CULTURE PROJECT: YANOMAMO

Justin Floersch2B

5/31/12

History They have been around for more than

8000 years. Since they were discovered by the rest of

the world, they have been dying out. However, in isolation, they thrived.

They never discovered the wheel, and use only metal traded to them from the outside.

They are literally a stone age tribe.

Location They live in South America, in Brazil, in

the Amazon. They have always lived in the Amazon.

Climate Being in the rainforest, the climate is

tropical (hot and humid). The average temperature (around 80

degrees F) varies very little between seasons.

There is no dry season. It is rainy year round.

Resources There is an abundance of almost all

resources, since they live in the rainforest.

Many plants in the rainforest serve as medicine used by healers and shamans.

Economic Lifestyle They are a horticultural society. They utilize the slash and burn technique. Most of the crops they grow are plantains

and bananas. They also have many aspects of a hunter-

gatherer society, so they are considered to be both this and horticultural.

Decline or Rising Status The Yanomamo people are becoming

extinct. They are losing their lands to miners.

The government of Brazil is aware of this, and they are trying to protect the Yanomamo.

Migration of Culture Their culture, being isolated for so long,

didn’t really influence other cultures. Their culture was influenced by

Americans who were there for various reasons (some for anthropological studies, others for gold mining.)

Government They are led by shamans and chiefs. Over

all, their society is communal, and they all help each other and work together, but the shamans and chiefs are the wisest, so they are consulted when needed.

Relationships Externally, they had no relationships with

anyone. Their culture is more than 8000 years old, and they were first discovered in the 1960s.

Internally, they are very social and are constantly interacting.

Culture The Yanomamo people are one of the

only remaining ancient cultures in the world, dating back more than 8000 years.

Polygyny is sometimes practiced. Every house or village considers itself its

own independent economic entity.

Contributions to Society/World Due to their isolation for such a long

period of time, their influences on the world outside of their tribe have been minimal.

Religion/Belief System They believe in four planes of existence,

including an empty one, one similar to Earth, Earth, and the underworld.

Their religious leaders are shamans, who supposedly have the ability to control demons from the underworld. They can use them to cause or cure illness.

Music There wasn’t much information I could

find about music, but from what I have gathered, it is similar to typical tribal music, including chanting and drums.

Literature They have four different styles of their

written language used in different areas. They have cultural stories both written and spoken, but as with music, I could not find much information on any specific stories.

Art Most of their art was body painting. The other pictures that they drew were

simple, and told a story or a myth.

Clothing They wear woven clothing, but usually do

not wear much. Lower ranking people in the tribe tend to

wear more clothing. Higher ranking people wear less clothing, but more decorations.

Children usually do not wear any clothes.

Customs Marriage is arranged by older members

of the tribe. It is usually used for alliances between families.

They cremate their dead, mix the ashes of the

A large part of their time is spent on social activity, as harvesting their crops only takes a few hours.

They have many ceremonies and rituals, most of which include the whole tribe.

Cuisine Most of their food is grown in gardens. The rest is hunted. Both men and women fish, but only men

hunt. Both men and women tend to the

gardens. This food is eaten because it is the most

plentiful, and therefore, the easiest to get.

Education Children are taught by parents and

extended family. They are taught the stories and myths of

their religion, and useful skills for life, such as hunting and farming.

Technology They make weapons for hunting and tools

for farming, but not much else. Being horticultural, their farming is done by hand, rather than using animals, so the tools they use are hand tools. They also make simple things like baskets and other helpful items.

Works Cited http://ksuanth.wetpaint.com/page/Yanomamo+History http://yanomamicatrimani.org/ http://www.unique-southamerica-travel-experience.com/amazon-rainforest-climate.html http://www.wayfaring.info/2006/11/30/the-worlds-greatest-natural-resource-is-amazon-rainforest/ http://www.everyculture.com/South-America/Yanomam-Economy.html http://www.crystalinks.com/yanomami.html http://indian-cultures.com/Cultures/yanomamo.html http://206.204.3.133/dir_nii/nii_dat_yanoma.html http://www.everyculture.com/South-America/Yanomam-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html http://www.aaanet.org/committees/cfhr/rptyano7.htm http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/yanomami/wayoflife