The
Yanomamo have a very different idea in regards to killings and breaking rules
than most of the Western cultures. Conflicts and killings can occur for many
reasons, including sexual issues such as infidelity, seducing another man's
wife, and jealousy. Another reason why killings happen is because of retaliation
from one tribe for the death of a tribe member by a different tribe. As stated
in the article, “avenging the death of a kinsman is such a commonly reported
cause of warfare in primitive societies”.
This is
different than in Western cultures simply because murder is not acceptable in
western cultures regardless the reason behind it. In western cultures revenge
killings are considered murder and are punished by a prison sentence. The
Yanomamo see these revenge killings as something that is almost expected from
the kinsman of the murdered. Needless to say, that this does sometimes happen
as well in western cultures, but it is not accepted as a legal form of
punishment. In western cultures when rules are broken there are monetary fines
placed as well as jail/prison time. We are not taught that killing is a form of
punishment.
If
killing occurs within a village the two groups will raid each other. Usually
these raids are because of a previous killing. The raiders are usually between 10 and 20 men.
Sometimes they travel four to five days to get to the enemy village. On the night
of a raid the warriors will make an ‘effigy (no owa) ‘of the person they most
want to kill. However they generally end up killing the first person they see. They usually strike at dawn and will try to
shoot the victim with their bow and arrows. Then they retreat fast to get as
far away as possible before the kin of the victims can find them.
3. Revenge killings
are dangerous for those who take part. What are the benefits of obtaining the
status of unokais? How do they compare to the benefits of being a non-unokais?
Why would a man choose to become an unokais instead of being a non-unokais?
Unokais
are the men that have killed. After they have killed they go through the
unokaimou ceremony. They become well known within the village and its neighboring
villages as unokai. It is important for these men to obtain unokais status
because it a symbol of being a powerful man. If they don’t kill they are
considered weak. In fact the article stated that when men chronically drop out
of raids and killings, they are ridiculed and their wives are targets for
sexual attention by others. The unokais have higher reproductive success because
they can find mates easier. They are
considered to be more attractive as mates than non-unokais.
Another important reason for
becoming a unokais is that all headmen in
the villages are unokai. In order to reach such positions within the tribe it
is important to have a killing under your belt.
4. Identify and describe the relationship between revenge killings and these aspects of the Yanomamo culture. How do they influence and affect each other?
a. Political structure:
As
stated before the study shows that all the headmen in the villages were unokai.
Thus means they had participated and killed somebody during a revenge killing.
As stated by Clauzewitz “warfare is the conduct of politics by other means
(31), in the tribal world warfare is ipso facto the extension of kinship
obligations by violence because the political system is organized by kinship”. This
is a strong message indicating that the kinship and the revenge killings are a
great part of the political structure of the Yanomamo.
b. Social Status/Social Organization:
The
social status among the Yanomamo is related to revenge killings. As stated
earlier, all the headmen in the villages were unokai. The revenge killings
would place these men in higher social positions. Some unokai have a reputation
for being a waiteri (which means fierce) because they have participated in many
killings. In social organizations the men that participate in revenge killings
are likely to be more attractive to the women in the village as well.
c.
Kinship:
The
Yanomamo consider a person to be related to another if ‘at least one
genealogical connection between them exists’. Most of the villagers are related to one
another in kin in multiple ways. As individuals age they begin to lose a lot of
their close genetic kin due to violence, and in particular the revenge killings.
Kinship is important because when conflicts occur
each individual relies on his own skills and more importantly support of his
close kin.d. Marriage & Reproduction:
Men that are killers and participate in the revenge killings gain more marital and reproductive benefits.
The
data obtained in this study shows that reproductive success among the unokais is
much greater than among the non-unokais. The unokais have a higher reproductive
success rate because they have better chance of mates, which can be done by
force or customary marriage arrangements. The women of the villages are more
attracted to the unokais than the non-unokais.
5. Behaviors that are usually labeled as “anti-social”, such as killing other people, are generally thought to be a bad thing to do under most circumstances, other than defense. Why do we need laws against something that no one should want to do? Use your reading of the article to help you explain your answer?
Laws are needed in Western civilizations because although killing others is considered a bad thing, it still happens all the time. Sometimes it is in revenge, other times for monetary gain, and sometimes there is no reason. Therefore these laws are created to help control the number of killings that do occur. If these laws and punishments were not implicated, imagine how much more murders we would have even here in the United States, which we consider a civilized nation.
In the case of the Yanomamo, we
see in the article the young Yanomamo man who wants laws and police to be available to his people so that they don’t have to
have wars of revenge. Many of his kin died in these violent wars of revenge. He
is refusing to take part in raids, yet fears he will be targeted by his own
people for this decision.
I really enjoyed your post. I like in the last part how you brought up the boy who wanted to get the Spanish to introduce laws to his culture. I completely forgot about that when writing my blog.
ReplyDelete"This is different than in Western cultures simply because murder is not acceptable in western cultures regardless the reason behind it."
ReplyDeleteIs this true? Doesn't our legal system see certain killings, such as in self-defense, as justifiable?
"We are not taught that killing is a form of punishment."
Except in the form of the death penalty, correct?
Very good discussion on the influence of revenge killings on different cultural components and good final analysis.
I think you brought up a good point with laws in Western civilizations. You wrote, "If these laws and punishments were not implicated, imagine how much more murders we would have even here in the United States, which we consider a civilized nation." Just like the Yanomamo culture, Western society will see much more revenge killing if law was not in place. I think it is natural to want to seek revenge after a close relationship is taken away from a person, so we have laws to try and deter us away from doing so.
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of good points in this post and I enjoy reading it. However, it is not only in Western culture that killings happens. Killings happens anywhere, any country, in any ethnic group, in any culture or in any race. I think, most of the laws are pattern in Western culture or the United States since it is one of the oldest country that develop a governance and the constitution. Compare to my country, I admire this country for implementing their laws.
ReplyDeleteI liked your blog, very well structured with questions and answer format. You had all the points that was mentioned in the article. Your final conclusion was interesting, I did not even think of the monetary reason why people kill. I agree with you that there must be laws to prevent bad actions and to keep order.
ReplyDelete