A Man Called Bee

Raymond Hames Author

08/18/2017 Added

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A Man Called Bee

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[00:00:11.191](chanting)
[00:00:22.864]The Yanomama Indians of Venezuela in Brazil
[00:00:25.252]presently numbered 15,000 people
[00:00:27.689]living in some 150 villages that are scattered
[00:00:30.867]over a vast tropical forest.
[00:00:34.308]During the past 100 years, the Yanomama have expanded
[00:00:37.329]in all directions from the Sierra Parima.
[00:00:40.372]A chain of low-lying forested hills
[00:00:42.852]that forms the backbone of the tribal distribution.
[00:00:47.015]This expansion is still going on today,
[00:00:48.793]continuing a process of micro-political evolution.
[00:00:53.713]This evolution has led to linguistic,
[00:00:56.638]demographic and organizational differences
[00:00:59.393]in the large blocks of villages
[00:01:01.476]that comprise the entire tribe.
[00:01:04.296]In the central and southwestern areas,
[00:01:06.617]villages are very large.
[00:01:08.936]Warfare is intense and social organization
[00:01:12.114]is more complex than in other regions.
[00:01:16.436]In the Southwest, the Shamatari population block is typical.
[00:01:20.900]Their original villages grew to about 150 people
[00:01:25.396]envisioned to produce two new villages
[00:01:27.606]that entered into wars with each other,
[00:01:30.007]moving further and further apart, penetrating new lands.
[00:01:35.532]These villages in turn grew, fisioned
[00:01:39.529]and entered into wars among themselves
[00:01:41.774]and with their neighbors.
[00:01:47.374]Today there are about a dozen villages
[00:01:49.454]in the Shanatari cluster, all descended by fisioning
[00:01:52.334]and population growth from a single village.
[00:01:58.129]During the past eight years I've spent a total of 36 months
[00:02:01.932]among the Yanomama collecting anthropological data
[00:02:05.593]that describe and explain
[00:02:07.417]this process of growth and fisioning.
[00:02:10.587]Much of that time was spent in the village of
[00:02:13.288]Mishimishimsbowei-Teri, one of the larger
[00:02:16.342]Shanotari villages, some 275 people in total.
[00:02:28.625]In 1968, against the advice of my friends
[00:02:31.962]in the village of Bishasteri, I ascended the Milwaukee River
[00:02:35.988]and contacted Mishimishimsbowei-Teri
[00:02:38.569]who had never before seen foreigners.
[00:02:41.941]The Bishauseteri, mortal enemies of
[00:02:44.101]the Mishimishimsbowei-Teri were certain that
[00:02:47.322]they would kill me on the spot
[00:02:49.526]or that Lahalas, fabulous water serpents
[00:02:52.468]would rise up out of the river and devour me.
[00:02:56.409]I survived both these hazards
[00:02:58.686]and returned to visit the Mishimishimsbowei-Teri
[00:03:01.348]every year until 1972.
[00:03:14.285](chanting and yelling)
[00:03:54.873]When I first went to live with the Yanomama,
[00:03:57.257]they wanted to know my name.
[00:04:00.056]I told him that it was Shagnon or Shanyon
[00:04:03.529]but they couldn't pronounce it.
[00:04:05.489]It sounded to them like their name for a pesky bee, shauki
[00:04:09.369]and that is what they decided to call me.
[00:04:12.846]To the other Yanomama, I am the man called Bee.
[00:04:19.966]Visitors are supposed to recline with poise.
[00:04:24.319](chanting)
[00:04:30.477]Nanokawa, one of the hosts
[00:04:32.776]grows impatient with his own customs
[00:04:35.193]and excitedly tries to converse with me.
[00:04:41.760]He is a leader in his own village,
[00:04:43.861]which broke away from Mishimishimsbowei-Teri recently.
[00:04:48.351]He has temporarily moved back
[00:04:49.789]into Mishimishimsbowei-Teri at the insistence
[00:04:52.674]of his several brothers-in-law.
[00:04:55.624]He and the local headmen
[00:04:57.312]are closely related in the male line
[00:04:59.781]and do not get along well.
