1) In the Yanomamo culture, if someone is killed there is a revenge killing as their form of justice. Here, we would definitely frown upon that. When I was reading the article it reminded me a lot of the show "Sons of Anarchy". When a member of the motorcycle gang The Son's of Anarchy was killed- the first thing they spoke about was "waging a war" and getting revenge. The Yanomamo use vengeance to legitimize their killings.
2) The Yanomamo split into two groups. Essentially people who agree with the killing (the article said they were usually fueld by sexual issues) and people who do NOT agree with the killing. There is a retaliation which was described by the article to be a 'tit for tat" act. For example: you killed my brother so now i am going to kill yours.
3) Unokais are members who have killed and then been "cleansed' of their killing and released from the haunting of the person they killed's spirit. Unokais also have a higher rate of probability in finding a mate than un-unokais. The article stated that they are found to be more suitable mates than un-unokais.
4)
The Yamomamo political structure is an interesting one. Each group has a one or two leaders and then the leader of all the groups who is the headman or chief of the villiage.
The social status of the Yamomamo would probably be the Unokais. From the article it sounds liek they have an easier time gtting mates and stuff because their status is seen as desireable.
The kinship relationship with the Yamomamo is based off of the Unokais status. The family members of the Unokais is more protected than the family members of people who arent. Again because their status is considered to be more prestigious than someone who is un-unokais.
Unokais are more attractive to women because of their higer and more prestigious status. It is common for these men to have more than one wife (up to a dozen wives) at one time...also resulting in an a LOT of offspring and therefore a larger kin group to be more "protected" by the males status in the tribe or culture.
5) The revenge killings just sound insane. If that was happening here, no one would be able to leave their house half of the time. This is obviously why we have laws and run our society in a different manner than they do. It seems like it would be a never ending cycle of vengeance and revenge.
i also thought that the killings were really extreme as well. in our culture something like that wouldnt happen because they would already be in prison locked away. but than again thats how there culture is, thats how they are brought upon. its basically what they are used to...They may look at us and think we are crazy because we dont do revenge killings or raids.
ReplyDeleteoverall liked your post and liked your example you used with the tv show.
The quote "tit for tat" seemed to stand out in this article along with a few others. The unokais part of the article seemed to relate to several situations in my view such as bullies or animals. The stronger seem to take advantage of the weak and take their mates. Many females want to feel protected and will look for the more comfortable situation. Or in the animal kingdom, the strong eat the weak. And I want to mention that I am a big SOA fan so I liked your comment on that which is why I ended mine with relating the revenge killings with gangs in our current culture. Overall, I enjoyed your blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about the way you say that the Yanomamo use revenge to "legitimize" killings. Does that mean they don't think it is legitimate to begin with? Or do they already think it's justified but this is an anthropological explanation as to why they kill others?
ReplyDeleteYou say: "The Yanomamo split into two groups. Essentially people who agree with the killing (the article said they were usually fueld by sexual issues) and people who do NOT agree with the killing."
You seem to suggest that the people in disagreement are protesting the killings in a way in opposition. But is that how Chagnon describes it? Do they not participate out of protest or is it due to fear of death? Or other reasons? Careful not to put your own personal interpretation on this.
Are there any other benefits other than reproductive ones to being an unokais?
"The revenge killings just sound insane." Would an anthropologist say this? :-) Let's keep our personal opinions and feelings out of the analysis. Return to the benefits of revenge killings, in terms of reproductive success and the benefit of deterring future violence, along with improved status and standing in the culture. This system works for them, regardless of how we view it from outside of their system. They probably think we are "insane" for allowing complete strangers take care of our revenge through the legal system, risking the culprit escaping justice, rather than just taking care of it ourselves.
I agree with your last paragraph about how the revenge killings would never work here because it would it end up being a killing cycle. I think that the Yanomamo practice a killing cycle that is hurting their population. I think this could be similar to "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."
ReplyDeleteI believe that revenge is human instinct on some level. People believe that if they are wronged that they need to seek vengeance for a number of reasons. First of all because they mistakenly think that it will alleviate their grief. Secondly, they want to ensure that the person who hurt them or their family will not be able to do it again. In western culture we have the justice system to protect the victim so they do not have to seek vengeance. Instead, the system punishes the criminal on behalf of society for breaking society's rules.
I think that these types of acts are seen throughout American culture. Certainly not common, and not accepted when they do occur, revenge killings happen in several cultures. They are just not usually as publicly condoned as the Yanomamo. Reminds me of the movie, "A Time to Kill".
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