The Yanomami And Gender : The Unique Development Of A Society

In the Yanomamo culture, warfare is practiced as a way to demonstrate the strength of a village, or individual. Overall, warfare is practiced in the Yanomamo culture because of a combination of factors. One of the proximate, or indirect, causes of the violence include seeking revenge for villagers who have been killed. Another proximate cause of violence that it is used to steal women from other villages in order to increase the number of available wives. Also, villages must appear intimidating and tough so that other villages do not raid them. These are a few of the proximate causes of violence. Competition over scarce resources is one ultimate, or root, cause of violence. Men who are violent may gain greater social status, which encourages violence overall. Another ultimate cause of the violence is the lack of strong political leadership within the villages. These villages do not have leaders to stop violence or structure violence in productive ways. Without such leaders, villagers are more likely to rely on violence in impulsive ways. Hostility between villages often results in violence, as there are no leaders to resolve the hostility. In addition, another ultimate cause of violence is the geographical environment of the Yanomamo. Since the Yanomamo territory is restricted, and often invaded by outsiders, available land becomes more scarce. This causes competition for land to increase, which increases violence. Since people of the Yanomamo cannot move into areas

Chapter 8 (Wagley) discusses fieldwork conducted in a small village with Tapirapé Indians in central Brazil. The chapter focused on a man named Champukwi who was a Tapirapé Indian man. Champukwi became a close friend of Wagley and provided him with information regarding Trapirapé culture. Champukwi would frequently visit Wagley’s house and help him with his research. In addition, Wagley and his employee Valentim Gomes took Champukwi on a trip to Furo de Pedra. Champukwi was not accustomed to the culture at Furo de Pedra as it was different in comparison to his. Champukwi became very curious and obtrusive as he would peer into homes of people and sometimes enter uninvited. Additionally, Champukwi told Wagley about village gossip which he would not have told if he was on village grounds. Champukwi’s relationship with Wagley

Caleb L. Fry and Lauren T. Rios Department of Anthropology Lake Tahoe Community College One College Drive South Lake Tahoe, California 96150 USA Faculty Advisor: Daryl G. Frazetti Abstract

When one pictures the societies that spanned throughout our Mesoamerica and South America the images of warriors, conquests, gold and great feats of architecture, spawn in the mind. Missing from not only there, but the focus of many studies are the crucial roles that women played in these societies. Between each society; the Mayan, Aztec and Inca, each has their own unique culture and role for women within it. One wonders the roles of women in society, where does she fit in; politics, religious practices, and within the home. These roles are dictated by the characteristics of the society in which they live. It is crucial to begin uncovering for each of these societies, the roles of which the women took on, through exploring three subject matters, the role of women concerning government and law, politics, the role of women in day-to-day life and lastly, religious roles of women.

The Sonqo people and the Yanomamo people had their differences, but in the end were a lot more alike than you would think. They both portrayed gender distinctions in everything they did. One gender was always superior than the other, in this case the men seemed to be. Men were always the high and almighty, given way more power than women. As I read more, I began to find some answers as to why this might be so. Each group, the Sonqos and Yanomamos, have their own beliefs and their own way of organizing their pack. This all is different for each group depending on the natural environment they were brought up in and continue to live in. It was very interesting to learn more about these two groups and to see what they all had in common and what they did differently. I enjoyed searching for the frequently asked question as to why they do what they do and if there is any meaning behind it. In the paragraphs to follow, I will be talking more about why gender distinctions develop and also how different environments can shape who you become as an individual and as an united community.

and the North American culture that we have adapted to, but just at there is

It is apparent from Christine Eber's research in her work, Women and Alcohol in a Highland Maya Town, that the gender roles and relations for men and women in the town of Chenalho have gone through somewhat dramatic changes since the 1960's and 1970's. They have gone from clearly defined roles for both men and women, to a more skewed framework that allows for a great deal of gray area. These roles have not only changed within the household and community, but also outside of them. The effects of these shifts in gender roles can be identified in relation to the Pedranos' traditional belief structure, the influence of religion, and the use/misuse of alcohol in

In Patrick Tierney’s article “The Fierce Anthropologist,” he discussed the faults that are, or may be, present in Napoleon Chagnon’s anthropological research of the Yanamamo, or “The Fierce People,” as Chagnon has referred to them in his best-selling book on the people.