[00:05:02.754]They are competitors for women and leadership.
[00:05:06.213](speaks foreign language)
[00:05:38.221]I reciprocate the continuing goodwill of the people
[00:05:40.925]with goods and services.
[00:05:43.725]They have grown to trust me and to recognize
[00:05:46.443]the effectiveness of the medicines I always bring for them.
[00:05:50.488]They expect me to cure the perennial
[00:05:52.482]eye infections of the children and babies
[00:05:54.045]and all of their language has no words for thank you.
[00:05:58.460]They can express their appreciation in other ways.
[00:06:01.784]A smile, a click of the tongue, or a gift of food.
[00:06:07.859](speaks foreign language)
[00:06:32.013]Wadoshewa and his brothers
[00:06:33.555]are an important faction in the village.
[00:06:38.584](baby crying)
[00:06:44.268]No gift is unencumbered and as he presents me
[00:06:47.255]with a basket of smoked meat and peach palm fruit,
[00:06:50.255]he whispers.
[00:06:53.471](speaks foreign language)
[00:07:20.756]My possessions are more important
[00:07:22.274]to the Mishimishimsbowei-Teri than my services
[00:07:25.097]and we always exchange items.
[00:07:28.473]I do not really want the bows, arrows,
[00:07:30.804]spun cotton and other things they offer me
[00:07:34.100]but I cannot do my work without providing them
[00:07:36.484]with fish hooks, fish line, machetes and knives.
[00:07:42.003]They would not accept me for very long
[00:07:44.084]unless I brought them these things.
[00:07:48.378]But if I gave them away freely,
[00:07:50.160]those who did not receive something would resent me
[00:07:53.124]and all would be reminded of my stinginess.
[00:07:56.511]Therefore, we trade with each other.
[00:08:03.609](speaks foreign language)
[00:08:08.809]I have spent many delightful hours Dedehewa,
[00:08:11.445]one of the most knowledgeable man I have known
[00:08:13.588]and a true leader.
[00:08:15.620]He has told me about the details of village history
[00:08:18.228]of ancient and current wars with other villages
[00:08:21.747]and secrets of kinship and genealogy
[00:08:24.083]that binds the members of his village together.
[00:08:27.121]As he periodically reminded me, he possesses the truth.
[00:08:32.764]Dedehewa possesses the truth about the spirits
[00:08:34.007]and has tried to teach me his complex,
[00:08:37.063]rich and sophisticated religion.
[00:08:41.761]To perform effectively as a religious leader
[00:08:44.162]one must learn the behavior of all of the spirits.
[00:08:47.801]How they kill their enemies
[00:08:49.175]by destroying their souls with fire
[00:08:51.143]and how mortals in the form of equity spirits
[00:08:54.364]can kill other mortals by eating their souls,
[00:08:58.102]removing all traces of polluting body fat
[00:09:00.881]by licking their fingers clean.
[00:09:03.580]Shayman spent many hours attacking their enemies
[00:09:06.524]in distant villages.
[00:09:08.103]Since people especially children are dying regularly,
[00:09:12.844]this is proof that their spiritual aggression is effective.
[00:09:16.802]There is no antidote if the mungamo portion
[00:09:20.296]of one's soul is devoured by enemies.
[00:09:25.602](speaks foreign language)
[00:10:14.898]Polaroid photographs are very convenient
[00:10:17.036]in my sensors work.
[00:10:33.580]Primitive society is defined and organized
[00:10:36.076]in large part by kinship ties, marriage practices
[00:10:40.155]and descent from common ancestors.
[00:10:43.319]Genealogical data are fundamental for building
[00:10:45.997]a coherent picture of village composition and fisioning.
[00:10:50.316]It is therefore necessary to know and understand
[00:10:53.177]the variations in kinship terminology,
[00:10:56.519]the system of classifying and referring to relatives.
[00:11:00.012]Then I can show how all the members of each village
[00:11:02.956]are related to each other
[00:11:04.978]and I can construct the genealogical diagram
[00:11:07.638]of the entire village.
