Yanomamo Culture

A group of 20,000 indigenous people who live in some villages along the Amazon River in Venezuela and Brazil.

Name Hiding: They rarely reveal their names. Real names are considered very important. One woman who was interviewed by an early sociologists said that she was married some time to her husband before she found out his name. This made it difficult for sociologists in finding relatives and the connections between families. Eventually the Yanamamo began revealing their names to Chagon (early sociologist)

Counting System: The Yanamamo have three numbers. One-Two-More than Two This indicates the simplicity of their culture

Hairstyles: Men and women wear their hair in the same way. They shave their heads bald on top and wear a kind of bowl-shaped rim around the edges.

Language: The Yanamamo have rich and sophisticated language. They tell jokes and great stories but have no written language

View of the World: Believe the universe to be constructed of four late-like plains. The bottom one is a kind of netherworld where people have fallen. Humans live on the second one. The third is invisible but believed to look like Earth. The top is largely uninhabited.

Creation Myths: The Yanomamo believe that men and women were created separately. Male dominated culture Little girls have chores to perform much earlier than little boys and may be promised in marriage at a very young age. Women are expected to perform endless chores and may be beaten- even killed by thieer husbands for some infraction. Men may beat their wives to show how ferocious they are. When they are older women gain new respect.

Tobacco: The word for poverty probably means “without tobacco” Warfare: It was noted that warfare was a strong part of their culture. About ¼ of males died in violent deaths. Deaths: All non-violent deaths were attributed to evil spirits, not disease, which the group tended to blame on their enemies. The absence of any medical practices meant that the Yanomamo had short lifespans.