Yanomamophoto credit 34

    The Yanomamo tribe lives in South America. To be more exact, in the northwest part of Brazil, and the southeastern part of Venezuela. The Yanomamo are a fiercely independent war-like people.  They are reported to have had no contact with the outside world until the late 1940's.  Their current population is estimated at 20,000 people.  Their existence was threatened by an influx of thousands of Brazilian gold prospectors, in the late 1980's, who found themselves in the tribes' territories.  Some of the tribe was killed.  In 1991, the Brazilian and Venezuelan governments set aside a huge area of land for this tribe. This was made into  the tribe's homeland, to hopefully help save them from extinction.
    The Yanomamo hunt many animals. They hunt mostly jaguars, ocelots, tigers, and some other of the jungle rulers. The Yanomamo tribe loves monkey meat. They eat squirrels, spiders, and Howler monkeys.  They also hunt for some of the animals like deer, birds, and some other mammals that prowl the rain forest.
    The Yanomamo tribe eats a big variety of food. They eat fruits, meats from animals they hunt, and nuts.  Some specific foods they eat are bananas, plum fruit, honey, berries, and many other foods they gather.  When they kill the bird and cat meat, they use all the animal to make instruments, blankets, and clothes.
     People of the Yanomamo Indian tribe have many different spiritual and religious beliefs.  The people traditionally believe in plant and animals spirits.  There are good ones and bad ones.  They also believe in mythological beings in human form.  People in the tribe called SHAMANS are believed to be able to make amazing contact with the supernatural, and cure illnesses thought to be caused by different kinds of sorcery.
     The Yanomamo tribe have very small villages.  They consist of two or more small, unrelated patrilineages. They usually exchange women in marriage.  Enemy tribes have nothing to do with exchanging women in marriage. Chronic warfare among groups has conditioned the tribe's settlement areas and patterns.  People that were once allies sometimes become enemies, causing groups to have disagreements.  The Yanomamo Indians are amazing!