[00:11:11.180](speaks foreign language)
[00:11:37.100]To study village fisioning, it is important
[00:11:39.202]to also show how the members of one village
[00:11:42.060]are related to people in other villages.
[00:11:45.740]Only then is it possible to find out
[00:11:47.500]how different kinship groups stayed together
[00:11:50.199]or divided, when earlier villages fisioned.
[00:11:57.042](speaks foreign language)
[00:12:03.933]It is also possible to discover the size
[00:12:06.594]of large lineages and their significance
[00:12:09.133]in the politics of each village.
[00:12:14.935]Some large lineages are distributed among all the villages
[00:12:18.311]that constituted population block.
[00:12:22.765]Mishimishimsbowei-Teri is comprised
[00:12:24.984]of several large lineal descent groups,
[00:12:27.441]the largest of which is the head men's group,
[00:12:30.229]Muawa's lineage.
[00:12:34.142]Nearly 85% of the residents of Mishimishimsbowei-Teri
[00:12:37.646]belong to only four lineages.
[00:12:40.889]These have been bound to each other over several generations
[00:12:44.489]by reciprocal marriage exchanges.
[00:12:48.825]But these four lineages and others
[00:12:51.582]are also found in neighboring Shonatari villages.
[00:12:56.459]Village fisioning divides the lineal groups
[00:12:58.649]into local segments and redistributes them
[00:13:02.003]in new villages in varying proportions,
[00:13:04.404]depending on past marriage ties.
[00:13:11.549]My informant's real name is Hashinama
[00:13:16.382]and I have this girl whose photograph was taken
[00:13:19.620]and she belonged to the list of Amonama
[00:13:26.852]which turned out to be Aminama who is my informant
[00:13:28.323]so it is her real daughter.
[00:13:31.025]The daughter who was stolen was sired by
[00:13:33.957]a man whose now dead.
[00:13:41.120]Although I've known Aminama for four years,
[00:13:43.701]it was not clear to me until this interview
[00:13:46.437]that she was the same person as Kashinama,
[00:13:50.025]a name given to me by informants in other villages.
[00:13:54.462]And it's her daughter's husband who was killed last month
[00:13:56.923]by raiders from Umaniguiteri.
[00:14:00.802]And the guy who killed the husband was from Novaka
[00:14:04.343]and was married into Umaniguiteri.
[00:14:10.305]All genealogical information has to be checked
[00:14:12.721]and cross checked with many informants
[00:14:15.329]from different villages in order to eliminate
[00:14:17.766]redundancies and errors.
[00:14:20.209]People often deceive me about names and relationships
[00:14:23.384]in order to avoid using the names of close kinsman
[00:14:25.606]or in some cases, to play a practical joke.
[00:14:29.964]Because of this, I had to throw away
[00:14:32.369]most of the genealogical data I collected
[00:14:35.067]during my first year of study.
[00:14:37.505]With detailed accounts of past wars
[00:14:39.743]on the history of each settlement
[00:14:42.082]and with accurate genealogies that show
[00:14:44.423]how members of widely separated villages are related,
[00:14:47.505]a complete picture of village fisioning emerges.
[00:14:51.947]Village fisioning can be explained in terms of
[00:14:54.449]the marriage patterns, the social composition
[00:14:57.341]of particular villages and the demographic features
[00:15:00.505]of the population.
[00:15:08.027]The way people are related to each other
[00:15:09.124]by kinship and marriage is also reflected
[00:15:12.644]in where they live in the village.
[00:15:15.940]Whole lineage segments, the adult males
[00:15:18.898]of the same lineal descent group often occupy
[00:15:21.936]a single section of the village
[00:15:24.164]with their wives and children.
[00:15:26.321]Within the village, people avoid some kinsmen
[00:15:28.658]because of taboos, but may visit freely with others.
[00:15:33.994]The other Yanomama villages in this region of the tribe
[00:15:36.062]are conspicuously larger than those in other areas,
[00:15:38.622]and there is more living space for each person.
[00:15:44.297]The immense clearing in the center of the village
[00:15:46.302]is used for dancing and as a playground for the children.
