Yanomami Indians

Paper Summary:

A discussion of the Yanomami Indians who are shielded by forests, live in almost complete seclusion and are believed to be the last culture to have come into contact with the modern world. This paper examines their family and kinship, food gathering, religion, and their uncertain future. The author also looks at how modernization has already changed much of their traditional lifestyle.

From the Paper:

"The Yanomami have nuclear families, with what anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon calls a "male supremacist culture." Despite the fact that there are more males than females, they prefer sons to daughters, especially as firstborn children. In fact, a firstborn girl may be killed, while a son is usually allowed to live. Furthermore, even though there are not even enough women for each man, 25 percent of the men practice polygyny (Kottak 201).
The Yanomami live in small, concentrated villages, where several nuclear or extended families live under circular shelters called shabono. There could be as much as 65 people living in a shingle shabono, relatives by consanguinity or alliance (Chagnon 1997: 56)."

More papers on Yanomami Indians:

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