1. There are many rules and laws in Western cultures against killing and even acts that could potentially lead to killing. Killing another person in Western culture is by far one of the worst and most punishable crimes one can commit. It is a cultural standard that it is just wrong to kill someone and these laws are followed and are highly prioritized by most people in the Western culture. This differs completely from the Yanomamo culture. Unlike the Western culture, rules and laws against killing are not structured when it comes to this matter. They have no formal laws or institutionalized adjudicators such as chiefs or judges. This causes each person to have to rely on their own to settle differences with another whether they deal with it through vocal or physical battles which tend to get violent and on some occasions, lead to killing.
2. One of the most common reasons for revenge killing amongst the Yanomamo people begins with a woman. Men become violent and battle one another because they suspect infidelity, are jealous of another man's sexual life, seduce each other's wives, are dissatisfied with their girl in marriage and sometimes even rape. Revenge killing can also occur when a man is trying to avenge the death of someone else or retaliation against another tribe. It is then that they take it among themselves to seek revenge. Their conflict process progresses in a series of less dangerous, little-to-no-contact types of fighting such as shouting matches, chest pounding duels and side slapping duels into fighting with weapons such as axes, machetes and bows and arrows. It is then that these fights become lethal.
3. Unokais are those who have killed. One benefit of obtaining the status of a unokais is that because they are seen as "fierce" fighters and have that reputation for killing another person, their clan is attacked less frequently thus keeping their group safer. The article also states that "men who demonstrate their willingness to act violently and to exact revenge for the deaths of kin may have higher marital and reproductive success." This is because the unokais either find women who are more attracted to their status as unokais or because they forcibly take their mates from others. For these beneficial reasons and for the reason that unokais generally obtain a higher social status, a man might strive to be a unokai as opposed to a non-unokai. However there a benefits for a non-unokai as well. For example, one benefit of non-unokais is that with their lower risk of mortality, they are able to produce more offspring. Non-unokais priorities are elsewhere.
4. A) The political leaders of each group are also the headman of the village. Because they practice polygamy and have more wives than the normal man, their kin groups and extended families are larger than most. The probability of one of these people in relation to the political leaders getting killed is higher than the average person being killed.
B) A man who engages in revenge killings has a higher social status than a man who has not. They are respected for their agility and athletic abilities, their desire to protect and kill for their family and are attractive to women. From a young age, boys strive to gain the title and these social benefits as one who has killed.
C) Kin of the unokais are less likely to get attacked when a man in the family obtains the status of unokai. This is because they are seen as "fierce" and will kill to protect their kin. Also, the death of a family member is grounds for revenge killing. A man would want to avenge the death of someone they are close to.
D) A man who has killed is more likely to have a higher production rate and marriage. This is because some women find it attractive that a man has that status. This is also because a man could have forcibly taken another man's wife from him and would be able to produce with her.
5. It is important that there are laws against something that no one should want to do because it preserves everyone's right as a human being to not be stripped of what they are entitled to whether that is life, civil rights, education, choice, etc. Through revenge killings, the Yanomamo take lives from one another even though there are other ways to settle their conflicts and sometimes even out of anger or no reason. As humans, no one deserves that. Having laws against these kinds of things lessens that injustice.
You made a great point in addressing human rights. I too believe that as humans, we all have the right to live no matter what our culture is. Though the rules and views about killing are different around the world,I believe that there should be one universal rule pertaining to human rights. Any human's rights violations should be enforce the same around the world. I do not agree that the death penalty should be an option for any human right's violation. That would be a conflict because we would then violate the human rights by taking someone else's life.
ReplyDeleteSayom M.
Overall, all points addressed and well-written. A couple of points I want to highlight...
ReplyDeleteIn your first paragraph, with regard to killing in Western cultures you say: "It is a cultural standard that it is just wrong to kill someone"
Always? Under our justice system, is there never circumstances where killing someone is justified, such as in self-defense or in defense of your family?
You say: "For example, one benefit of non-unokais is that with their lower risk of mortality, they are able to produce more offspring."
That's not what the numbers say. True, there is a higher chance of death as a unokais, but Chagnon demonstrated in his article that unokais are more likely to have a higher reproductive success (offspring number) than non-unokais. There may be another way to look at it, in that non-unokais have a small chance of death and therefore are more likely to survive to reproduce. But if they can't find a mate, or if the one they find is stolen by a unokais, then that strategy may not work well for them. (This is called a sneaky strategy and is found in orangutans and some lizards.)
Your last paragraph doesn't really address the question. The issue of human rights is a westernized one and doesn't really work here with the Yanomamo. From the article, you should be asking yourself if the assumption that no one would want to kill is an accurate one. The reasons that the Yanomamo kill are much the same reasons why people kill in our own culture. Our laws are there to protect us from people acting instinctively in their best interest in a way that might hurt us.