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The Yanomamö
Sm Quarto, B & W Photos
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
March 7, 2017
Chagnon has a lot of haters, and most of what pisses them off is what makes this so much fun to read. The book reads at times like a 19th Century explorer story, but better I think, because Chagnon is an anthropologist and not some agent of the Empire. Some folks hate that, one writer in Al Jazeera said something about Chagnon being a bearded man's man. Well, yeah, but more Hemingway than James Bond. He is in there alone, just trying to figure it out, but it did remind me at times of books (I have also enjoyed) where some British dude is keeping a diary of how many people in the expedition have died -- Stanley and Livingstone type stuff. Chagnon's book is way more fun, because the Yanomamö get the drop on him so often... playing tricks on him that had me laughing out loud.
Another thing haters say about Chagnon is that he makes the Yanamamö seem like they are in a constant state of warfare and ready to kill each other over nothing. I didn't feel that way. Compared with the USA, where police kill an unarmed person every day and where every day some nutter kills or injures 4 or more people... compared with that the Yanamamö are noble savages. It must be said that the women appear to be slaves and are frequently beaten and raped. The haters say that Chagnon is offering colonials an excuse to "civilize" the Yanamomö by painting them as pretty awful. I am not in a position to judge just how awful the Yanamamö are, but I sympathize with what might be called a misanthropist streak in the anthropologist. I also thought it interesting how the Yanamomö's misogyny seems to fit with the story in The Creation of Patriarchy . Women are captured in raids... Chagnon argues time and again that capturing women is one of the main reasons for Yanamomö warfare, and that the most prolific killers have the most children.
You know how in the TV show Breaking Bad, they introduce bad guys who are more evil than the evil protagonist so that you end up sympathizing with a cold blooded murderer? I don't think Chagnon was calculating like that when he brings the gold miners and the missionaries into the story, but the same effect happens. It's like, the Yanamomö are these chilled out hammock weavers, snorting hallucinogens in their forest when these westerners come with shotguns and measles and ruin the party. It's like, I'd vote for Kaobawä if he was running against Trump. That the Yanamomö don't live in some anarchist paradise Acardia doesn't mean that we should go in there and "improve" them.
To summarize: a real eyebrow-raising page-turner that had me laughing, disgusted and frequently saying "different!" in an awed whisper. Plan to read more of anthropology's greatest hits.
Another thing haters say about Chagnon is that he makes the Yanamamö seem like they are in a constant state of warfare and ready to kill each other over nothing. I didn't feel that way. Compared with the USA, where police kill an unarmed person every day and where every day some nutter kills or injures 4 or more people... compared with that the Yanamamö are noble savages. It must be said that the women appear to be slaves and are frequently beaten and raped. The haters say that Chagnon is offering colonials an excuse to "civilize" the Yanamomö by painting them as pretty awful. I am not in a position to judge just how awful the Yanamamö are, but I sympathize with what might be called a misanthropist streak in the anthropologist. I also thought it interesting how the Yanamomö's misogyny seems to fit with the story in The Creation of Patriarchy . Women are captured in raids... Chagnon argues time and again that capturing women is one of the main reasons for Yanamomö warfare, and that the most prolific killers have the most children.
You know how in the TV show Breaking Bad, they introduce bad guys who are more evil than the evil protagonist so that you end up sympathizing with a cold blooded murderer? I don't think Chagnon was calculating like that when he brings the gold miners and the missionaries into the story, but the same effect happens. It's like, the Yanamomö are these chilled out hammock weavers, snorting hallucinogens in their forest when these westerners come with shotguns and measles and ruin the party. It's like, I'd vote for Kaobawä if he was running against Trump. That the Yanamomö don't live in some anarchist paradise Acardia doesn't mean that we should go in there and "improve" them.
To summarize: a real eyebrow-raising page-turner that had me laughing, disgusted and frequently saying "different!" in an awed whisper. Plan to read more of anthropology's greatest hits.