[00:15:51.394]When men have killed large game on the hunt,
[00:15:54.366]they strap across the clearing to exhibit their abilities.
[00:16:00.681]Mapping the village in great detail
[00:16:02.526]will enable me to show how living space
[00:16:04.606]varies from village to village within a population block
[00:16:08.663]and between villages of adjacent population blocks.
[00:16:14.280]It appears that where political alliances
[00:16:16.265]based on feasting are important in inter-village affairs,
[00:16:20.425]the villages themselves are larger
[00:16:22.744]to accommodate visitors who come to trade, dance and feast.
[00:16:28.382]Thus inter-village politics has an effect
[00:16:30.984]not only on the numerical size of the village
[00:16:34.197]but on its physical size as well.
[00:16:54.540]One must have a detailed map of the area around the village
[00:16:58.046]in order to understand land-use and agricultural practices.
[00:17:08.024]The other Yanomama practice a kind of
[00:17:09.524]slash and burn horticulture known as pioneering cultivation.
[00:17:14.126]It is presently rare but was much more widespread
[00:17:17.524]in the past.
[00:17:19.723]Land once used is never re-cleared
[00:17:22.618]and cultivated a second time.
[00:17:29.384]Many miles and thousands of fertile acres
[00:17:32.265]separate on a Yanomama villages.
[00:17:34.858]Still old garden regions are an attraction
[00:17:38.025]since peach palm trees which produce an important crop
[00:17:41.886]continue to bear fruit long after
[00:17:44.606]the rest of the garden has been abandoned.
[00:17:47.723]Thus, new gardens often found near old ones
[00:17:50.845]and people prefer to remain in one general area
[00:17:54.409]for a long time, to exploit their peach palm crops.
[00:18:32.091]Could you point one before you do the next one
[00:18:34.304]at the camera a little bit before you take it in.
[00:18:42.171]That's good.
[00:18:44.352](speaks foreign language)
[00:19:05.056]Shakiora is 40° West of North from the Shabono
[00:19:10.304]and it's the water palms that they named after me.
[00:19:14.972](speaks foreign language)
[00:19:28.290]Shayarivebo is west than Mishimishimsbowei-Teri.
[00:19:33.843]Two factors determine Yanomama settlement pattern.
[00:19:37.785]Short micro movements are in response
[00:19:40.792]to the demands of agriculture.
[00:19:44.206]A garden plot is abandoned after a few years
[00:19:46.806]and a new plot is cleared nearby
[00:19:48.908]often just beyond the existing garden.
[00:19:52.451]On the other hand, the long migrations,
[00:19:55.390]macro movements are determined by military factors.
[00:20:01.444]Detailed maps based on field data
[00:20:04.869]reveal the political and ecological reasons
[00:20:07.512]for past village movements.
[00:20:09.848]Each garden is associated with particular prominent men
[00:20:13.592]who founded the village.
[00:20:16.632]I collect their names in order to cross reference
[00:20:19.288]settlement pattern history
[00:20:21.168]with genealogies and data on village fisioning.
[00:20:26.035]People know where their children, siblings
[00:20:28.914]and ancestors were born
[00:20:30.872]so that the recent settlement history of each village
[00:20:34.128]can be reconstructed by using birthplace,
[00:20:37.112]estimated ages of village residents
[00:20:39.731]and the maps of abandoned garden sites.
[00:20:43.534]All of this information gradually builds up
[00:20:46.035]until a detailed picture of village fisioning emerges.
[00:20:51.748](speaks foreign language)
[00:20:59.269]D-E-D-E-H-E-I-W-A is my informant
[00:21:02.907]and I'm gonna collect the myth of
[00:21:04.490]the origin of fire in Iwariwa
[00:21:07.466]and compare to the Biashaseri and Coloiteri versions
[00:21:09.730]that I collected earlier.
[00:21:14.306]It took two years to become fluent enough
[00:21:16.066]in Yanomama, to penetrate the rich concepts
[00:21:18.504]of mythology or cosmology.
