The Yanomami

1328 Words3 Pages

Tribes have been present since the beginning of time. They are often smart, innovative and self-sufficient, all without the use of modern technology. A prime example of this is the Yanomami tribe. They are one of the last completely isolated and non-urbanized tribes in the world. The Yanomami have managed to stay secluded from society for over a hundred years and now this is starting to change. Cities along the Brazilian- Venezuelan border are expanding and occupying Yanomami land. Along with the expansion of Brazil and Venezuela, gold miners are invading the tribes land and destroying their environment and their health. The tribe has no real way of protecting themselves; they do not use or have modern day weapons and the government is taking no action to help. The seclusion that the tribe has managed to maintain contributes to their interesting way of life, but outside sources are threatening their culture. Another reason why the Yanomami are under attack is because they live on valuable land that miners are taking great interest in. Although they are under attack may people do not feel empathetic towards their situation, this is because they have a bad reputation surrounding them. Due to mass industrialization, the Yanomami tribe of the Southern Amazon may lose out on their rich existence and culture. Spreading along seventy thousand square miles in the Amazon forest, the Yanomami tribe resides and maintains their culture without intrusion. Their culture has evolved just like that of a modern society, but their way of life is very different. The tribe chooses to live in communal housing; large round dwellings called shaponos. The shaponos are made out of wood and are completely built by the tribe’s people (1). Fam... ... middle of paper ... ...1 (7) Eakin, Emily. "How Napoleon Chagnon Became Our Most Controversial Anthropologist." Nytimes.com. N.P., 13 Feb. 2013. Web. Page 2 (8) McKay, Brett, and Kate McKay. "The Yanomamö and the Origins of Male Honor." The Art of Manliness RSS. N.P., 10 June 2013. Web. Page 3 (9) Burke, Peter J. Contemporary Social Psychological Theories. Stanford, CA: Stanford Social Sciences, 2006. Print. Page 1 (10) "Schemata Theory." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Aug. 2013. Web. Page 2 (4b) Turner, Terence. ""I Fight Because I Am Alive": An Interview with Davi Kopenawa Yanomami." Cultural Survival. N.P., 03 Mar. 2010. Web. Page 4 (4c) Turner, Terence. ""I Fight Because I Am Alive": An Interview with Davi Kopenawa Yanomami." Cultural Survival. N.P., 03 Mar. 2010. Web. Page 4

Open Document