September 10, 2018
Read many years ago in an Intro. to Anthropology course at the University of Florida. Came to mind today as I read about the loss of the Linguistics archive at the National Museum in Brazil. A hopeless feeling ...loss.
February 24, 2016
One of the best ethnographies you'll read. I've read other editions before, but this one (and the 2nd one too) have a section about Chagnon taking the hallucinogenic drug ebene with the Yanomamo. After reading the section, which does not disappoint, I just went back and re-read the book in its entirety.
The controversy surrounding Chagnon's work is its own case study--in the power of postmodern ideology to pervert the moral thinking of otherwise good-intentioned people. This is a great read, Chagnon is a great anthropologist, and the rest isn't worth attending to unless you're interested in the sad degradation of cultural anthropology as a field in recent decades.
The controversy surrounding Chagnon's work is its own case study--in the power of postmodern ideology to pervert the moral thinking of otherwise good-intentioned people. This is a great read, Chagnon is a great anthropologist, and the rest isn't worth attending to unless you're interested in the sad degradation of cultural anthropology as a field in recent decades.
May 6, 2012
I read this during a Cultural Anthropology course entitled Peoples of the World. It was extremely fascinating, I was quite impressed by Chagnon's account of this culture. Chagnon is an interesting anthropologist and I feel you can hear his voice quite prominently during this ethnography. The pictures included paint a vibrant picture of life among the Yanomamo. This ethnography is still a very technical read but it is made quite enjoyable by the subject matter and the author's writing style.
December 12, 2017
Chagnon is a bit of a dick and the Yanomamo seem like the worst assholes possible but the ethnography was interesting.
February 13, 2018
Fantastic account of Amazon Natives. First off unjustly Chagnon is known to be disdained amongst academic circles.The reason is at the time he did his studies-the 1960;s and early 70's ,He seemingly dispelled the idea that anthropologists ,hippies and New agers often maintained that uncontacted people living in the jungle were noble tranquil uncorrupted souls living in harmony with nature. Yanomamo are not so much hunter gatherers as they are a horticultural society.War seems to be the focus of the tribal activity. The male tribesmen have a preoccupation with constantly trying to appear "fierce" to everyone around them. and it goes up the line in that Villages also want to have a "fierce" reputation and so forth.They wish that their neighbors will fear and respect them and don't dare raid them. This has close parallels to modern behavior. Chagnon was simply reporting what he observed in the study. I will point out The author has a very simple easy to read writing style.No long journey preamble like many such books -no he starts right off in the village with how the tribe lives including exactly how bows and arrows are made,the poisons and hallucinogens, how they hunt and the trading of handy crafts .
September 26, 2024
Read this for a class which is why i haven’t had much time for personal reading, but it was interesting. definitely not something i would’ve picked for myself, but learning about the tribe was fascinating
January 6, 2023
Have you ever, while navigating your hallway, spotted two mouse legs popping out from a cushion in your dogs' bed? Then, after retrieving a tissue to investigate further, you pick up the creature only to look into its pink, herniated eye socket and deduce that the poor thing was licked and stomped to death by your loveable pup? Then when you are done looking over the wet, cold, smushed thing, you look up to find your dog's round, domesticated, black eyes looking at you and become immediately convinced that you are not sure what your dog is-- and not sure what it's capable of- and are overwhelmed with how disgusting and cruel and parasitic this dog is. Only for that feeling to vanish just as soon as it came because it's ultimately easy to accept that you've only just witnessed dog-nature?
This book gave me a flash of that feeling, but for human beings.
I was inspired to read this book after reading The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker who argues that one of the main ethos that dominates modern social science is that human beings are essentially good- "the noble savage"-Pinker uses Chagnon to describe the additional complexity involved. While the Yanomamo people are not always noble, there is certainly an interesting point posed by Chagnon, which is that raids and violence is not only scary and dangerous, but unpleasant and a lot of hard work. And that maybe infrastructure really helps to reduce the necessity for intercommunal violence and 'culture of honor' type attitudes.
