Politics and Violence Among the Yanomamo Tribe

1. In the United States, we are governed by court systems and law enforcement to justify murders. According to the article, The  Yanomamo culture  have no written language, precise number system, formal laws, or institutionalized adjudicators such as chiefs or judge, so how the Yanomamo tribe go on about justice and killing is quite more different as well. Although there are rules among this tribe, the Yanomamo men violate these rules REGULARLY, and the conflict usually is revolving about women.In Western cultures, aggressive behavior is seen negatively. Whereas in the Yanomamo tribe, the children are encouraged to "act" aggressive, and the boys are rewarded for showing aggressive tendencies. The rules and laws about killing in the United States it is illegal, and if someone in the western culture were to kill out of vengeance or revenge, it would not justify the murder.

2. Revenge killings usually are caused over conflict over women. If there is suspicious or even slight suspicious, infidelity, or jealousy and sometimes revenge is also sought for the deaths of individuals who are alleged to have died as a consequence of harmful magic practiced by shamans in enemy villages, it would lead to physical fights, duels, chest pounding (where they take turns pounding each others' chest), killings with bow and arrows, which in turn rises a raid. A raid usually takes place at dawn and consists of ten to twenty men, and the village where they intent to raid can be a four to five days' march. The revenge group is then divided within the village with the support of relatives, and everyone who takes part in the raid is a target. The goal is to kill the person who killed their relative, and there are times where kill anyone who the raid encounters.

Unokais or Nonunokais?

"Becoming an unokai is simply one of a number of male characteristics valued by the Yanomamo and an integral component in a more general complex of goals for which ambitious men strive. All the characteristics just mentioned make some males more attractive as mates in arranged marriages and dispose some of them to take the risks involved in appropriating additional females by force."

3. Once as an Unikais, men who demonstrate their willingness to act violently or to take part of revenge for the deaths of close relatives have higher marital and reproductive success than nonunokais which in turns the Unokais men gain status within the village. Men who "back down" in a raid due to a bad dream or feeling, or the men sometimes state being sick or stepping on a thorn out of fear are made fun of or labeled as cowards, and the wives are targeted for sexual attention. By having more wives, they have many children and increase in family members, and if someone in the village is killed, the probability is very high that he or she will have many kin. In my opinion, why some men in the Yanomamo culture choose to be Unakais than a nonunakais is that it is more rewarding, and men gain status and women. In the article, under Table 3,the table shows that Unakais men, 81% of the 137 Unokais men were married and had multiple wives, and out of the Nonunokais men, 51% of the 243 men were married and had less wives.

 4.Relationship between Killings and the aspects of the Yanomamo culture 

a. Political Structure  
They do not have formal leadership where that leader enforces laws, but they do have a village head. The Yanomamo culture rely on kinship in terms of structure where they form alliances and their village, for the Yanomamo tribe are consistently in warfare. The more relatives that are supporting in the raid, the stronger the group is as a whole.
b. Social Status/Social Organization
Although not all men participate in raid or become Unokais, men who are Unokais gain more social status by gaining respect and more wives.  Men who consistently back down from raids are considered cowards, and their wives being sexual targets.If the Yanomamo men are ambitious about regularly revenge raids, they gain dignity and independence.
c. Kinship
There is a strong emphasis on the paternal line.All Yanomamo villages have several  patrimonial descent groups. Males and females of all ages who are related to each other through the male line of descent. Members of these groups must find their spouses in some other patrimonial descent group, preferably within the village. Kinship is very important for the Yanomamo tribe. Another motive for a raid is the death of a family member. A common statement among the Yanomamo tribe is ""If my sick mother dies, I will kill some people."
d. Marriage and Reproduction
The Yanomamo tribe practice polygamous, so it is not unusual to have many wives and many children by increasing the family members in numbers which can help built a stronger line of kinship for raiding and is advantageous among the village. Reproducing among the Unokais is much higher. It is also common for men to take other wives from other men who are labeled as weaker.

5.  Why do we need laws against something that no one should want to do?
We need laws to enforce safety, because we are all affected by a loss of a loved one, but not everyone reacts to it the same. There are some individuals who feel resent, or the need to retaliate, or feel very anger, and they would act out based on their emotions. With laws, as a society, our court systems can resolve a murder, and  it can help society with chaos. The Yanomamo culture is a perfect example on a society showing how taking murder and revenge to someone's own matter results to.

A dispute between two villagers by club fighting.