[00:21:21.645]By then, I knew enough about the various myths
[00:21:24.247]that I could ask knowledgeable men like Dedehewa
[00:21:27.481]to recite particular myths as completely as they could.
[00:21:32.344]By pretending to be ignorant of the myth,
[00:21:35.709]I could put informants at ease.
[00:21:37.906]They enthusiastically told me the complete truth,
[00:21:41.906]as they often expressed it
[00:21:43.986]to show me that they knew more
[00:21:45.821]than the people in other villages.
[00:21:49.877](speaks foreign language)
[00:22:26.465]Their myths are rich in metaphor and cannot be understood
[00:22:29.908]by knowing only the vernacular language.
[00:22:33.270]People tell myths dramatically
[00:22:35.334]and add detail to the meaning with various body movements,
[00:22:39.430]tone of voice and facial expressions.
[00:22:44.512]Rehaw was making a scaffold high in the tree
[00:22:47.288]when Merro snuck up and shot a charm at him.
[00:22:52.635](speaks foreign language)
[00:23:01.509]Reha shrieked as the charm passed through
[00:23:03.285]the skin of his throat.
[00:23:05.765]It did not kill him.
[00:23:09.083]Reha was later found near a tree.
[00:23:13.483]Reha was chopping wood from the fallen tree.
[00:23:18.464]Nao blew a charm at him as he chopped.
[00:23:24.360]It struck Reha.
[00:23:28.197]It nicked his throat.
[00:23:33.680](speaks foreign language)
[00:23:37.095]When he struck the chord with his machete,
[00:23:41.313]it separated and sloth was flung violently through the air.
[00:23:50.435]He was flipped high and far away.
[00:24:03.475]As sloth was sailing through the air,
[00:24:05.432]the mountain fell and crushed Nao.
[00:24:11.672]Even long after the birds had begun
[00:24:14.152]painting themselves with Nao's blood,
[00:24:17.016]sloth was still flying through the air.
[00:24:24.747]At long last sloth hit the ground.
[00:24:29.696]He got to the top and found the magical vine.
[00:24:36.319]One end of it was tied to the mountain,
[00:24:40.443]the other end was fastened to the sky.
[00:24:44.779]Sloth was terrified.
[00:24:48.797]He was poised to strike the vine,
[00:24:54.219]but he was hesitant.
[00:24:58.875]He was in the crotch of the tree.
[00:25:01.317]The tree was bent over under tremendous strain.
[00:25:05.077]He chopped.
[00:25:17.077]Sloth was flung from the tree and sailed through the air.
[00:25:39.748]After recording each myth or variance,
[00:25:42.473]I spent hours and days with other informants
[00:25:46.275]who explained in detail the meaning of particular words,
[00:25:49.294]phrases and gestures.
[00:25:52.310]Working privately with Lelebawa,
[00:25:55.572]I learned about the hidden meanings and details
[00:25:57.977]that Kaungbawa left out.
[00:26:01.395](speaks foreign language)
[00:26:35.001]Many villages like Mishimishimsbowei-Teri,
[00:26:38.094]are remote and have no contact with the outside world
[00:26:41.422]except through my sporadic visits
[00:26:43.571]and the rumor they hear from visiting Yanomama.
[00:26:47.010](speaks foreign language)
[00:27:37.904]Dedehewa and Muawa as leaders in their villages,
[00:27:42.261]are concerned and alarmed by some of the changes
[00:27:44.329]that are taking place,
[00:27:46.606]especially the introduction shotguns
[00:27:48.601]into some Yanomama villages.
[00:27:55.827]Muawa care about the strength and aggressiveness
[00:27:58.345]of his distant enemies who have obtained shotguns
[00:28:00.984]from the foreigners.
[00:28:03.082]He is a leader and he has to be aware
[00:28:05.663]of changes in military power.
[00:28:08.526]He is strong and valiant
[00:28:10.905]and one of the most effective leaders
[00:28:12.547]I have met in this culture, or my own.
[00:28:16.985]When he looks at you and suggests something, he commands.
[00:28:21.934]He sizes people up and decides how far
[00:28:24.219]he can push them, displaying uncanny perception.
