The Yanomami people are an indigenous group who live in the Amazon Rainforest around the borders of Venezuela and Brazil. There are estimated to be only approximately 26,000 indigenous people remaining.[1] They are Interfluvial Indians that live between the Mavaca and Orinoco Rivers. Currently, there are known to be approximately 200-300.[1] Yanomamo villages, with each village consisting of a very large shabono, or home.[2] This group of people, largely uncontacted by the outside world, have recently been affected by illness from nearby gold miners.[3] Many anthropological studies have emphasized the concept that the Yanomami are very violent people, and although this can be true, the women of the Yanomami culture are an entirely different story. Although males primarily dominate the Yanomami culture, Yanomami women play a very important role in sustaining this lifestyle.
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The women in the Yanomami tribe are responsible for all the domestic duties and chores, excluding hunting and killing game for food. Although the women do not hunt, they do work in the gardens and gather small sources as food. The gardens plots are sectioned off by family, and grow bananas, sugarcane, mangoes, sweet potatoes, papaya, manioc, and other crops.[4] The Yanomami women cultivate these gardens until they are no longer fertile, and then move their plots. Women are expected to carry 70 to 80 pound loads of crops on their backs during harvesting, using bark straps and woven baskets.[5] Plantains and grubs are common sources of food, and are staples in the Yanomami diet.
In the mornings, while the men are off hunting, the women and young children go off in search of termite nests and other grubs, which will later be roasted at the family hearths. Sometimes, the women also pursue frogs, land crabs, or caterpillars, or even look for vines that can be woven into baskets. While some women gather these small sources of food, other women go off and fish for several hours during the day.[6] The women also commonly use plants such as manioc to turn into flat cakes, which they cook over a small pile of coals.[7]
Yanomami women are expected to bear and raise many children, who are expected to help their mothers with domestic chores from a very young age, and mothers rely very much on help from their daughters.
Using small strings of bark and roots, Yanomami women weave and decorate baskets. They use these baskets to carry plants, crops, and food to bring back to the shabono.[5] They use a red berry known as onoto to dye the baskets, as well as to paint their bodies and dye their loin cloths.[6] After the baskets are painted, they are further decorated with masticated charcoal pigment.[8]
The start of menstruation symbolizes the beginning of womanhood. Girls typically get their periods between the ages of 10 and 12, and as soon as the period begins, girls are married off. Due to the belief that menstrual blood is poisonous and dangerous, girls are kept hidden away in a small tent-like structure constructed of a screen of leaves. A deep hole is built in the structure over which girls squat, to “rid themselves” of their blood. These structures are regarded as isolation screens.[9]
The mother is notified immediately, and she, along with the elder female friends of the girl, are responsible for disposing of her old cotton garments and must replace them with new ones symbolizing her womanhood and availability for marriage.[9] During the week of that first menstrual period the girl is fed with a stick, for she is forbidden from touching the food in any way. While on confinement she has to whisper when speaking and she may only speak to close kin, such as siblings or parents, but never a male.[10]
Up until the time of menstruation, girls are treated as children, and are only responsible for assisting their mothers in household work. When they approach the age of menstruation, they are sought out by males as potential wives. Puberty is not seen as a significant time period with male Yanomami children, but it is considered very important for females. After menstruating for the first time, the girls are expected to leave childhood and enter adulthood, and take on the responsibilities of a grown Yanomami woman. After a young girl gets her period, she is forbidden from showing her genitalia and must keep herself covered with a loincloth.[10]
The menstrual cycle of Yanomami women does not occur frequently due to constant nursing or child birthing, and is treated as a very significant occurrence only at this time.[1]
Sexuality is not commonly discussed. The Yanomami’s sexuality is not repressed, as long as it remains discreet and limited. Children are aware of sexual interaction, and along with adults, occasionally indulge in anal sex.[1] These occurrences are not a matter for discussion and are simply accepted by all. Women are forbidden from sexually interacting with other women, whereas men are allowed to interact with one another. Because women are forbidden from acting sexually with anyone but their partner, many resort to masturbation or sexual acts with other women.[9] Extreme injury or even death can result if a spouse discovers these forbidden acts.
