Politics & Violence
1. laws against killing are essentially a cultural universal, meaning all cultures have rules regarding the killing other people and the punishments for breaking these rules. How do the Yanomamo rules regarding killing and the consequences for breaking these rules differ from the rules in Western cultures in general?
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Rules in the Yanomamo tribe differ significantly from our
culture and how we see justice and murder. In Western culture, we have trials and
rulings by a set of peers and judges and are punished by either jail time or
fees. We try to rehabilitate and forgive even the most vile and horrible people.
Regarding Yanomamo and homicide, the old saying "Eye for an eye" is
alive in this tribe. They worship Revenge Killings. A way to honor those that
fight to bring respect back to those kinships that have been murdered by the
rival tribe they are raiding at the time. We would probably compare this to
gang wars here in Western society and do not find those honorable or
celebrated. I think that is how we differ from the Yanomo tribe and their
culture.
2.
Describe the process of
revenge killings as it is expressed in Yanomamo populations.
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The Yanomamo tribe has revenge killing or blood killings,
and both are involved with the killing of a member of a different tribe and
them constructing a revenge killing to bring honor back to their fallen kin. These
rituals are very frequent and seen as a huge privilege to take part in. to
plunder and then escape with stolen goods unharmed. Also, it is not always the
gold but to target men in the community and kidnap women and children. They are
planned in advance. Happen in finite period. Raiding is also a good opportunity
for young men and herding cattle to prepare for raiding. That is sometimes four
days of travel to get to the rival tribe. Blood revenge is one of the most
cited causes of violence in primitive societies. Around 30% of adult male deaths
can be attributed to revenge killings. Tribal members seeking revenge for their
kin that have been murdered are then going out to murder their rival's kin
which makes them the new target in that tribe's eyes they just sought out. Revenge
killings are a—tit-for-tat mentality. With the level of revenge killings taking
place with certain tribes, it sends a message that they are capable of killing.
It makes them less open to attack if they make swift retaliation attacks.
3.
Revenge killings are a
dangerous for those who take part. What are the benefits of obtaining the
status of unokais? How do they compare to the benefits
of being a non-unokais? Why would a man choose to become an unokais instead
of being a non-unokais?
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Being labeled as Unokasi is a great honor. It shows
you are a brave man who has killed many in revenge killings or killing to
defend your people. With being labeled as Unokais, you must also perform a
ritual right after killing to ward off any supernatural evil; this ritual is called
"Unokaimou." Unokasi men usually have no problem finding a mate and have
many offsprings. Non-unokasi is men that have refused to participate in
revenge killings, and they do this by coming off with a reason for being unable
to be a part of it. They even say they have dreams that they see the future and
can see themselves being killed. Non-unokais are labeled as cowards too. If
they already have a female mate, Unokais men would try to make advances towards
her because they know her non-unokais mate is weak. Also, when they seek refuge
from the tribe after being branded as cowardly, the villages they run to are
met with the same treatment from the men. It is a horrible decision to become non-unokais.
4.
Identify and describe
the relationship between revenge killings and these aspects of the Yanomamo
culture. How do they influence and affect each other?
1.
Political structure: The Yanoamo tribe uses
Revenge Killings to judge and differentiate strong, brave men from weak men.
This is used to decide who will maybe become a headman in the future, or
2.
Social Status/Social
Organization: Revenge killings give status to men. Men are honored by
their kills, boys are encouraged to be part of one someday, and men who do not
or refuse to be a part of revenge killings are judged weak. Revenge killings
are one of the most sacred and celebrated acts within the tribe. This is why to
have status within the tribe; you must be involved in them.
3.
Kinship: Most
reported cause of violence is because of kinship murders. This is also a
problem considering everyone in the tribes is basically related in some way or another.
So even if one is killed, it means revenge killings must occur.
4.
Marriage &
Reproduction: Being a
part of revenge killings is looked at by tribal members as an excellent opportunity
to participate in and show your bravery by slaying rival tribes. Uniokais men
are very desirable when they demonstrate their willingness to act violently and
get revenge. They have a much higher marital and reproductive success.
5.
Behaviors that are
usually labeled as "anti-social," such as killing other people, are
generally thought to be a bad thing to do under most circumstances, other than
defense. Why do we need laws against something that no one should want to
do? Use your reading of the article to help you explain your answer.
