Hunting, Gathering, and Gardening.
Wild Foods
The Jungle provides lots of wild food that can be harvested and eaten by the Yanomamo tribes. At some points in the year, the Tribes could probably live off of wild foods alone. When the Yanomamo go "camping," they greatly depend on these wild resources. The most common game animals are two kinds of large game birds, two wild pig species, rodents, and small birds. insects, fish, larvae, tadpoles, and freshwater crabs are eaten as well. In some regions, snakes, toads, and frogs are consumed as well.
So the Yanomamo eat giant grubs that are boiled down into one huge while grub ball. and they have palm heart orgies. cool.
Ok so some of the most common vegetable foods they eat are hardwoods, brazil nuts, tubers, seed pods and mushrooms, as well as many varieties of palm. They eat the palm heats and the palm fruits. sometimes, 12 people could eat up to 50 pounds of palm hearts in one sitting.
Two of the palm fruits they eat are called the karashi and the yeti. they are leathery and have a hard seed on the inside. they are slimy and stringy and they taste like soap. Yum? a third one of them has scales that are much like those upon a fish. and it tastes like cheese.
The Yanomamo totally adore honey. if someone comes back to the village late one night, it is expected that they have been tearing apart a bee's nest.
they dip leaves in honey liquid and then rinsed and put in a leave covered pit full of water, to make a drink. they dip the honey combs into this water and eat the larvae covered leaves.
The yanomamo have had many western items introduced to them by outsiders, such as fishing poles, canoes, flashlights, and in since 1965, shotguns. Personally, it seems silly to ruin their primitive ways even if it is more efficient. If the Yanomamo needed a gun to survive, they would have invented one.
80% of the Yanomamo food is in fact harvested from gardens of theirs. they grow large amounts of plantains. sometimes they will slip gardens into clear spots in a jungle, or in between widely space trees. When a garden is created, the Yanomamo will leave the large trees, but clear away the smaller ones, and the brush. They then chop down the large ones with steel axes to let in light for their crops. The more elderly tribe members recall that when they were younger, they had to kill the trees by carving away a ring of bark, or piling up brush along the stump and burning the bottom down.
Each man clears his own gardening space usually after he is married. It is a life-time activity and it's each man for his own. If a man underestimates haw much land he needs to clear for his entire family, it is very frowned upon. It's a man's duty to sow enough crops to sustain himself, as it's considered pretty rude to have to borrow from others.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Epically YANOMAMO ;)
-Shelter
Houses are made of materials collected from the jungle such as Poles, vines and leaves. Villages are made with surrounding gardens. There is a huge structure in the center with the central plaza and the most important house. To build this huge structure, called the "Shabono," there is tons of planning and preparation. Then many days of work. The "Shabono" lasts only two years, however, because the leaves start to decay, and the roof gets infested with spiders, roaches, and other insects to such an extent, that they have to burn down the entire structure. It looks like one huge house but in actuality it is several houses. The first step of building the Shabono is finding the right location. Then they did 4 main posts in the ground, digging holes prior with machetes sticks, and scooping with their hands. two smaller 5 foot tall poles are stuck in the back, and two taller, 10 foot ones in the front. The front and back poles stand between 8-10 feet apart from each other. horizontal cross poles then added diagonally, and after there are long saplings called "hanto nahi," which are laid diagonal to the cross poles. vines and roofing are then thatched to the building.the Shabonos are often surrounded by 10-foot high palisades if there is a nearby threat. they then lash them together with vines, and cover it with dry brush in the night, so that if there is so much as a slightest rustle, the dogs will awake, then the people.
when they go out on trips or move, they can create camps in about 30 minutes by making several simple, triangular flat-roofed huts. When it's sleep time, they string up their hammocks, and go to sleep with hopes that the roof won't leak, although they often do.
Houses are made of materials collected from the jungle such as Poles, vines and leaves. Villages are made with surrounding gardens. There is a huge structure in the center with the central plaza and the most important house. To build this huge structure, called the "Shabono," there is tons of planning and preparation. Then many days of work. The "Shabono" lasts only two years, however, because the leaves start to decay, and the roof gets infested with spiders, roaches, and other insects to such an extent, that they have to burn down the entire structure. It looks like one huge house but in actuality it is several houses. The first step of building the Shabono is finding the right location. Then they did 4 main posts in the ground, digging holes prior with machetes sticks, and scooping with their hands. two smaller 5 foot tall poles are stuck in the back, and two taller, 10 foot ones in the front. The front and back poles stand between 8-10 feet apart from each other. horizontal cross poles then added diagonally, and after there are long saplings called "hanto nahi," which are laid diagonal to the cross poles. vines and roofing are then thatched to the building.the Shabonos are often surrounded by 10-foot high palisades if there is a nearby threat. they then lash them together with vines, and cover it with dry brush in the night, so that if there is so much as a slightest rustle, the dogs will awake, then the people.
when they go out on trips or move, they can create camps in about 30 minutes by making several simple, triangular flat-roofed huts. When it's sleep time, they string up their hammocks, and go to sleep with hopes that the roof won't leak, although they often do.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Yanomamö are cooler that stuff like the process of making tenis rackets.