Incest is looked down upon very much in Yanomami society. Incest for Yanomami people is defined by any sexual relations between “close” kin, such as parents, children, or siblings. If any woman is caught acting incestuously with a son or close relative, she will be shunned and will not be cremated at death.[9]
According to a research made by Acero and Aragón (Patrón Sexual de los Indígenas Yanomamis, 1999) with Venezuelan Yanomami there is no homosexual or bisexual intercourses among these indigenous people nor for men neither for women. There are only heterosexual intercourses and the coital position is predominantly the missionary position.
In Yanomami society, marriage ceremonies are almost non-existent and are not celebrated in any way. Polygamous marriages are common, meaning husbands can have many wives. A girl can be promised to a man at an age as young as five or six, however cannot officially be married off until after her first menstrual period.[7]
After a Yanomami girl receives her first menstrual period, she is literally handed off by one of her parents to another man, usually a relative. Cross-cousin marriages, which are marriages between the girl and the son of a maternal uncle or paternal aunt, are the most common form of marriage.[11] Most prefer to marry within that Yanomamo tribe, for fear of violent breakouts between different tribes. The female goes to live with her spouse, and must perform the chores and duties she previously did for her mother.
Violence and abuse between couples in Yanomami culture is very common, and if a woman feels she can no longer bear to live with her husband, she may flee to live with her brothers.[7]
Polygamy is commonly practiced in Yanomami culture, and women are expected to accept this. The elder wife in a marriage usually has precedence over the others, and can act as a boss or a superior over the other wives. She usually no longer has sexual relations with her husband, however she can give the most unpleasant chores to the wife she chooses.[1] The husband is not supposed to show favorites, due to jealousy between the wives.
The Yanomami people have a history of acting extremely violently not only towards other tribes, but towards one another.[12] Men generally initiate this violence, and women are often victims of physical abuse and anger. Inter-village warfare is common, but does not too commonly affect women. When Yanomami tribes fight and raid nearby tribes, women are often raped, beaten, and brought back to their shabono to be kept in their tribe. During the raids, Yanomami men capture and bring back the other women in hopes of marrying them. Wives are beaten on a regular basis, so as to keep them docile and faithful to their husbands.[12] Sexual jealousy causes a majority of the violence.[1]
Women are beaten with clubs, sticks, machetes, and other blunt or sharp objects. Burning with a branding stick occurs often, and symbolizes a male’s strength or dominance over his wife.[10]
Rituals are a very important part of Yanomami culture. Although many ceremonies exclude female involvement or participation, they are a large part of the preparation. In preparation for large ceremonies, Yanomami women make massive amount of foods and alcoholic drinks for the men.[11] The use of hallucinogenic drugs is very common, however women are forbidden from involving themselves in this practice. The women do, however, participate in the practice of endocannibalism. In this practice, the Yanomami people consume the bones of a deceased kinsman.[10] The body is burned, and the bones mixed with food. This tradition is meant to strengthen the Yanomami people and keep the spirit of that individual alive.
In Yanomami culture, a woman can never be a shaman, or even a headman. This is due to the fact that headmen are expected to be peacekeepers and valiant warriors, both of which require force and violence, which women are not considered to have in Yanomami culture. In this society, women gain respect as they age, after they marry and have children. Elderly women are very respected, and ultimately can become immune to violence and warfare between villages. They are immune from the violence of raiders and can safely travel from one village to another without fear of injury.[12] Usually, elderly women are expected to recover the body of a slain Yanomami who was killed in a raid.[10] Although women are disrespected and belittled at a young age, they are respected and looked highly upon when they age, and have much power in tribal politics and decision-making.