Yanamano Culture as Portrayed by Chagnon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Yanamano Culture as Portrayed by Chagnon - Essay Example Anybody carrying out any study on societies should focus on the positive more than the negative side of the society. Chignon displays the Yanomami society as fierce, primitive, and violent while Sponsel sees it in another way.   The Yanomami live in Venezuela and Brazil, are full of conflict and aggression, and considered as one of the most violent tribes in the world. The tribe is also primitive in many ways as they do not wear clothes â€Å"†¦when you are stark naked, and the invention of the handkerchief is millennia away" (Chagnon 13). Chignon portrayed the Yanomami people as one of the largest society living in their traditional norms especially the organized warfare. Chagnon characterizes the tribe as fierce people amongst themselves although a number of anthropologists have disputed Chignon’s portrayal of the tribe. The tribe according to Chagnon is sly, and intimidating. For instance, when Yanomamo learned a new vocabulary â€Å"Oh shit† and later understood its offensive meaningâ€Å" they used it as often as they could in their presence" (Chignon 14). One form of violence is the duels that are ritualized among the people and can be interpersonal or inter-village with many r ituals governed by well-set rules. For instance, in the cases of physical duels to people hit each other many times until one of them retreats or collapses. The fight may involve chest pounding with fists, slapping with an open hand, or by using some weapons such as wooden clubs or long poles. Duels are mainly for resolving conflicts and sometimes act as sports like any other culture where people practice boxing. Some of the fights are due to infidelity, and jealousy. The other form of violence portrayed by Chagnon is a raid where several men waylay an enemy at dawn as he walks out from the Shabono going for a bath or elimination. The raid results in death and sometimes a massacre of ten or more people before the raiders retreat to their homes.