I certainly skimmed a lot of the kinship talk; I did not put all my effort into understanding the patrilineal nature of Yanomamo society. But there's a lot more to it than that, and Chagnon ultimately achieved a great deal in communicating the details of the Yanomamo society with respect, as well as crafting an excellent story.
This book gave me a flash of that feeling, but for human beings.
I was inspired to read this book after reading The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker who argues that one of the main ethos that dominates modern social science is that human beings are essentially good- "the noble savage"-Pinker uses Chagnon to describe the additional complexity involved. While the Yanomamo people are not always noble, there is certainly an interesting point posed by Chagnon, which is that raids and violence is not only scary and dangerous, but unpleasant and a lot of hard work. And that maybe infrastructure really helps to reduce the necessity for intercommunal violence and 'culture of honor' type attitudes.
I certainly skimmed a lot of the kinship talk; I did not put all my effort into understanding the patrilineal nature of Yanomamo society. But there's a lot more to it than that, and Chagnon ultimately achieved a great deal in communicating the details of the Yanomamo society with respect, as well as crafting an excellent story.
April 6, 2011
This book is used as an anthropology case study text. The author lived with the Yanomamo, ate their food, spoke their language and acted a spokesperson in their behalf. An excellent study in a vanishing culture.
October 21, 2012
This is just about the most amazing field study of all time. It contains the only extensive data-based study of humans in our natural environment. Anyone interested in human behaviour should read this.
August 15, 2024
This book is about the Yanomamo people who live in the greater Amazon region. The Author lived among them for many years doing anthropogical analysis. He discovered that many of there life is tied to genealogical positioning making a hidden complexity that Western Civilization does not have to deal with e.g. marriage is in fact a very complex decision where 'love' is not a primary consideration.
Cross-cousin marriage (children of man and sister) is permitted but not parallel marriage (children of man and brother). Therefore, they are extremely patrilineal society.
Their lives are very much tied to procreation. In fact, the Yanomamo permanent tribal state (small villages versus forming cities) is due largely to strife over sexual issues. The 'Noble Savage' is thus reduced by the Author to a sex-crazed addict. In fact, this is not their own addiction but tobacco and hallucinogenic drug usage is prevalent.
They are an intelligent people but with many vices that leaves them no time to advance their technical/artistic skills. Other than genealogies the most complex part of their culture is 'magic' and cosmological beliefs both which further detracts from developing civilization.
When a Yanomamo is alive his 'self' is consists of a 'human will' and a 'animal spirit' mirror. If either is injured, the mirror 'self' is affected. During life the animal image is that which can be controlled by witchcraft and since children's spirit is mostly 'animal' until they gain life knowledge they are most susceptible to shaman incantations. It turns out that half the men in a village are also shaman and as in most of their important rituals there is a heavy usage of drugs.
There are two deaths one when the physical body stops functioning and the second occurs during cremation. Most of the soul goes where the dead reside but a second part of the person wanders the Earth after death.
A Yanomamo workday is short - few hours in the mornings when it is cool and sometimes if pressing need, they work again starting around 4pm to sundown.
This is good view of one-type of primitive society and provides insight into why progress is stymied.
Also, one can see how this very dominant patrilineal society essentially enslaves the females and so Slavery in general could be a small evolutionary step.
Cross-cousin marriage (children of man and sister) is permitted but not parallel marriage (children of man and brother). Therefore, they are extremely patrilineal society.
Their lives are very much tied to procreation. In fact, the Yanomamo permanent tribal state (small villages versus forming cities) is due largely to strife over sexual issues. The 'Noble Savage' is thus reduced by the Author to a sex-crazed addict. In fact, this is not their own addiction but tobacco and hallucinogenic drug usage is prevalent.
They are an intelligent people but with many vices that leaves them no time to advance their technical/artistic skills. Other than genealogies the most complex part of their culture is 'magic' and cosmological beliefs both which further detracts from developing civilization.
