1. In the Yanomamo culture, the concept of "eye for an eye" is
strictly followed. In the Yanomamo tribes, crimes such as murder are
strongly chastised by members of the tribes. In the Yanomamo culture, it
is the responsibility of the men of the tribe to get revenge for any
transgressions. According to this article by Chagnon, 44% of males 25
and older have participated in a murder case. With respect to the
Western Culture, the Yanomamo show equal disapproval for such crimes.
However, the Yanomamo set stricter punishments. To a certain extent, the
American justice system is somewhat similar, if we take into
consideration the death penalty. However, the American justice system is
a little more lenient and gives people a second chance to re-make their
lives. I feel that there are flaws to both systems. For instance, the
Yanomamo kill aggressors at no mercy. People in this culture are not
given a chance to explain themselves or prove themselves innocent. On
the other hand, the American justice system might be too light on
punishment to some cases and people are not afraid to commit such crimes
again.
2. Revenge killings are the result when one
person from a tribe commits an aggression on a person of another tribe.
As earlier mentioned, the Yanomamo follow a concept similar to that of
"eye for an eye." As weapons, the Yanomamo use shouting matches,
side-slapping duels, club fights, axes and matches, bows and arrows,
etc. A lot of these revenge killings are the result of a battle of men
for a woman. After the revenge killing takes place, the victim's tribe
retaliates by sending a raid to the killers tribe and kill whoever comes
in their path.
3. The benefits of unoakis is that life would be less
rough once a man has gained that status. The men who gain the status of
unoakis play a leadership role in the tribe. The unoakis are the ones
who manage the way a tribe works and makes decisions, such as which
killings to avenge. However, becoming an unoakis is quite hard as a lot
of men die trying to gain that status. With comparison to the
"non-unoakis", the unoakis, once they have this status, have a much
easier life and have chances of living longer lives. However, to some
people, the risk of attempting to become unoakis might not be worth the
hassle.
4.
a.The political structure of the
Yanomamo tribes are mainly run by males, those who achieve the unoakis
status. Like most other tribes around the world, and even in societies
of the western world, men are the majority, if not completely, of
decision makers. The Yanomamo men are also the ones who fight for their
tribes and protect.
b. In the Yanomamo culture, social
status is set by who has achieved the unoakis and who has not. Also,
gender plays an important role in the structure of this society.
c. Each Yanomamo tribe is like an extended family. Some tribes have
stronger kinship ties than others, but nonetheless, the Yanomamo people
treat each other as a family. This is obviously seen in the existence of
revenge killings. Those Yanomamo tribes which are closer will avenge
more deaths caused upon their kin.
d. The Yanomamo
culture seems to be completely accepting of poly-amorous relationships.
In this culture, it is perfectly fine for a man to have more than one
wife. In this culture, the men with unoakis status are more attractive
to their female counterparts, and have more wives.
5. I believe that things that "people should not want to do"
varies from culture to culture with respect of the beliefs, religion,
and morals of the people that make up that culture. For instance, in the
Aztec culture, it was an honor to be killed as a sacrifice to the Gods.
However, in our culture, killing another human being is seen as an
inhumane act. Another example of this would be the comparison of
"dress-codes" for women in the Middle East with respect to women in the
United States. Personally, I believe that passion can lead people to
commit crimes such as murder. Whether it is passion from ambition, love
for one's family, or the frustration of misfortunes, too much passion
can make a person go crazy. Sometimes, our mind can make us go against our own moral values.
I tend to agree with you that the Yanomamo system is harsher and more strict. But it is also more careless, in that the aggressors are satisfied with killing anyone in that particular kingroup, not just the original aggressor. I think you can equate this a little to our death penalty, especially in situations where the wrong person is put to death (a case like this apparently happened in Texas and was just uncovered).
ReplyDeleteGood post throughout and I liked your discussion of emotion driving actions in the last paragraph. That's a primary reason why we have our laws, to prevent us from acting on these emotions, acting without thinking.