Revenge Killings of the Yanomamo Population
No. 1
- The Yanomamo people have their own way of life and as such, their views on killing also differ from our western perspective. I found it very interesting to learn about how and why revenge killings occur in the Yanomamo population because their view on this subject is rooted in how they function as a society. According to Merriam Webster, revenge is defined as, “to inflict injury in return for.” I think this definition greatly encapsulates what we read in the article because the Yanomamo people generally don’t mind killing people because this whole ordeal started due to someone from another kin group killing a member of theirs. Their view on killing is like the saying “an eye for an eye” in other words, the consequences of killing a member of their tribe means that the culprit or the culprit’s group will pay with their life for the offense. Normally in our culture, if someone commits a murder then they are immediately sentenced to serve time in prison or even pay with their own life with the death penalty. Nothing of the sort happens to the Yanomamo population. They seek revenge and are constantly wary of other groups around them.
No. 2
- Revenge killings happen in the Yanomamo population for various reasons and the process of it, it is also very spiritual and sacred for the people participating in it. In simple terms, revenge killings occur because of a past killing committed, but there is more to just killing or injuring the opposing side. The process begins when someone in their village is killed. When this person dies, they cremate them and place their ashes into tiny gourds to be consumed by the women of the village. The women consume a portion of the dead's ashes on the day before the men go out to enact their revenge. To the Yanomamo, this act is to “make raiders hushuwo and fill them with resolve.” The men participating in the revenge killing, usually stalk the enemy village until they see someone who they can kill or injure. Once they kill someone, they have to go through a process of purification called unokaimou. Since many rural tribes believe in outside factors like malevolent magic, they practice this ritual of unokaimou to disperse any harmful magic that might have been cast upon them from the soul of the victim.
No. 3
- Revenge killings not only jeopardize the life of enemy villagers but also the life of the raiders which is why many decide not to go through it but in the Yanomamo village, it is highly encouraged to participate in killings. Unokais are people who have killed and to receive this status basically puts you on a “good” path. To be recognized as one means that a man is valiant and aggressive which not only boosts the individual's image but can also help the group as a whole since it warns others from attacking their village since “violent and aggressive” people live there. To those who have killed many people and who constantly participate in raids are known as waiteri and they are known to be fiercest of all. On the other hand, there are some people who don’t want to participate in these raids for fear of being killed or injured themselves. This sort of behavior is highly frowned upon in the Yanomamo population. These non-unokais are subject to ridicule and humiliation from the rest of the village. Others will view the non-unokais as cowards and are constantly insulted. Not only are they the ones who suffer the repercussions, but their wives as well. Because the other villagers view this man as a coward, they target their wife and increase their sexual attention on her. It is because of these reasons that men would choose to become an unokais. It is essentially better to live a life free of ridicule and pressure from not committing a killing and it asserts one is brave enough to be part of the kin group.
No. 4
Political Structure: For villages who suffered the loss of one of their members, not enacting their revenge on the enemy village can make that particular group face backlash and be seen as weak. Their weak status enables other groups to seek out the men’s wives and force themselves on them because they knew they knew the weak village wouldn’t do anything about it. In order to be seen as a capable village, revenge killing is necessary to maintain a fierce status and prevent others from walking over them.
Social Status/Social Organization: Revenge killings not only boost the status of the individual who kills but also of the village. Killing brings many benefits instead of cons because those who kill and avenge the death quickly can be seen as fierce which in turn can scare surrounding villages and second guess attacking them. This means that the village can be attacked less frequently equating that less of their kin are killed off which is highly important to them.
Kinship: The Yanomamo people consists of several patrilineal descent groups where polygynous relationships is the norm. Usually, the leader of a village, is one who has the largest descent group mainly due to the fact that they take on many wives throughout their lifetime and have a great number of children with each wife. Now since the majority of the kin group is a close relative, if someone from another village arrives and kills one of their kin, then vengeance is in store. Another reason why kin plays a huge role in revenge killing is because if one member is killed then that decreases the number of family members thus decreasing the kinship density of the village.
Marriage & Reproduction: One of the main reasons for these revenge killings is because of women or sexual issues. To prevent other villages from abducting sexually active women, men need to act aggressive towards surrounding villages to keep their women. In fact, in the Yanomamo population, men who are willing to become unokais and be aggressive are said to have higher martial and reproductive success. To the Yanomamo, being a unokais is more attractive than those who don’t kill which is why many don’t mind killing.
No. 5
- I think that violence is inevitable in many societies and cultures but by creating laws that prevent this violence from escalating or from preventing killings, society can flourish. The article brings up a good point that the Yanomamo people are constantly living in fear because they never know if they’ll be a victim of revenge killing and this made me think of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The pyramid begins with physiological needs but the second one is safety needs and it is clear that for many, this need is not being met. If people are paranoid about whether they’ll die tomorrow or the next, then nothing will get done, preventing them from being the best version of themselves. Throughout the article, we’re told that many people lose their life because of killing others and if it weren’t for the high reproductive rate, then it would be a shame for the population to die out because people keep on killing each other. Laws definitely help regulate killings and keep people protected.
1. Good description here but let's take a step back and dig a bit deeper into this comparison. Both of these practices are effectively "systems of justice". One is just familiar to us. The other is novel. When killings occur in either the Yanomamo or in Western cultures, there are established rules that both societies follow to punish the violent, deadly actions, correct? Both societies punish the violence. Both systems are created to help deter future unacceptable killings. Perhaps the key difference is that the factor of "revenge" had been removed from our system of justice. Among the Yanomamo, punishment for killings is carried out by the kin of the dead. In Western societies, punishment is carried out by the state. At it's root, that's the key difference.
ReplyDelete2. Good description here.
3. Good description but one question is why would any man choose to become a non-unokais? You don't offer any explanation as to the benefits that might come from this choice.
4. Political: You don't make the connection between revenge killings and political power here. How does the revenge killings system help shape who leads the group? Who is more likely to become the leader and why?
Social status: Again, missing the connection between revenge killings and the topic here of social status. How is a person's social status (man or woman) shaped by the revenge killings? How can a man increase his status through this system? How can a woman do so?
Kin: You do a great job of explaining how kinship shapes revenge killings. But what about the other way around? How does revenge killings shape kin groups? Who is more likely to have a large kin group? Unokais or non-unokais?
Marriage and reproduction: Good. You look at the relationship here from both directions.
5. "I think that violence is inevitable in many societies and cultures but by creating laws that prevent this violence from escalating or from preventing killings, society can flourish."
But that doesn't answer the question. Why is "violence inevitable"? If killing is generally seen to be "bad", why would anyone want to do it?
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.