When a Yanomamo is alive his 'self' is consists of a 'human will' and a 'animal spirit' mirror. If either is injured, the mirror 'self' is affected. During life the animal image is that which can be controlled by witchcraft and since children's spirit is mostly 'animal' until they gain life knowledge they are most susceptible to shaman incantations. It turns out that half the men in a village are also shaman and as in most of their important rituals there is a heavy usage of drugs.
There are two deaths one when the physical body stops functioning and the second occurs during cremation. Most of the soul goes where the dead reside but a second part of the person wanders the Earth after death.
A Yanomamo workday is short - few hours in the mornings when it is cool and sometimes if pressing need, they work again starting around 4pm to sundown.
This is good view of one-type of primitive society and provides insight into why progress is stymied.
Also, one can see how this very dominant patrilineal society essentially enslaves the females and so Slavery in general could be a small evolutionary step.
March 27, 2021
Riveting, fun, and enlightening. I read this for WIP research and didn't expect to enjoy it so much. It reads as part adventure travelogue, part ethnography, part warning. I almost don't want to know how the Yanomamo fare forty years after this book's publication, it'd make me too sad. The book is controversial because it principally deals with how the Yanomamo conduct war; its critics say that Chagnon unfairly paints the Yanomamo as inherently violent. I got a much more nuanced message. The Yanomamo violence was savage yes (not that our own society isn't) but Chagnon clearly describes how village headman prioritize deescalation; how disputes that might be otherwise lethal are resolved through chest-pounding deals; and how even deadly raids usually only end in the death of one individual before the attackers flee. It's not a description of profligate violence, and at no time did I feel that Chagnon was saying the Yanomamo have a "war gene" like I was led to expect. Regardless I really enjoyed the book. The final scene of Chagnon taking the shamans' hallucinogenic snuff, dancing and singing and finally flipping the bird to the surly evangelical missionary who had just denounced the act as work of the Devil, will stay with me for a long time.
July 15, 2022
it's surprising that I never got around to reading this.
There's some neat stuff on the people group-specific elaborations on the ritualization of violent contests.
There's also an interesting comment, that everyone seems to ignore, about the lack of initiation for men. Instead of a given ceremony, there's a gradual progression into the social role of an adult man.
This second comment is interesting, because there's a common lie that "we have no initiation ceremonies for men, and that's where the problems come from". As if nobody ever took their kids hunting once they were "old enough" or anything like that, or it's absolutely mandatory that such a thing take place in the first place. This lie is useful, because it reallocates blames onto the men who are systematically devalued and defamed by all institutions, endlessly.
A number of system-wide myths were exposed in this work, and that's why the author was regularly defamed.
There's some neat stuff on the people group-specific elaborations on the ritualization of violent contests.
There's also an interesting comment, that everyone seems to ignore, about the lack of initiation for men. Instead of a given ceremony, there's a gradual progression into the social role of an adult man.
This second comment is interesting, because there's a common lie that "we have no initiation ceremonies for men, and that's where the problems come from". As if nobody ever took their kids hunting once they were "old enough" or anything like that, or it's absolutely mandatory that such a thing take place in the first place. This lie is useful, because it reallocates blames onto the men who are systematically devalued and defamed by all institutions, endlessly.
A number of system-wide myths were exposed in this work, and that's why the author was regularly defamed.
March 31, 2024
I really enjoyed this book, first one I’ve read about anthropology. When I looked it up the internet said it is used a lot for college courses of the subject which is good to hear. The writing is about this tribe of native people who live in Venezuela and Brazil. It goes into a lot of great detail about the peoples’ diet, traditions and way of life. There are a lot of striking B&W images interlaced into the text as well. There is an absurd amount of mention of plantains so it must make up a large part of their diet. I also remember these two pictures: one of this man using a device made of tree branches to climb a tree as well as another of a man’s badly beaten scalp from club fighting. The book also mentions battles and migration during the dry season between different tribes and villages. Very interesting book that makes me want to learn more about anthropology because I don’t know that much yet.