Culture;)
Technology
The Yanomamo technology is extremely simple. Everything is direct, and requires almost no resources that can't be regularly found. They seem as though they should be considered hunter and gatherers, but they are in fact Horticultural.
Pots
The pots are built thin and fragile. They can be easily broken. women, who are regarded as clumsy by the men, are rarely allowed to handle the pots. They are usually used for feasts, the preperations of which the men take care of, to avoid the "clumsy" woman breaking them. They break soon after they are made, and afterward, the men use the rough shattered slivers as grinding stones for their hallucinogens.
BOWS:
Bowstaves
Bowstaves are 5-6 feel lond and are made up of palm wood, a dense, brittle substance. It is carved and shaped with a razor sharp pigs tooth.
the Bowstrings are made from the fibers of the inner bark of another tree. The strong fibers are briskly rolled into thick cords.
Arrrows are ofter, when hunting monkeys, made up of splinters of wood that are weakened every inch, so that it breaks off inside the victim and can't be pulled out by the clever monkeys. The arrows are dipped in poison that slowly lulls them to sleep so that they drop down from their tree top abodes.
The Yanomamo bows are extremely powerful, (about as powerful as those we have today in our society), but they are brittle, and near the end of their lives, they will often snap or shatter when used.
In all, the tools they are using seem to be typically very convenient, but not built to last. all of the tools break after a short period of time.
Hallucinogenic Drugs
In the Brazilian Jungles, there are several plants that can be used as hallucinogens. The Yanomamo take these plants and create, "Hallucinogenic snuff powders." The most common, but not the most desired plant is the Yakowana tree,, who's moist inner bark is dried, ground, and added to white ashed from another tree. the mixture is moistened with saliva and kneaded into a gummy substance. this substance is then heated over a stone, and later ground into a green snuff power. The most desired Hallucinogen is the Hisiomö plant. It's tiny seeds are carefully skinned, and turned into snuff powder using a similar process as used for the Yakowana plant. The Hisiomö is far more powerful than the Yakowana as well.
My thoughts and Opinions
I really hope that this tribe can thrive. I have obviously not covered everything yet, but there is a major crisis going on concerning mining in Yanomomö territory. I found this site where you can write an email to the brazilian Gov't to help stop the mining. I wrote one, sort of. It was pretty minimal, but it was a pre-written latter and i erased most of the written stuff because I figured they must be getting hundreds of the same letter, and they must be getting pissed. I made sure to mention that I was young several times because I noticed that adults respond to young people better, a lot of the time. So yeah sorry i just though I would share that little experiance.
Othere than that though, my opinion of the Yanomamo is very high. they seem like really interesting people, and i wish i could adopt their lifestyle as my own!
Sources:
Book "Yanomamö fifth edition" By: Napoleon A. Chagnon pgs. 45-55
Technology
The Yanomamo technology is extremely simple. Everything is direct, and requires almost no resources that can't be regularly found. They seem as though they should be considered hunter and gatherers, but they are in fact Horticultural.
Pots
The pots are built thin and fragile. They can be easily broken. women, who are regarded as clumsy by the men, are rarely allowed to handle the pots. They are usually used for feasts, the preperations of which the men take care of, to avoid the "clumsy" woman breaking them. They break soon after they are made, and afterward, the men use the rough shattered slivers as grinding stones for their hallucinogens.
BOWS:
Bowstaves
Bowstaves are 5-6 feel lond and are made up of palm wood, a dense, brittle substance. It is carved and shaped with a razor sharp pigs tooth.
the Bowstrings are made from the fibers of the inner bark of another tree. The strong fibers are briskly rolled into thick cords.
Arrrows are ofter, when hunting monkeys, made up of splinters of wood that are weakened every inch, so that it breaks off inside the victim and can't be pulled out by the clever monkeys. The arrows are dipped in poison that slowly lulls them to sleep so that they drop down from their tree top abodes.