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When we see someone murder, inflict damage, or hurt someone else, we see that individual as scum. We do not praise this sort of behavior because we
are an advanced society. Not to say we do not cheer on professional fighters to
entertain us with violence or when we honor our United States soldiers. They
are participating in taboo acts, but it is not seen as the same as Revenge
killings or blood killings. The country would revert to chaos if we did not
have laws and safeguards to stop or end this behavior. We would not be united
under one nation but as multiple tribes that only respect killing the enemy
because they killed one of our own. It is not a way to truly advance as a
civilization.
Hi Andrew, in the first part of your blog, you had mentioned that we try to ‘rehabilitate and forgive even the most vile and horrible people’ but I feel this is only partially true in our society. There are still states that do push the death penalty, and I believe a lot of our system is set up to look as if it is rehabilitating prisoners while not truly following through on that or offering any real solutions to help transform them. Systems such as the one in Norway, on the other hand, have seen the most profound benefit of helping their prisoners actually reform. We do, however, have many laws in place to keep people from wanting to kill and harsh punishments for those who do.
ReplyDeleteCalling us an ‘advanced society’ because we do not condone revenge killings made me pause by your word choice. Are we more advanced because we have more in-depth laws? We are most certainly different. Also, there are many in society who closely follow the stories of true crime and don’t always consider the people to commit the crimes ‘scum’. I’m not saying I agree with that, but it’s true. We are most definitely different, but whether we are more ‘advanced’ seems like it could be a subjective idea.
Submission noted. I will return and provide feedback later.
ReplyDeleteHello Andrew! I would like to talk about what you said in your final paragraph, as I feel as if the way you worded it is not entirely correct. While yes, in American Society, we do not "praise" murderers when it comes to civilians murdering other civilians, there are forms of "revenge killing" in Western society that can be observed if put in a different perspective. Take our very large military presence - is that not the taking of human life over arguments and disputes? This is a rather extreme example, but look at the US joining WW2 after the Pearl Harbor Bombings, and then using nuclear warfare in Hiroshima and Nagasaki - would you consider this different than the "revenge killings" seen in the Yanomamo culture? When boiled down, these both are the same concept - the taking of civilian life in retaliation of another murder. It really depends on the framing of things, don't you think? Would love to hear your insight on this. Thank you.
ReplyDelete1. Hmmm...
ReplyDelete"We would probably compare this to gang wars here in Western society and do not find those honorable or celebrated."
Is this appropriate here in a cultural anthropology paper? Do you see any bias here, particularly with the "honorable" comment?
You seem to be focusing on the differences to the exclusion of similarities. These are both systems of justice. They both follow rules. They both punish breaking rules. So a key difference is that their laws allow (and even encourage) revenge killing, while our laws punish it. Do our laws allow or even encourage killing under any circumstances?
2. " Also, it is not always the gold"
Is gold ever the key point of a revenge killing? Otherwise, good description here.
3. "It is a horrible decision to become non-unokais. "
Is this an appropriate comment in an cultural anthropology paper? Is the goal here for you to cast judgment or to describe and understand?
Otherwise, a generally good description, but missing the last question in this section: "Why would a man choose to become an unokais instead of being a non-unokais?"
4.
Political structure: Very good.
Social status/organization: Okay, but can women use the system to advance their status, perhaps through marriage?
Kinship: Okay, but let's dig a bit deeper into the relationship here. This system of killings works to give high status unokais a larger system of kin, through marriage, tying the population together. From the other perspective, kinship determines who are expected to kill and who they can kill.
Marriage and reproduction: Good, though let's also note that successful unokais are also the men likely to have multiple wives.
5. "We do not praise this sort of behavior because we are an advanced society. "
Okay, first...whoa! Read that line again. Any bias or ethnocentrism there? Please check those personal judgements at the door for these assignments.
Second, do we *not* praise killing? Do we not honor those who kill in defense of our country? Or those who kill someone who breaks into their home or threatens them? Do not some people support the death penalty for criminals?
"Not to say we do not cheer on professional fighters to entertain us with violence or when we honor our United States soldiers. "
Then perhaps you shouldn't have included that first sentence here since it is not accurate?
"They are participating in taboo acts, but it is not seen as the same as Revenge killings or blood killings."
Isn't it? What is different? Or is it just because you live within the culture that thinks this is okay? Wouldn't the Yanomamo feel the same about their practices?
Finally, you aren't really answering the question here: "Why do we need laws against something that no one should want to do? "
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.