July 16, 2022
Very interesting look into the culture of the indigenous Yanomamo in the what we call Venezuela (mythology, warfare, medicine, politics etc) as they deal with Western acculturation in the form of Christian missionaries that are supported by the Venezuelan government. Extensive time spent in the field allowed Chagnon to construct a rare and detailed ethnography in an effort to familiarize Westerners with this beautiful culture which is intended to help them treat the Yanomamo more humanely when they inevitably come into more contact with them. The anecdotes and stories in this book are funny at times, sad at times but always eye-opening and insightful.
October 20, 2022
Inicialmente publicado en 1968, y con sucesivas ampliaciones y actualizaciones tras las nuevas visitas del antropólogo a esta tribu del Amazonas, durante casi tres décadas. Muchas cosas fueron cambiando, y más han cambiado hasta nuestros días, como podemos ver en recientes programas de televisión y nuevas informaciones. Unas formas de vida realmente interesantes, con muchos aspectos positivos, pero difíciles de mantener ante la presión e invasión de nuestra sociedad. Sin entrar en las polémicas suscitadas, en todo caso el libro resulta muy interesante.
September 13, 2020
There's no doubt the book is well-written and is very engaging, funny and easy to read. As just a book without any larger context it is all and all a very solid one. However, it is controversial for a reason. Its ethical and political implications are, to put it mildly, problematic. The desire to make socio-biology and evolutionary psychology a thing is just... unscientific to say the least. Ya'll hear somn? *woof woof* I think it might be the racism watchdog ....
November 22, 2023
A fascinating read. Compelling. Horrifying. Powerful. Provoking and honest.
I am not interested in anthropology, but I have read several popular science books of American and Northern indigenous tribes and their culture in the past. This book is unlike any other. The culture and lifestyle it describes is so totally different from anything we have now that every single passage is a revelation of some kind.
Suggested reading to anyone interested in the ways of humankind.
I am not interested in anthropology, but I have read several popular science books of American and Northern indigenous tribes and their culture in the past. This book is unlike any other. The culture and lifestyle it describes is so totally different from anything we have now that every single passage is a revelation of some kind.
Suggested reading to anyone interested in the ways of humankind.
November 15, 2024
This book sent me down the deepest rabbit-hole! First I watched some of Chagnon and Asch's anthropology documentaries, and from that learned about some of the controversies surrounding Chagnon, and from exploring that, then learned about the even crazier controversies around Lizot and Kenneth Good's visits to the Yanomamo. Wow. It took me almost a month to read this barely 200-page ethnography because I kept detouring to related articles and documentaries, and it has been a WILD ride.
May 10, 2021
Although I understand there is some controversy with Chagnon, he did make for an engaging book on cultural anthropology. Even the chapters which are purely factual or a deeper analysis of the culture, are interesting and propels the reader through a thought provoking perspective of the Yanamamo people.
August 12, 2018
I read this whilst at university. Highly recommended.
August 18, 2020
Read this for my EE and the font was fucking sized 3 or smtg but it was interesting
February 13, 2024
I loved reading it as an Ethnography. But knowing what I know about Chagnon really drops this rating😅😅😅.
August 22, 2024
Really tough read but had no idea about the community or their practices 👌🏽
May 19, 2025
Very fascinating. A lot to admire about the Yanomami way of life but also a fair amount to criticize.
January 11, 2017
The Orinoco Yanomamo from an outsider's perspective. Human beings are fascinating.
February 28, 2014
Interesting read due to the current controversy surrounding Chagnon and his methods. Thought book was ok. I would have gave a higher score for Chagnon's writing skills or depictions of adventurous moments if not for the Yanomamo being an uninteresting subject at times (personal opinion of course).
Positives: The preface and first section have a narrative style that introduces you to the Yanomamo people while casting Chagnon as a real life explorer the likes of which the western world has rarely seen in the last half century. The section about the spiritual beliefs of the Yanomamo is fascinating, as are the stories of the Jaguar. The war story near the end almost reads like fiction.