The Yanomamo bows are extremely powerful, (about as powerful as those we have today in our society), but they are brittle, and near the end of their lives, they will often snap or shatter when used.
In all, the tools they are using seem to be typically very convenient, but not built to last. all of the tools break after a short period of time.
Hallucinogenic Drugs
In the Brazilian Jungles, there are several plants that can be used as hallucinogens. The Yanomamo take these plants and create, "Hallucinogenic snuff powders." The most common, but not the most desired plant is the Yakowana tree,, who's moist inner bark is dried, ground, and added to white ashed from another tree. the mixture is moistened with saliva and kneaded into a gummy substance. this substance is then heated over a stone, and later ground into a green snuff power. The most desired Hallucinogen is the Hisiomö plant. It's tiny seeds are carefully skinned, and turned into snuff powder using a similar process as used for the Yakowana plant. The Hisiomö is far more powerful than the Yakowana as well.
My thoughts and Opinions
I really hope that this tribe can thrive. I have obviously not covered everything yet, but there is a major crisis going on concerning mining in Yanomomö territory. I found this site where you can write an email to the brazilian Gov't to help stop the mining. I wrote one, sort of. It was pretty minimal, but it was a pre-written latter and i erased most of the written stuff because I figured they must be getting hundreds of the same letter, and they must be getting pissed. I made sure to mention that I was young several times because I noticed that adults respond to young people better, a lot of the time. So yeah sorry i just though I would share that little experiance.
Othere than that though, my opinion of the Yanomamo is very high. they seem like really interesting people, and i wish i could adopt their lifestyle as my own!
Sources:
Book "Yanomamö fifth edition" By: Napoleon A. Chagnon pgs. 45-55
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Yanomamo Swag
Jk I really don't know if the Yanomamo have any swag ;)
Way of Life:
Woman are married shortly after they get their first period. Yanomamo families are organized as units. They practice polygamy, and a family unit usually branches of of one man. There are several sub-units of woman and their children. Their organization of work is quite typical in that woman are typically the ones who care for their children, and the men are the primary hunters.
education:
The education of children is not done through the classic schooling that westernized cultures are dependent on. Children are taught the basics of the necessities, and left to experiment through trial an error until they figure it out. Children learn through imitation of adults and just living life. They learn to garden, cook, hunt, invent, and clean.
The Yanomamo numbering system is very simple. They use one, two, and "greater than two."
food!!
The Hunt is a main source of their diet. The activity is, (Quite classically) a male one. They use simple weapons, primarily the bow and arrow.
Foods such as palm fruits, palm hearts, honey, Brazil nut, and cashew fruit are gathered. :)
Fishing is accomplished by all ages and sexes and techniques such as stream poisoning, archery, and even by hand are used.
yay!
lastly, a good hunt and harvest is celebrated with a huge feast with all of the neighboring villages invited.
Contact:
catholic missionaries have been in contact regularly with the yanomamo since the 1950's, but have had very little to no success with their intentions of conversion.
ceremonies and beliefs
The Yanomamo believe that the universe is created from four parallel layers of existence.
1) layer number one is an empty layer that was long ago occupied by ancient ancestral beings, whom later merged with the lesser/ lower layers such as earth.
2) Layer two is the sky. The home of the spirits of dead men and woman. This layer is thought of to be an idealistic and sweet version of earth. with tastier food, happiers spirits, and eternal youth and beauty.
3) Layer three is the earth ;)
4) Layer four is the underworld- ancient spirits called the "Ahmai-terrhi" live there, with intentions of bringing harm to living humans.
Illness & shamans
It is believed that shamans can take personal control of a demon, and use it to cure and cause illness. In fact, they believe that all illness is caused by enemy shamans. For a village shaman to heal a man's sickness, he has to determine the cause of the illness and pull out the demon. For the ceremony, he must decorate and embellish himself and his surroundings, he then deeply inhales a hallucinogenic plant to gain better contact with the demons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eIfXlfHEcg
Way of Life:
education:
The education of children is not done through the classic schooling that westernized cultures are dependent on. Children are taught the basics of the necessities, and left to experiment through trial an error until they figure it out. Children learn through imitation of adults and just living life. They learn to garden, cook, hunt, invent, and clean.
The Yanomamo numbering system is very simple. They use one, two, and "greater than two."
food!!
The Hunt is a main source of their diet. The activity is, (Quite classically) a male one. They use simple weapons, primarily the bow and arrow.
Foods such as palm fruits, palm hearts, honey, Brazil nut, and cashew fruit are gathered. :)
Fishing is accomplished by all ages and sexes and techniques such as stream poisoning, archery, and even by hand are used.
yay!
lastly, a good hunt and harvest is celebrated with a huge feast with all of the neighboring villages invited.