In The Headman Was a Woman, the Endicotts focus on the Batek society of Malaysia, aiming to understand the basis of their culture and how it differs from ours. The central focal point of their study was how the Batek dealt with gender and gender roles in relation to their everyday lives in the tribe. The Endicotts found that the Malaysian society was an egalitarian one when it came to handling gender, meaning all genders were treated equally. Neither gender was seen as superior nor inferior to the other, rather they were equal to each other and each played to their strong suits in the community.

The description of women provided in Olaudah Equiano's and Venture Smith's narratives compared to the European's descriptions of indigenous and African women provided in Jennifer Morgan's paper are distinctive. Equiano and Smith write highly of their mothers while Europeans talk repulsively about African and indigenous women. As a reader, one can infer many opinions about each of the writer's attitudes about the expected gender norms for women at that time such as caretaking, breastfeeding or working. The European perspective utilizes their claim to authority on women through dehumanizing different races and converting them into Christians.

Miner’s article presents numerous anthropological concepts including culture, social behaviors, symbols, material culture and holism. While providing us with a synchronic view of an unexplored culture, Miner tackles the principle mindset that governs the “Nacirema’s” social customs and “rituals”, looks at key symbols and material possessions as the focus of the culture, and highlights the importance of studying a culture in its entirety to gain a full and accurate understanding.

Anthropologists in order to learn about one culture have to physically enter that society and live for years to learn their culture very well that called fieldwork. During field work there are challenges that are caused by extraordinary experiences that researchers do not expect and that would be culture shock. Napolean Chagnon was one the anthropologists that went to Yanomamo villages in order to learn their culture. He reported challenges that he has faced to at the beginning of his arrival that he never expect. When Chagnon first met the Yanomamo became shocked that dozen Yanomamo looking at them, fully naked, sweaty, and with mouth full of tobacco that were place between lower teeth and lips. Also their face was covered by green strands

The Mayan people of the Yucatan Peninsula have endured great changes over their history, but many changes have occurred more recently as documented in the book by Cindy Hull. During a study in which she lived in Yaxbe for several decades, Hull examined the effects that this change has had on the people of the village and the Mayan people at large. Initially, Hull found that much was different about living with the people because she was used to the US Midwest. She was not used to the diet or to the family structure she found among the people, but she quickly adjusted to the changes and became a member of the village. Her task while she was there was to discover the social structure of the clan and how the culture has changed over time. She conducted a longitudinal study (one in which she became an integral member of the tribe) because she wanted to understand the people from a basal level. She believed that, despite the differences to what she experienced in her normal life, that the hardships she would face would get her closer to understanding the culture she was studying.

The Kaluli are a small clan of indigenous people who live in the rain forests in the Southern Highlands of the Great Papuan Plateau found in Papua New Guinea. The Kaluli people’s residency includes up to twenty longhouses each with about fifteen families in them, numbering roughly to about sixty to ninety people in each longhouse. The Kaluli culture does not involve any ranked social structure or individuals with hierarchical authority over others, however relies on strong egalitarian and equal values. The purpose of this of this paper is to highlight the Kaluli people’s identity, their unique upbringing and their struggles faced by missionization. This text will first identify how Kaluli children, both male and female are socialized and encultured in different ways through the mother enforcing certain traits, attitudes, behaviors, traditions and work ethics. Secondly this text will consider how missionization, i.e. the communication of other cultures and the indoctrination of Christianity by missionaries has disrupted the Kaluli’s sense of place. It will focus on the introduction of European-based time, the introduction and demise of some types of languages and the ownership of land and identity. Thirdly this paper will discuss how the enculturation of Kaluli children differs from more civilized enculturation of children and possible reasons for this

In the patriarchal society of the Ibo, a woman must submit to an older man’s demands specifically of a husband or family member; she is rarely in full control of herself. Emecheta writes that “a girl belonged to you today as your daughter, and tomorrow, before your very eyes, would go to another man in marriage” to suggest the presence of a dominant male figure in all walks of life (17).