Yanomamo Society Essay

883 Words4 Pages
"Yanomamo Society" Kinship systems in Foraging and Horticultural based societies provide support for people in all stages of their life. The Yanomamo community is one good example that attests to this statement. Yanomamo is a Native American community that lives in the Amazon in the countries of the Brazil and Venezuela. Yanomamo is a horticultural community that depends mainly on food they grow from their own gardens. The remaining comes from hunting and gathering activities. The Yanomamo live in villages of small tribes that can range from 40 to 350 people. It is estimated that there are over 22,000 Yanomamo living in 200- 250 villages that are widely scattered in the Amazon. The Yanomamo people are based upon a very violent lifestyle and are known as the "Fierce People." Because of their strong will and ferociousness, they have been able to remain unchanged by advancing technological world most people live in today. One of the most important systems the Yanomamo maintain is their kinship. This community has strong kinship system that helps them in maintain the existence of the community. Members of a single Yanomamo tribe share the belief that they are descendants from a common ancestor of peace, and the relationships between tribes is enhanced through marriage and the exchanges between kinships of the tribes’ leaders, known as headmen. Marriage exchanges between villages are very common among the Yanomamo community. Marriage is partly a political process where young girls are promised to men of other village with the thought of creating alliances. The major reason behind this is to ensure a peaceful coexistence between the different tribes in these villages. The intermarriages have also created a very strong bond between members of different villages in the communities. In more cases than none, each member of a tribe has a blood relation link in almost

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