Contact:
catholic missionaries have been in contact regularly with the yanomamo since the 1950's, but have had very little to no success with their intentions of conversion.
ceremonies and beliefs
The Yanomamo believe that the universe is created from four parallel layers of existence.
1) layer number one is an empty layer that was long ago occupied by ancient ancestral beings, whom later merged with the lesser/ lower layers such as earth.
2) Layer two is the sky. The home of the spirits of dead men and woman. This layer is thought of to be an idealistic and sweet version of earth. with tastier food, happiers spirits, and eternal youth and beauty.
3) Layer three is the earth ;)
4) Layer four is the underworld- ancient spirits called the "Ahmai-terrhi" live there, with intentions of bringing harm to living humans.
Illness & shamans
It is believed that shamans can take personal control of a demon, and use it to cure and cause illness. In fact, they believe that all illness is caused by enemy shamans. For a village shaman to heal a man's sickness, he has to determine the cause of the illness and pull out the demon. For the ceremony, he must decorate and embellish himself and his surroundings, he then deeply inhales a hallucinogenic plant to gain better contact with the demons.
my opinions:
I feel like the yanomamo tribe is one of (if not THE) most important tribes in the world. It's contrast with western civilization is easy to talk about, but baffling to consider. Perhaps it could be called ignorance, but I feel like the Yanomamo are living with exactly what they need. If they need more, they would progress further. But the don't. I feel like looking at a tribe like this is a really easy way to look into our own culture. We may have stronger evolutions and scientific theories, but it all comes back to the same stuff. The necessities. And there seems to be something truly beautiful about taking only what you need. Looking more on the surface of the Yanomamo, they are also just a really interesting subject. It excites and interests me and I am ready to continue my research!
Source this time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eIfXlfHEcg
the video is short, but it's full of information so i thought it would be alright :))
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The Basics
Greetings!!! I now present to you...FACTS. yes, yes, exciting, I know.
Country
The Yanomamo abide in the rain forests and mountains of Brazil and Venezuela.
Territory:
The Brazilian territory is over 9.6 million hectares, twice the size of switzerland!
Venezuelan reserve, Alto Orinoco, Is 8.2 million hectares.
Population
32,000
:)
Country
The Yanomamo abide in the rain forests and mountains of Brazil and Venezuela.
Territory:
The Brazilian territory is over 9.6 million hectares, twice the size of switzerland!
Venezuelan reserve, Alto Orinoco, Is 8.2 million hectares.
Population
32,000
:)
Sunday, February 20, 2011
leave it.
Have you read Ishmael? If not, I suggest you do. Not only is it a really great book, but it would also clarify why a world history blog would be called, "Leave It." Basically, there are takers and leavers on today's world. as in the saying "take it or leave it." Takers are the westernized culture that took place in the agricultural and industrial revolution. The Leavers are the more hunter-gatherer type societies. the one's who live off the land and don't worry about tomorrow. And these are the people that I'm going to be focusing on.
My incredibly awesome subject of research.
Dear world,
So, I've been hopping around the internet in search of a culture worthy of my blogging. I have found only a billion different leaver cultures. And really weird ones too, I'm talking people that shrink the heads of their defeated foes, and shoot a woman's armpit as part of a wedding ritual. That stuff is interesting, but in a really creepy disturbing way, like "That's so cooool! ....and yet i wish i didn't know about it..." So yeah, just for the sake of my own sanity, I'm going to leave those cultures alone for now. So I decided that I was going to do my blog on the most primitive culture known to the world today. The Yanomamo, or (Yanamame, Yanomami). They haven't even discovered the wheel yet! I think they fit my blog perfectly! These peoples are the biggest leaver culture in the world.
love,
leave it.
So, I've been hopping around the internet in search of a culture worthy of my blogging. I have found only a billion different leaver cultures. And really weird ones too, I'm talking people that shrink the heads of their defeated foes, and shoot a woman's armpit as part of a wedding ritual. That stuff is interesting, but in a really creepy disturbing way, like "That's so cooool! ....and yet i wish i didn't know about it..." So yeah, just for the sake of my own sanity, I'm going to leave those cultures alone for now. So I decided that I was going to do my blog on the most primitive culture known to the world today. The Yanomamo, or (Yanamame, Yanomami). They haven't even discovered the wheel yet! I think they fit my blog perfectly! These peoples are the biggest leaver culture in the world.
love,
leave it.
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