25 Facts About Yanomami

1.

Originally named the Commission for the Creation of a Yanomami Park, it is a Brazilian non-governmental nonprofit organization dedicated to the defense of the territorial, cultural, and civil and political rights of the Yanomami.

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2.

Yanomami do not recognize themselves as a united group, but rather as individuals associated with their politically autonomous villages.

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3.

Yanomami communities are grouped together because they have similar ages and kinship, and militaristic coalitions interweave communities together.

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4.

The Yanomami have common historical ties to Carib speakers who resided near the Orinoco river and moved to the highlands of Brazil and Venezuela, the location the Yanomami currently occupy.

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5.

Yanomami can be classified as foraging horticulturalists, depending heavily on rainforest resources; they use slash-and-burn horticulture, grow bananas, gather fruit, and hunt animals and fish.

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6.

Yanomami groups are a famous example of the approximately fifty documented societies that openly accept polyandry, though polygyny among Amazonian tribes has been observed.

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7.

Males of the Yanomami are said to commit significant intervals of bride service living with their in-laws, and levirate or sororate marriage might be practiced in the event of the death of a spouse.

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8.

The Yanomami celebrate a good harvest with a big feast to which nearby villages are invited.

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9.

Yanomami women cultivate until the gardens are no longer fertile, and then move their plots.

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10.

Yanomami women are expected to take responsibility for the children, who are expected to help their mothers with domestic chores from a very young age, and mothers rely very much on help from their daughters.

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11.

In early anthropological studies the Yanomami culture was described as being permeated with violence.

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12.

The Yanomami people have a history of acting violently not only towards other tribes, but towards one another.

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13.

Chagnon's account and similar descriptions of the Yanomami portrayed them as aggressive and warlike, sparking controversy amongst anthropologists and creating an enormous interest in the Yanomami.

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14.

The Yanomami are warriors; they can be brutal and cruel, but they can be delicate, sensitive, and loving.

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15.

When one is acquainted with the societies of the North American plains or the societies of the Chaco in South America, one cannot say that Yanomami culture is organized around warfare as Chagnon does.

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16.

Up to half of all Yanomami males die violent deaths in the constant conflict between neighboring communities over local resources.

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17.

Yanomami men have been known to kill children while raiding enemy villages.

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18.

Non-Yanomami people continue to enter the land; the Brazilian and Venezuelan governments do not have adequate enforcement programs to prevent the entry of outsiders.

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19.

Ethical controversy has arisen about Yanomami blood taken for study by scientists such as Napoleon Chagnon and his associate James Neel.

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20.

Several prominent Yanomami delegations have sent letters to the scientists who are studying them, demanding the return of their blood samples.

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21.

From 1987 to 1990, the Yanomami population was severely affected by malaria, mercury poisoning, malnutrition, and violence due to an influx of garimpeiros searching for gold in their territory.

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22.

In 1987, FUNAI President Romero Juca denied that the sharp increase in Yanomami deaths was due to garimpeiro invasions, and Jose Sarney, then president of Brazil, supported the economic venture of the garimpeiros over the land rights of the Yanomami.

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23.

Haximu massacre, known as the Yanomami massacre, was an armed conflict in 1993, just outside Haximu, Brazil, close to the border with Venezuela.

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24.

In turn, Yanomami warriors killed at least two garimpeiros and wounded two more.

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25.

Brazilian-based Yanomami formed their own indigenous organization Hutukara Associacao Yanomami and accompanying website.

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