Yanomamo: The Fierce People

Chagnon relates that while marriages form the bones of the Yanomami social systems and alliances, the women themselves “have almost no voice in the decisions reached by their agnates concerning their marriage. […] [T]heir wishes are given very little consideration” (81). The structure of Yanomami society is heavily patriarchal and is based on the primacy of masculinity, all of which reinforces the notion that women’s voices hold less weight. As a result, women occupy a subordinate status within the community. Traditional gender roles are deeply embedded in Yanomami culture, and their economic structures prioritize traditionally male activities such as hunting and warfare, which further entrenches existing gender disparities. Women are widely commodified within the society; its complex dynamics often revolve around the practices of abducting women and giving them away. Women are not seen as people in their own right; instead, they are treated as objects to be exchanged between villages in order to boost status or cement alliances.

The differential treatment of men and women within the Yanomami social structure is evident in various aspects of daily life. Women’s roles are often undervalued and marginalized, with their contributions to subsistence and community life receiving less recognition than those of men. Chagnon notes that women “assume difficult and laborious tasks too menial to be executed by the men” (81). Girls are also expected to help their mothers with work from a very young age. This early imposition of adult roles contrasts with the treatment of boys, who are allowed to retain their childhood well into their teens. Chagnon notes that “[b]y that time a girl has married, and may even have a child or two” (85). Boys are also encouraged to exhibit behaviors that would be punished in girls. For example, Kaobawä’s favorite son, Ariwari, is actively encouraged to display violent tendencies toward those around him. Chagnon states: “He is frequently goaded into hitting his father by teasing, being rewarded by gleeful cheers of assent from his mother and from the other adults in the household” (84). The encouragement of violence underscores the fact that cultural norms are reinforced and perpetuated through a combination of individual actions and broader social structures. The selective encouragement of certain behaviors in boys while restricting them in girls further entrenches traditional gender roles, contributing to the perpetuation of a cycle in which violence becomes an accepted part of male identity.

Violence also dominates the identities of women, but rather than perpetrating violence, they find themselves the victims of it. Physical aggression, often in the form of domestic violence, is normalized in Yanomami communities. Women may be subjected to physical abuse for several reasons, including perceived disobedience, alleged infidelity, or failure to meet societal expectations. It can also occur simply as a way of maintaining appearances in front of other men. Chagnon notes that “[b]eating a wife with a club is considered to be an acceptable way of displaying ferocity and one that does not expose the male to much danger” (9). Because the women do not fight back, this show of power uses the women as targets rather than risking the loss that might come from fighting another man. Women have also normalized this violence, with Chagnon stating that “many of them measure their husband’s concern in terms of the frequency of minor beatings they sustain” (83). For an example of how prevalent this domestic violence is, Kaobawä and Bahimi are portrayed as having a peaceful relationship compared to the others, and he still uses violence against her. In The Fierce People, Chagnon stresses that Yanomami women face an intense degree of systemic discrimination and violence that permeates every aspect of their lives. They have little choice in their situations and serve as pawns in the larger political games of the men around them.