[00:28:28.569]In a constant game of brinksmanship,
[00:28:30.914]he subordinates others to his will.
[00:28:33.851]He knows when to be kind and when to be strong.
[00:28:37.586]I found it difficult to live in his village
[00:28:40.109]and yet resist his constant suggestions
[00:28:42.872]that I give him my shot gun.
[00:28:51.373]There are other expressions of leadership
[00:28:52.970]among the Yanomama.
[00:28:55.710]It was much easier to live with Dedehewa
[00:28:58.456]and to become intimate friends with him.
[00:29:02.194]His dealings with me, were most often benevolent.
[00:29:05.176]I am sick and he tries to cure me
[00:29:09.277]as he would cure a member of his own family.
[00:29:13.072](chanting)
[00:29:45.096]When he is sick, I try to cure him with my medicines.
[00:29:49.576]Neither of us believes in the other's techniques
[00:29:52.573]or paraphernalia, but our efforts show mutual concern
[00:29:56.413]for each other's well-being.
[00:29:58.396](yells)
[00:30:05.837]By indicating my willingness to be affected by his spirits
[00:30:09.357]and his curing, I learn a great deal more
[00:30:12.191]about his supernatural world than I might otherwise.
[00:30:17.816]The Yanomama appreciate my interest in their spirits
[00:30:21.474]and want to help me to learn the truth.
[00:30:24.354]To understand the secrets of the spirit
[00:30:26.652]and to become Yanomama.
[00:30:30.394]Participant observation leads to
[00:30:32.171]an intimate understanding of another culture.
[00:30:35.314](chanting)
[00:30:54.274]It has been a great privilege
[00:30:55.754]to live with people like Dedehewa
[00:30:57.917]who taught me much about being human.
[00:31:00.797]It is personally satisfying to know that
[00:31:04.018]the Yanomama think there is hope for me.
[00:31:07.314]That they can transform me
[00:31:08.637]into a human being in their terms.
[00:31:12.557]I received my greatest compliment from Lelebawa
[00:31:15.435]when he told me that I was almost a human now,
[00:31:19.458]almost a real Yanomama.
[00:31:22.194](chanting)
[00:32:29.708](speaks foreign language)
[00:33:38.676]For the moment, Dedehewa's culture will continue.
[00:33:44.058]His village will live with the constant pressures
[00:33:46.116]of old grievances and personal conflicts
[00:33:48.554]between important men.
[00:33:55.030]There will be tension between groups,
[00:33:56.996]each applying pressure on the others
[00:33:58.850]to pull the political alliances in one direction or another
[00:34:03.476]or to resolve conflicts over women
[00:34:06.068]to the advantage of some.
[00:34:08.474]A few will be dissatisfied and leave
[00:34:11.731]and the domestic crisis will be relieved
[00:34:14.335]when the village becomes smaller.
[00:34:18.397]Other conflicts will be resolved within the village
[00:34:20.698]by resort to duels, to pounding chests
[00:34:23.876]and fighting with clubs.
[00:34:26.376]Men will be insulted when their status is questioned
[00:34:29.498]or a stronger groups within the village,
[00:34:31.396]try to take women from them.
[00:34:33.999]They will challenge these adversaries and fight with them.
[00:34:38.234]They will remember their victories and brag of them
[00:34:40.895]and booed about their losses.
[00:34:43.732]As old grievances smolder and proliferate,
[00:34:47.354]the smallest insult can lead immediately
[00:34:50.234]to a serious conflict in which
[00:34:52.895]people can be badly injured or even killed.
[00:34:56.634]Chest pounding escalates to club fights.
[00:34:59.695]Club fights to axe fights
[00:35:01.591]and axe fights to shooting with arrows.
[00:35:05.637]This fight was sparked by breach of etiquette.
[00:35:08.420]A failure to share food, but its roots lie deep
[00:35:12.458]in the history of earlier fights
[00:35:15.195]and in the conflicts growing out of
[00:35:16.458]complex marriage arrangements
[00:35:19.396]that bind family to family and lineage to lineage.
[00:35:23.818]People were injured in this fight but none died.
