The Yanomami live in the tropical rain forest of southern Venezuela and northern Brazil in the Amazon River region. They are believed to have migrated from Asia across the Bering Straits, which thousands of years ago was a land bridge that connected Asia to North America. They slowly made their way down North America into South America. The Yanomami are probably some of the first immigrants to South America. It is thought they arrived in South America around 12,000 years ago. They are often called the last Stone Age tribe. Yanomami lineage groups are usually small and rarely extend past three adult generations.The Yanomami people believe differently of how they came to live in the rainforest. The oral legend is about Moonblood. The Yanomami
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Girls also help care for younger siblings while boys learn to use a bow and arrow at an early age. The women work in their gardens and do all the weeding and harvesting. One of their main foods is the plantain, which is a type of banana. Women do not hunt but they do search for small sources of food, such as grubs, nuts, and insect larvae. One of a woman’s biggest responsibilities is collecting the firewood which is needed for cooking and for fires. This takes several hours and is very hard work. Men, women, and children fish. Yanomami men are the hunters. They hunt for tapir, peccary, birds, and monkey. The hunter never eats his own meat but shares it with family and friends. Then he will be given meat by another hunter. Men do the heavy work such as felling trees and clearing underbrush for a garden to be planted. Men are also the fighters or warriors. Many times a war between villages starts because one of their women has been kidnapped. Only men can be a Shaman or the head of a …show more content…
It is common for women to decorate their face with piercings. They will use a thin bone or reed to pierce through their nose or lips. Rods made of bone or wood is sometimes pierced through their ears and they will use feathers that are fashioned to hang as part of the decoration. Women will also place flowers behind their ears or on their arms. Both men and women use symbols painted on their body to express emotions and also for celebrations. They will use crushed red berries called onoto to create a red paint and a masticated charcoal pigment for a black color. They will paint geometric shapes on their body using lines, circles, dots, curves, and waves. Men will paint their bodies for raiding and to make themselves beautiful for the spirits while taking hallucinogen drugs. Men will also adorn themselves with arm bands made of bird feathers and decorative headdresses. The women will weave and decorate baskets using the red and black paint. These baskets are used for carrying crops, plants, and other food items back to the village. The shaman will sing during religious ceremonies which is a sign of him pulling on spirit forces. The Yanomami do not have any musical instruments but they do sing and dance during celebrations, funerals, and feasts. Stories are a great source of entertainment for the Yanomami and these stories are told in a very dramatic
Girls also help care for younger siblings while boys learn to use a bow and arrow at an early age. The women work in their gardens and do all the weeding and harvesting. One of their main foods is the plantain, which is a type of banana. Women do not hunt but they do search for small sources of food, such as grubs, nuts, and insect larvae. One of a woman’s biggest responsibilities is collecting the firewood which is needed for cooking and for fires. This takes several hours and is very hard work. Men, women, and children fish. Yanomami men are the hunters. They hunt for tapir, peccary, birds, and monkey. The hunter never eats his own meat but shares it with family and friends. Then he will be given meat by another hunter. Men do the heavy work such as felling trees and clearing underbrush for a garden to be planted. Men are also the fighters or warriors. Many times a war between villages starts because one of their women has been kidnapped. Only men can be a Shaman or the head of a …show more content…
It is common for women to decorate their face with piercings. They will use a thin bone or reed to pierce through their nose or lips. Rods made of bone or wood is sometimes pierced through their ears and they will use feathers that are fashioned to hang as part of the decoration. Women will also place flowers behind their ears or on their arms. Both men and women use symbols painted on their body to express emotions and also for celebrations. They will use crushed red berries called onoto to create a red paint and a masticated charcoal pigment for a black color. They will paint geometric shapes on their body using lines, circles, dots, curves, and waves. Men will paint their bodies for raiding and to make themselves beautiful for the spirits while taking hallucinogen drugs. Men will also adorn themselves with arm bands made of bird feathers and decorative headdresses. The women will weave and decorate baskets using the red and black paint. These baskets are used for carrying crops, plants, and other food items back to the village. The shaman will sing during religious ceremonies which is a sign of him pulling on spirit forces. The Yanomami do not have any musical instruments but they do sing and dance during celebrations, funerals, and feasts. Stories are a great source of entertainment for the Yanomami and these stories are told in a very dramatic