This video focuses on the Yanomami in Venezuela. It begins:
"This is a world ruled by spirits and demonsa world marked by aggression and revenge." Scenes of boys practicing to be warriors, raiding parties to avenge deaths and to steal women are presented. As you view the film and compare it with the textbook, ask yourself how accurate these depictions are.
The video continues, stating that the Yanomami lifestyle remained unchanged until the 1950s. Does this statement concur with what you have learned? In a period of 40 years, the Yanomami, once numbering 25,000 was cut in half. Today many the Yanomami are dying of common diseases.
You will view the traditional shabono-the communal structure in which the Yanomami live. In this scene, they construct a shabono to house 200 guests-former enemies of the village of Keriateri-who have been invited to a feast. What is the purpose, or purposes, of this feast?
What does the video define as the basis of men's power? As the basis for society? With whose conclusions about Yanomami warfare does this video seem to concur (Chagnon, Salesian missionaries, etc.)?
Note the role of ritual; for what purposes do the Yanomami contact the spirits? Pay attention to how power is accessed by shamans.
What factors might contribute to peace among enemy villages? What was the end result of the feast, which the former enemy village attended?