[00:35:28.636]The general stress and tension in the village increased
[00:35:33.517]and some people began to leave the group.
[00:35:44.354]If people are killed in such fights,
[00:35:46.080]large segments of the village will be forced to move out
[00:35:48.675]and start their gardens elsewhere
[00:35:50.877]or take refuge with a friendly neighbor.
[00:35:54.455]People anticipate this and small groups
[00:35:56.655]begin clearing gardens elsewhere,
[00:35:58.490]knowing that sooner or later, a fight will erupt.
[00:36:02.538]They can avoid this by moving out.
[00:36:04.197]By fisioing before the level of tension becomes too high.
[00:36:15.114]The pressures that impinge on a village from the outside
[00:36:17.755]tend to keep it at its maximum size,
[00:36:20.516]for a small village is vulnerable
[00:36:22.475]to the rages of determined men like these.
[00:36:26.292]They strike silently, usually at dawn and kill.
[00:36:31.776]They also fear retaliation and they know the capacity
[00:36:35.098]of all groups to fight back.
[00:36:41.204]They hesitate to attack large, powerful villages
[00:36:44.340]unless they have help from their allies.
[00:36:57.423]Yet even the mightiest are liable to attack
[00:37:00.141]and live constantly if not nervously
[00:37:02.682]in a condition of threat of attack.
[00:37:06.959]Here, a large poster village mobilizes
[00:37:09.779]as word spreads that raiders have been seen nearby.
[00:37:20.195](yelling)
[00:37:36.115]The Yanomama solve some of their warfare problems
[00:37:38.096]by making alliances with their neighbors.
[00:37:41.196]They first visit then to trade bows, arrows,
[00:37:44.397]dogs and baskets.
[00:37:46.895]This lays the necessary foundation of trust and friendship
[00:37:51.416]on which more elaborate alliances are built.
[00:37:54.739]Alliances that involve feasting
[00:37:56.155]between the members of villages.
[00:37:58.976]These alliances help assure that neighbors
[00:38:01.177]will not attack each other without warning,
[00:38:04.296]and that some neighbors will be friendly enough
[00:38:06.379]either to offer refuge in a time of need
[00:38:10.134]or to help raid enemies.
[00:38:13.506]Still, the political relationships between distant villages
[00:38:16.912]even related villages, are unpredictable enough
[00:38:20.788]that allies do not and cannot trust each other.
[00:38:32.016]Honor is paramount in relations between men.
[00:38:35.557]It is important for men to be aggressive,
[00:38:37.376]brave and self-assured.
[00:38:40.576]The reputation of each village
[00:38:42.677]is the sum of individual reputation.
[00:38:45.637]Of how many waiteri, or fierce ones the village has.
[00:38:56.699]Little boys learn early in their lives
[00:38:58.477]that aggressive skills are important.
[00:39:01.777]These are the skills that will make their village strong,
[00:39:04.193]that will foster waiteri behavior in men.
[00:39:17.957]Men like Dedehewa are admired and respected.
[00:39:21.200]They perform daily before the entire village,
[00:39:24.612]before the children watch and imitate them.
[00:39:28.551]Like children everywhere, they subscribe
[00:39:31.351]to the religious beliefs of their parents and elders.
[00:39:34.594]For them, it is even more intensive than real
[00:39:38.551]for their constantly being cured by shamans
[00:39:41.230]and are exposed daily to public expression
[00:39:44.525]of the ritual and theology.
[00:39:47.095]They know at an early age, the names
[00:39:50.354]and habits of the spirits.
[00:39:52.913]They practice shamanism at the age of four or five
[00:39:56.295]and they will be ready to replace Dedehewa and the others
[00:40:01.051]by the time they are 20.
[00:40:04.150](children chatting)
[00:40:37.813]Children do not go on raids when they are young
[00:40:40.774]but they practice the two essential skills
[00:40:43.190]that a warrior must have.
[00:40:45.334]Shooting accurately under stress
[00:40:47.469]and dodging arrows shot in return.
[00:40:50.694]It is a dangerous game, but they enjoy it.

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A Man Called Bee

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