Yanoomamo Analysis

Yanomamo Cultural Ecology in Correlation with Alliance Building and Physical Environment
In Napoleon A. Chagnon’s work called Yanomamo, Chagnon documents his experiences, over years of living and studying them, with a relatively small group of people located in the tropical forest on the Brazilian and Venezuelan border. These people are called the Yanomamo, who, at the time of Chagnon’s first visit in 1964, were relatively uncontacted. The Yanomamo have a culture that, at first, shocked Chagnon. In Chagnon’s first contact with the Yanomamo, he records, “I looked up and saw hideous men looking down at us with bows drawn,” he continues with “They had mucus, resulting from a hallucinogenic drug, hanging from their noses” (Chagnon 12). Chagnon

When traveling to other villages to have peace talks, have feasts, or if a war brings them there, something has to guide their path so that they can get there as fast and as easily as possible. While the Yanomamo definitely aren’t at a level of technology required to build paved roads, the do have trails that stretch throughout the jungle to the various villages. But, even still, Yanomamo trails aren’t the type of trail that an American would find while hiking in their local mountains, no, Yanomamo trails are much less obvious. Chagnon says that “it takes experience to recognize a Yanomamo trail” (Chagnon 47). Neighbors use these trails as a means of getting to one another, oftentimes, just to visit but these trails are also very useful in maintaining the alliances that the Yanomamo villages often have with each other. These trails, however, don’t make the walk to other villages as simple as one might think though. The Yanomamo must come prepared for what could be up to a “10 days’ walk” (Chagnon 46). Camps are set up along these discreet trails in order to have plenty of stopping places for rest and sleep. Things like thorns are also big problems. However, the most prominent source of pain stemming from the trails are the snakes. They can be hidden everywhere within the brush. Chagnon states, “A surprisingly large number of Yanomamo die from snakebites” (Chagnon), so snakebites are a huge problem on

In the Yanomamos case, alliances are a crucial part of the culture that they have. The many villages of the Yanomamo often make very feeble alliances with one another in order to provide for each other in various ways. Things like shelter, trade, and a general understanding between the allies are some of the benefits gained. Given the Yanomamo’s fondness of warfare, alliances can also offer “military” cooperation between two or more villages in order to have the upper hand on the factions that they are fighting against. Alliances however are not achieved by simply asking. Chagnon writes, “Alliances are derived from a developmental sequences that involves things like feasting and trading” (Chagnon 164). Alliances are one of the things in Yanomamo culture that is absolutely necessary, but it comes at a cost. “Allies need but cannot really trust each other” (Chagnon 164) says Chagnon about how feeble the alliances between Yanomamo villages can be. Betrayal is a common occurrence in Yanomamo alliances as it happens very often. In the Yanomamo culture, Alliances are crucial in order to maintain at least some sort of stability between Yanomamo factions. With war and the environment to deal with, alliances can offer a great sense of protection and friendship that these villages