Politics and Violence
Yanomamo Blood Revenge
1. Yanomamo rules are much different from the Western cultures since they do not live in one big state, rather they live in separate villages all containing anywhere from 50-200 people. When someone kills another person in a village it may lead to fissioning and the village will split up and later the villages will raid each other, each time killing more people rather then the people who kill be punished.
2. The process of revenge killings is done in raids where a group of 10 to 15 men get together and attack a village that is usually a few days walk away. They will usually kill one person but can sometimes cause massacres. There will usually be a conflict involving a women that will lead to shouting matches, chest pounding, and fights. They may lead up to bow and arrow shootings with intent to kill. This will cause the fissioning of villages that will lead to the revenge killings of the tribes. They will go back and fourth with the raids wanting revenge for the death of there village member.
3. There are some benefits of those who are of status of unokais and it would be more reproduction and also more martial success. This is likely due to them being more attractive mating partners and they may be more aggressive, responsible, and many other factors that will make them more likely yo reproduce and marry. The benefits of the non-unokais would be that they live longer and are not as likely to die violently. A man would chose to be unokais to get revenge for a fallen relative and to show that he is powerful and live a more active life of reproduction and raiding.
4.
a. The political structure of the Yanomamo culture is affected by revenge killings because those who are unokais are more likely to hold positions of power and will have a more important voice in the village rather than those who are not unokais
b. The social status and organization of the Yanomamo is influenced a lot by revenge killings since being unokais has a big impact on your social status when compared to non-unokais those men too scared to participate in revenge killings will be less likely to have a high social status.
c. Kinship is influenced my revenge killings since those who are unokais more likely to have more kinship density since they will have much more offspring which will lead to a villages way of being and if they are more violent or not, more violent being better in the sense that they are less likely to be raided.
d. Marriage and Reproduction is influenced a lot by revenge killings since revenge killings are the basis of if a man is unokais or not and this will determine if a man is more likely to marry and reproduce. So marriage and reproduction go hand in hand with revenge killings.
5. We need these laws in order to live lives where we can build and help each other rather than constantly be in a state of fear. The people in the Yanomamo villages are likely always scared and waiting for the next raid to happen not knowing who will die. These laws ensure that we can trust each other and work on hunting or farming in order to help the community grow rather than have it split up and then there be a constant war between people who are in reality very similarly related to each other.
1. This first prompt asks *specifically* about how the rules for killing differ between Western societies and the Yanomamo. You discuss other issues, but don't address this focused question.
ReplyDelete"and later the villages will raid each other, each time killing more people rather then the people who kill be punished. "
Does that really describe the practice of revenge killings? Isn't the intent here to punish the individual who committed the initial killing?
2. In general, good description. You focus a lot on "fissioning" but that isn't a regular occurrence. What are the traditional practices before and after the revenge killing? How are women involved?
3. Good.
4. Political structure: Good.
Social status/organization: Good, but can women increase their social status through the revenge killing system? Can they benefit from marrying a unokais instead of a non-unokais?
Kinship: Good.
Marriage and reproduction: Okay but be clear... who has a better chance to marry and reproduce, unokais or non-unokais? And polygyny is also practiced among the Yanomamo. How does that impact reproduction?
5. You aren't actually answering the key question here: If killing is recognized to be socially/morally bad, why do we need laws against it? Shouldn't people just not kill? The point here is to recognize that there is killing in all cultures, including both the Yanomamo and Western societies. Both cultures have systems of dealing with it. But the question remains... why do people kill if this behavior is so universally recognized as "bad"?
Both Western cultures and the Yanomamo have laws against these behaviors, not because they are bad but because people may gain some benefit from engaging in those laws to the detriment of those around them.
We are creatures of biology, regardless of how "civilized" we might want to think we are. Killing can benefit an organism if they gain resources or a mate or defend their offspring in the process, correct? So that benefit is still there in humans, whether we like it or not. Killing is an instinctive, biological reaction to a threat of some sort, to our lives, to our family (genes) or to our resources, but it can also be a strategy to advance your survival, such as (for example) killing off a rival. Understand that this isn't excusing the behavior. It just explains it. But we need laws against this behavior, not because no one wants to do it but because sometimes people can benefit from this behavior... i.e., they DO want to kill because it benefits them. Laws protect us from selfish actions of others, acting to their own benefit and the harm of others.
Good afternoon Augusto I enjoyed reading your blog post about this article and also found it to be very interesting. I found what you wrote for political structure interesting as I did not see when it said that revenge killings are the determine for who holds the most power int heir villages over those who are Non-Unokais and do not part take in revenge killings. for your fifth question I liked how you described why would need the laws and what would it be like if we as a culture were like the Yanomamos?
ReplyDeleteHi Augusto!
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing your post this week for our class. First off, when you talk about the unokais, it does help that you mentioned that they are men who are too fearful of revenge killings, however, this brings up the question, if they had the option to be an unokai, it means they had already killed someone in a revenge killing already. So being fearful and NOT being an unokai will not benefit them in anyways since they have already committed a revenge killing, so under what circumstances would they not be one?
Hey Augusto!
ReplyDeleteYou had a great post and got right to the point in your answers! I know we all read the same article but maybe try including a bit more context into some answers like how being a unokais affects kinship. You mentioned that the Yanomamo people are constantly living in fear because they never know when the next raid will be so do you believe that they'll one day change this system? Do you believe that once more people start leaving their village and returning will advocate for laws and police? These people have lived this lifestyle for many decades that I'd assume that they might not like the idea of change but who knows.
Hi! My name is Brijanai Larios and I really enjoyed reading your descriptions. It is interesting how a man can determine succession through the idea of "revenge" in this culture. In a way, when biologically speaking, woman are attracted to men who appear dominant, protectors if you will. So in this case we may see this as an extreme but he can very will corelate to some women's expectation into whom they would like to reproduce with and feel safe around. We naturally have animal instincts as humans but I do not think that just because we do does not necessarily mean it cannot be controlled. We are the most intelligent species after all and built in such a complex way. Yes we can say that in a world with no law in order this is normal, but just because this is the case, does not mean we cannot adapt in another society with laws. So I do agree that we need laws, this prevents us from acting selfishly. I mean at the end, most of us will do anything for those we love, that is within our nature and that can mean killing, although I truly admire the human species for the way we adapt to life and have evolved through time.
ReplyDelete