
2) His early research indicated the Yanomamo were
among the best nourished populations in
anthropological literature.
3) Warfare among the Yanomamo (or any group) is too
complex to reduce to a single variable such as
protein deficiency.
4) The Yanomamo themselves laughed at the
proposition that meat was the cause of their
warfare.
The Big Mac Challenge
- Marvin Harris insisted the onus was on Chagnon to
show the Yanomamo were not suffering from protein
deficiency.
- Chagnon met with Harris before his 1974 trip to the
Yanomamo to discuss data collection in order to end
the debate once and for all.
- Harris stated he would ‘eat his hat’ if the Yanomamo
daily consumed the equivalent of a McDonald’s Big
Mac, or about 30 grams of animal protein.
Comparative data on animal protein consumption per
capita for some Amazonian tribes.
Myth and Cosmos
Becoming A Shaman
Requirements
• Must be male
• Intense fasting period (one year)
• Must be sexually abstinent during training
• Attempt to lure hekura into one’s chest with
a variety of methods
2. "sky layer"
(hedu ka misi)
3 . "this layer"
(hei ka m isi)
4 . "bottom layer"
(hei
ta bebi)
The Origin of Men and Women
• Men were created by • Women are descended
the blood of the Moon,
from the wabu fruit.
which fell to earth
• Men were harvesting vines
after an ancestor stab
and one man threw the
Moon’s belly.
fruit on the ground and it
• Where the blood was
became a woman.
thickest the men that • The men brought her back
sprang forth were very
to their village and…she
waiteri and fought a
gave birth to many
lot.
daughters.
• Where it was thin, the
men fought less.
Origins of Copulation
•
Two brothers: Omawa, the smart, attractive one; and
Yoawa, the ugly, stupid one.
•
Yoawa goes fishing, sees daughter of giant river
monster, and is very horny
•
Decides to lure the girl out of the water and catch her.
•
Several unsuccessful attempts; transforms himself
into different kinds of birds
•
Yoawa asks his brother for help.
•
Joint effort results in catching girl.
Origins of Copulation; Continued
•
They return to village.
•
Their nephew, white monkey begs to have sex with her
first.
•
Piranha fish inside her vagina bite off his penis
•
They remove the piranha, and Yoawa begins having
sex with disgusting, loud noises.
•
Omawa shows brother the right way; have sex silently
and discreetly
•
From this time forward, people are able to copulate
discreetly.
Social Organization
and Demography
Small Bisaasi-teri & Namowei-teri Villages
Large Shamatari Villages. Why?
• A Few Polygynous Men Start Village
• Relatively Few Patrilineages
• More Full Cross-Cousin Marriages
• Higher Overall Kin Relatedness
• More Intra-Village Cohesion and Fewer Fights
• Villages grow Larger before Fissioning
Is the Nuclear Family a Universal?
Found as the Predominate Family
Type in All Societies.
Curve “C”:
Both Parents:
• Alive,
• Co-resident,
and
• Married
Political Alliances, Trading,
and Feasting
Yanomamo Warfare
LEVELS OF ESCALATION OF VIOLENCE:
(1) chest pounding between two combatants using fists, the most innocuous form
of fighting, which itself may be seen as having two levels: one in which the
fists are empty and the other in which the combatants elect to hold rocks in
their fists thereby adding to the damage each can do to his opponent.
(2) side slapping contests
(3) club fights, both within anf between villages, most of
which “result from arguments over women; these are
often used to strike the head of the opponent causing
deep, ugly scars of which their bearers are immensely
proud. Some men, in fact, keep their heads cleanly shaved on top to display
these scars...
(4) warfare proper: “The objective of the raid is to kill one or more of the enemy
and flee without being discovered. ... Although few raids are initiated solely
with the intention of capturing women, that is always a desired side benefit. A
few wars, however, are started with the intention of abducting women.
(5) Nomohoni (“dastardly trick”) -- ‘invite your enemies over on the pretense of
a friendly social exchange and, just when they’re least expecting any
treachery, kill as many of them as you can”--this is the ultimate, most
cherished form of Yanomamö violence ...
The Acceleration of Change
in Yanomamoland
SOCIETAL CHANGE AMONG THE YANOMAMÖ: “... the world is
changing more rapidly than it was in 1968 when the 1st edition was
published. Changes have been near catastrophic in the tropical forests
where the Yanomamö live:
• gold miners
• missionaries
• medical personnel
• tourists
• government representatives and ...
• anthropologists
Of those named, the gold miners have had the most destructive impact on
Yanomamö health, community life, and habitat. Once pure rivers have
been poisoned with mercury, hundreds of airstrips hacked out from the
forest, mining camps with brothels and bars hastily erected, and new
diseases against which the Yanomamö have little resistance have taken a
heavy toll …