Yanomami
The Yanomami live in villages usually consisting of their children
and extended families.
the entire village lives under a common roof called the
shabono.
The Yanomami depend on the
rainforest;
they use
slash-and-burn
horticulture,
grow
bananas,
gather fruit, and hunt animals and fish.
Polygamous families consist of a large patrifocal family unit
based on one man, and smaller matrifocal subfamilies
Children stay close to their mothers when young; most of the
childrearing is done by women.
The women cultivate
plantains
and
cassava in
gardens as their main crops.
Men do the heavy work of clearing areas of forest for the gardens.
The Yanomami are among the few societies in the world to practice
true
polygamy.
Rituals are a very important part of Yanomami culture. The
Yanomami celebrate a good harvest with a big feast, they gather large
amounts of food.
They also decorate their bodies with feathers and flowers.
Girls typically get their periods between the ages of 10 and 12,
and as soon as the period begins, girls are married off.
the Yanomami culture was described as being permeated with
violence. The Yanomami people have a history of acting violently not
only towards other tribes, but towards one another.
Yanomami frequently move to avoid areas that become overused, a
practice known as shifting cultivation when the soil becomes
exhausted.
The traditional Yanomami diet is very low in edible salt. For this
reason, the Yanomami have been the subject of studies seeking to link
hypertension
The Yanomami people practice ritual endocannibalism, in which they
consume the bones of deceased kinsmen.
Hallucinogenic drugs, known as yekuana, are used by Yanomami
shamans as part of healing rituals for members of community who are
ill.
Women are expected to carry 70 to 80
pounds (32 to36k g) of crops on their backs during harvesting, using
bark straps and woven
baskets.
Boys typically become the responsibility of the male members of
the community after about age 8.
