War

       The Yanomami people have a long history of being violent towards others and each other. The well known anthropologist, Napolean Chagnon, described the Yanomami as "living in a state of chronic warfare." Although Chagnon is a respected anthropologist, this previous comment sparked controversy in the anthropologist community. People disputed the severity of the violence, or if this way of life was an inherent part of their culture.                      Anthropologist Jacques Lizot stated that although the Yanomami are warriors, violence was purely sporadic and did not dominate their lives. However, this is only one opinion. 
Other reports say that intraspecific violence was the leading death among their culture.  Resources were often the main cause of the conflict the Yanomami experienced with their neighboring tribes. When confrontations broke out within the Yanomami, women often received physical abuse and the brunt of the anger. It was common for women to be beaten in order to keep them docile and faithful for their men. Men would even go so far as to brand their women to show dominance. While raiding enemy villages, Yanomami men often killed children. 

9 March 2012. Yanomami. Electronic Document, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanomami, accessed 12 March 2013.

Malik, Kenan. 4 March 2013. From the Vaults: Darkness in Anthropology. Electronic document, http://kenanmalik.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/from-the-valuts-darkness-in-anthropology/, accessed 12 March 2013.


      Many times, the warring the Yanomami partake in involves the capturing of women so that their best warriors have the best reproductive opportunities. The Yanomami tend to keep their tribes under 150 people; however, during times of war, the villages will not split and they will let their populations reach up to 300 people. Statistics show that close to 40% of the adult males have killed another person and that an estimated 25% of the adult males will die from some form of violence. Violence between the Yanomami vary from chest pounding, club fights and raids, and warfare. 

Yanomami: Indians of Brazil. Electronic document, http://www.crystalinks.com/yanomami.html, accessed 12 March 2013.