Politics and Violence in Regards to the Yanomamo Culture

1. From what I understood, killing within the Yanomamo culture tends to put focus on how the murder could affect them as opposed to remorse in having murdered someone. For example, those who commit murder partake in a cleansing ritual in which the spirit of the slain would be exorcized to avoid said spirit haunting them. In simpler terms, the Yanomamo people place a focus on how the murder would affect their everyday life rather than focusing on the act of taking a life (as said act of taking a life is viewed in a net neutral/even positive light). 

In general, the response to a killing in Yanomamo culture differs slightly from those of a western culture in that if a killing occurs within a tribe, a schism occurs and the two resulting groups often war (and kill one another as an extension) amongst the newly divided tribe. While it is true disagreements between groups occur all the time within western cultures, killing people from the opposing group/party is not a "valid" and/or legal response. 

These killings also differ on a macro scale, as Yanomamo culture states it is alright to settle disputes through said killings (western culture would clearly be very different if killing was a valid, legal response to settling a debate). Again, it should be stated that while it is true disagreements between groups occur all the time within western cultures, killing people from the opposing group/party is not a "valid" and/or legal response. 

2. For one, the Yanomamo culture may treat revenge killing as a form of emotional relief.  It can be a common sentiment expressed to desire violence upon the death of a loved one, regardless of whether the death was of natural causes or not. 

These revenge killings also serve as a way to process grief, especially in cases where the death of a tribes member may have been caused due to murder. These killings can serve to represent the attachments fellow tribes members have for one another. For example, in one instance, a village chief was slain by an opposing neighboring tribe in response to a previous killing. In response to his death, the tribe stored and consumed his ashes over a period of time as a way to "remind" them of who they had lost and to carry on his legacy. 

Yanomamo revenge killings can also be used as a solution to settling debates both within ones own tribe and other neighboring tribes. For example, if one person is promised another persons hand in marriage, and the second person refuses to marry them, this situation could cause a civil-war type dispute in which those in the tribes take sides thus leading to one or more killings. On the other hand, in a hypothetical situation where a bride was promised to a groom from another neighboring tribe and she refuses to marry said groom, the first tribe may attack and kill members of the tribe of the bride as revenge for breaking the agreement/promise shared. 

These killings also serve a "practical" purpose in regards to outside tribes, in the sense that they serve as a invasion deterrent. Stronger/more viscous (or more successful) raids generally lead to the forming of a stronger reputation in which a tribe is potentially less likely to be invaded.

3. One benefit of achieving the status of unokai is the prestige associated with the title. Those who are unokai are known both within and outside their tribe, along with their victims. 

Another benefit to this is their security in terms of food, relations, and habitat. An unokai is much more likely to be recruited into a tribe if they are willing to kill for the "betterment"/benefit of the tribe (as opposed to one who is unwilling to murder for said tribe). If they are welcomed into a tribe, they are more likely to be provided with and/or reap the benefit of the spoils/products of the tribe (whether that spoil/product is food, women, or shelter). 

Once an unokai achieves this status, however, they aren't finished proving themselves. An unokai can still lose the respect of his tribe if he were to run from a killing raid, and one who does not have the respect of his tribe suffers in many ways. One such way is the potential loss of his wives- one who is not respected will often have their wives courted by other men, and thus risk losing the benefits that come with having wives. If a respected individual is already in danger of losing his wives, imagine one who refuses to kill for the benefit of the tribe- they are much much more likely to not be respected and thus they have much more to lose. 

4. See Below 

A. Political Structure: The relationship between killings and Political structure within the Yanomamo culture is linked in multiple ways. For one, there is a great importance placed on village chiefs within this culture- in one example, a slain village chief was mourned over a period of years, and the tribe that had slain him was still continually raided despite being a 4 days walk worth of distance away. 

In another example, the death of a village chief depressed the tribe in such a way that the tribe did not commit raids for an entire year. The pausing of these raids led to a loss of respect for the entire tribe, and thus the tribe was labeled a group of cowards. This status then led to the group being more reliant on other tribes. The said tribe eventually grew to require more protection under another tribe because the other neighboring tribes grew more aggressive in response. 

What was previously mentioned also doesn't touch upon the response other tribes had in regards to the courting of women- the women of the tribe that was labeled cowards were subject to much more courting from outside men looking for wives. 

B. Social Status/Social Organization: The relationship between killings and social status/social organization within the Yanomamo culture is closely linked. One who is willing to participate in raids and kill for the tribe will be generally more respected than one who refuses. Additionally, those with the title of unokai are noted and respected within Yanomamo groups, regardless of whether the unokai is from your tribe (in many cases, other tribes will attempt to enlist respected unokai in exchange for security in food, mates, and shelter). 

The previous mentioned points also do not fully touch on the respect that the title of unokai grants in regards to within ones own tribe- for example, one who has earned that title is much less likely to have their wives courted by the other men within the tribe.  

C. Kinship: The relationship between killings and kinship within the Yanomamo culture is linked closer than one may imagine. As the more respected unokai generally have more children, it goes without saying that those respected unokai are more likely to pass on their genes/lineage. This, paired with the knowledge that Yanomamo culture follows a patrilineal descent pattern, thus leads to the simple conclusion that the more respected a unokai is, the larger their lineage will be. As the article suggests, the Yanomamo kinship is one driven by primarily violence.   

D. Marriage and Reproduction: The relationship between killings and marriage/reproduction within the Yanomamo culture is closely linked. For one, the more a man is respected (due to his status/reputation as an unokai) the more access he has to wives, and thus more access to reproduction (in one case, one man had as many as 43 children from 11 wives). 

Conversely, if a man suffers a loss of respect (due to cowardice in regards to a tribe raid, for example) the man's wives will often be courted more frequently by other men in the tribe as an attempt to win them over. 

In simpler terms, by maintaining the respect earned by killing for the tribe, men are more able to secure more wives and future progeny while also maintaining the wives they already have. 

5. I believe we need laws punishing people for things people should not want to regularly do (i.e. murder, thievery, etc.) as deterrent for those who are considering committing the crime.

Regardless of having the punishment for a crime in place or not, there will always be individuals who will break said law regardless of the severity of the punishment (serial killers, for example). By putting the punishment for breaking the law in place and punishing the individual who would commit the crime regardless, you are setting an example to everyone else.

For example, say someone is considering robbing a bank at gunpoint. Then, they watch the news and see that another person attempted to rob a bank, and was apprehended and charged with a life sentence.  By setting this example, the person who is considering robbing the bank may rethink their choice. By setting this example, the crime was prevented from occurring again/occurring in a lower frequency.