Social Organization of the Yanomamo Based on Kinship - Essay Example

 Kinship is a basic human trait. It is an important component that drives social behavior in every culture around the world. So also among the Yanomamo. Their social and political life is wholly controlled by kinship relationships (Chagnon, 1983). The Yanomamo communities live in small settlements or villages numbering 363 having 30 – 90 residents each, but sometimes reaching 200 or more (Hames, 1995).

According to Chagnon (1974), the larger the village size more intense their warfare. The people (numbering about 30 to 200) grouped by families live in one large circular communal dwelling, called a Shabono, having an open-air central plaza. Such an area of residence helps create strong bonds among the people living there. The social organization of the Yanomamo has based on kinship The people of the Yanomamo tribe classify themselves into two groupings - sibs (that is, clans) or lineages, both of which are formed based on kinship ties (Kensinger, 1996).

Sib members trace their descent through their father from a named ancestor, “….are dispersed throughout many villages and provide hospitality and safety for visiting kin.” (Kensinger, 1996). As lineages are generally formed to promote the political ambitions of actual or wannabe leaders, they reflect the oscillations in political power. Usually, disputes over leadership within lineages lead to village fissioning, and thereby to the scattering and even destruction of lineages. Yanomamo marriages The marriage exchange system of the Yanomamo people is generally based on kinship.

It follows 4 main principles namely, lineage exogamy, bilateral cross-cousin marriage, village endogamy, and polygyny. The Yanomamo society is exogamous and persons from the same localized lineage are prohibited from marrying. The members jointly take part in the selection of marriage partners for their children from within the allied lineage groups. The marriage system builds regular relationships between pairs of lineage groups who commonly intermarry through a system of bilateral cross-cousin marriage (www.umanitoba.ca).

A moiety system is created by such intermarriages when the intermarrying units co-reside in the same village. The co-settlement of intermarrying lineages is an example of village endogamy. Although under such a marriage system the Yanomamo lineages have collective rights to marry off their women and claim wives in exchange, they are not vested with the rights of administering joint assets such as land (www.umanitoba.ca). The practice of polygyny by the Yanomamo is exemplified by the fact that the men of the tribe commonly marry more than one wife. Polygyny among the Yanomamo is typically associated with the men’s rank or other achievements (Chagnon, 1983).