Negatives: Many sections are a bit dry and oddly organized. Chagnon is brutally honest at times, which is great at times, but he writes in such a way as to be looking down at the people he studies. He uses this to describe his culture shock, but never really lets up with it in the book. He avoided the imbibing of certain foods and drugs and did not give in-depth descriptions of food taste or effects of drugs. In sections where he combats the protein theory he comes off as a bit of an ass (which was mildly entertaining at first but then just felt more like he was using his large platform to humiliate his peers). Yanomamo as a whole are interesting for about 50-100 pages of material for the non anthropologist.
Positives: The preface and first section have a narrative style that introduces you to the Yanomamo people while casting Chagnon as a real life explorer the likes of which the western world has rarely seen in the last half century. The section about the spiritual beliefs of the Yanomamo is fascinating, as are the stories of the Jaguar. The war story near the end almost reads like fiction.
Negatives: Many sections are a bit dry and oddly organized. Chagnon is brutally honest at times, which is great at times, but he writes in such a way as to be looking down at the people he studies. He uses this to describe his culture shock, but never really lets up with it in the book. He avoided the imbibing of certain foods and drugs and did not give in-depth descriptions of food taste or effects of drugs. In sections where he combats the protein theory he comes off as a bit of an ass (which was mildly entertaining at first but then just felt more like he was using his large platform to humiliate his peers). Yanomamo as a whole are interesting for about 50-100 pages of material for the non anthropologist.
October 23, 2016
U početku sam bila uzbuđena što čitam nešto drugačije i to ni manje, ni više nego o plemenu na ušću Orinoka koje i danas postoji, što je retkost.
Šanon prvo objašnjava kakav je šok doživeo kad je tek započeo terensko istraživanje; zapitao se zašto je uopšte želeo da se bavi antropologijom i kako diplomatski da se izvuče iz situacije koja je bila njegova dobrovoljna odluka. Dočekalo ga je mnoštvo prljavih, okrutnih i divljih ljudi, što je sušta suprotnost od onoga što je očekivao - to nije pleme koje je jedva čekalo da prihvati stranca i uspostavi prijateljske veze sa njim. Međutim, vremenom se Šanon adaptirao i naučio dosta o njihovoj adaptaciji, političkoj organizaciji, kulturi i ishrani.
Nakon čitanja, mogu da kažem samo jedno: volim što sam deo savremenog sveta i što me niko ne gađa mačetama i strelama kad ne radim nešto po njihovom ukusu, što neću morati da ubijam svoju decu ukoliko nisu muška ili ukoliko smatram da ja to ipak ne mogu da izvedem, pa ostavim dete da umre samo od gladi ili ga bacim i sve snage da udari o drvo (žene su praktikovale abortus na izrazito surove načine, recimo trudnica legne na leđa dok joj druga žena sve vreme skače po stomaku). Hvala na zanimljivim pričama o kulturi i njihovom mišljenju o kosmosu, nastanku sveta i duši. Što se ostalog tiče, daleko bilo i daleko ostalo.
August 10, 2022
I've never really knew much about the Yanomamo before this besides the fact that they lived in circular structures and used hallucinatory drugs. And only that because I had to do a tiny bit of research on them for a class a year ago. But I knew that a lot of other people knew about them, especially other anthropologists. Thus when I saw the class I was tutoring was going to read this book I was excited. Since I also read what they read I was in for an adventure. And it was an adventure. I love learning about new cultures and this is a very distinct culture. I even liked Chagnon's writing style. His voice really came through. I actually even have a favorite quote too which is rare for textbooks. Sometimes I got fed up with the long long chapters, but that was mostly due to class restraints. To get the whole book read in addition to another case study and a generic introduction to cultural anthropology there was a lot of reading each week. I would have liked to take this book just a bit slower. Even still, it was great to finally learn about the Yanomamo. Again, if the reader likes to learn about the big and small aspects of different cultures, it not all that dry. If you don't, it will come off as very dry I'm afraid. So read it only if you like learning about other cultures. That is when it will be worth it. (PS. Movies supplement the book really really well)
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