Yir-Yoront Steel Axe

During the nineteenth century there was a vast amount of blood and trade between southerners and the Yir Yoront. At the heart of all the blood and trade rose the steel axe. This single piece of equipment played a vital role in the society of the Yir Yoront. This item became more and more used by the Yir Yoront for wide array of reasons.
When the Yir Yoront started out they only had a stone-ax which was primarily used to catch food and chop any large item that could not be taken down with a smaller tool. This tool ties into the Yir Yoront culture very deeply for the main reason is that only them men could create a stone. The reason behind this is the fact that the men knew what types of natural resources need to create such a tool. These materials

need to be gathered, stored, prepared, and applied in the correct way, this is why only men would be allowed to create the stone ax. As you can see this is a very important task that plays a huge role in the Yir Yoront culture. The stone ax once finished could be used by any member in their society. Whether it be from a grown adult all the way to a child. This item was mainly used by the women in the group to maintain an abundant supply of fire wood so they can continue to cook. This single tool was sometimes limited to use only by men when obtaining the Yir Yoront most prized food which was honey that was used in for making a paraphernalia that was used during ceremonies. One of the major events where the stone axe was used would be during the “walk-about”. This is where boys became men by going on a spiritual journey across the land by themselves.
The stone axe also played a role in other civilizations as well. To the Sunlit Cloud Iguana Clan, the axe was the most important totem of them all. The axe was such a vital part of this clan that the member’s names referred to the axe itself. During ceremonies amongst the clan only men would present the axe. This axe could be created by man only but, used by all; except only the Sunlit Cloud Iguana Clan could use it. As you can see from these two societies is that they both only allow member of their society to use the axe except for ceremonies in which case only men could use it. This shows you how deeply rooted the stone axe was in their culture.
When the steal axe was introduced to the Yir Yoront it forever changed the way of life in this culture.

This introduction had many benefits but also had a few recessions as well. For starters the positives of the steel axe would be the abundance of the axes. This meant that there was a pecking order or a never ending process of making or repairing axes for everyone in their society. Another positive would be the task at hand became easier for the women and men, along with the children that had job obligations. The steel axe played a big role in reducing the stress of the Yir Yoront. Even with all these great improvements in their way of life the Yir Yoront had a major problem placed upon them. When they had the stone axe they were handed by the men in monopoly fashion. When the missions gave out the steel axe they gave them to anybody who could hold one up, this ended the monopoly and lead to confusion of sex, age, and kinship roles which are very important in their way of life. Trade was also affected by these axes by making those young men who traded and carried the steel axes to become more insubordinate to higher authority. Cultural events became less exciting among the Yir Yoront. One of the biggest events was when the men would set out to find a whole year worth of supplies. With this event hardly taking place and the women being prostituted out the relationship between the Yir Yoront changed. The partnership was weakened and the attendance of ceremonies dropped. This was a huge change amongst the Yir Yoront society considering the fact that they would always have big ceremonies in which the whole tribe would

attend.
When the steel axe was introduced to the Sunlit Cloud Iguana Clan it brought the group to close to the “white man” which was originally associated with death. This took away all myth making because the steel axe had no mythology behind it where the stone axe was backed by many years of mythology. This interns killed the kinship within the society. A quote in the text full describes what happened amongst the Sunlit Cloud Iguana Clan it was an inrush of a foreign culture traits in which totemic ideology can no longer support which interns breaks down the mythmaking process completely.