Strangest Mysteries of the World and Beyond !

Yanomamis- Dead eating tribe

Yanomamis- Dead eating tribe 

The Yanomamo (or "tree people," also known as the "foot tribe") get their name from the villages constructed of "shabonos." In total, the Yanomamo number in the thousands in 200 to 250 widely scattered villages in the tropical forest of the Amazon, between Venezuela and Brazil.

Yanomamis move continuously, that is to say, are nomadic. These displacements are motivated by the short period of the productivity of their cultivations. Their houses have conical form and live in groups of families. The situation of the cabins can vary and in numerous occasions, instead of to form a circle, they form a row. The families share with the other families of the community obtained products of the hunting, the fishing or the harvest (within each shabono coexists several families like a community). When they meet around the bonfire that is in center of shabono, they eat, they talk, they make his tools, they explain his histories, myths, legend and teach to the children his traditions.

The tribes have a very caustic, warlike relationship among each other within the jungle -- wars typically come about as a result of a need for resources, especially women, and/or the bad vibes or bad magic between one tribe over another. If a baby dies in a village, it is commonly thought that a neighboring village shaman (voodoo doctor, spiritual or political chief of a village) performed some malevolent voodoo ("hekura") to the other rival village, causing the stealing of the "soul" of the child, and ultimately the death.

One of the most peculiar and primitive customs of this ethnic group is the practice of endogámico cannibalism like sacred ritual: The body of the deceased is set afire in a remote region away from the village (so as not to dirty the village or its food) and then the remaining bones and ash are pulverized into a fine powder which is mixed into a beverage (often juice from the plantain). The beverage is then consumed by the deceased person's relatives. This "drinking of the dead" is thought to be the way for the deceased's soul to enter the body of their living descendants, thus providing spiritual and physical strength to combat the evils of the jungle.

Although the Yanomamo are known as endocannibals (choosing to eat from their own tribe) they are an aggressive and violent clan who have very tumultuous relationships with anyone perceived as being "other than" their tribe, or towards out-and-out foreigners. Anyone discerned as being "other" than the tribe, is considered to be subhuman.

Women are often victims of physical abuse and anger. Inter-village warfare is common, but does not too commonly affect women. When Yanomami tribes fight and raid nearby tribes, women are often raped, beaten, and brought back to their shabono to be kept in their tribe.

During the raids, Yanomami men capture and bring back the other women in hopes of marrying them. Wives are beaten on a regular basis, so as to keep them docile and faithful to their husbands. Jealousy causes a majority of the violence. Women are beaten with clubs, sticks, machetes, and other blunt or sharp objects. Burning with a branding stick occurs often, and symbolizes a male’s strength or dominance over his wife

There was a Yanomami blood controversy:

In 1967, thousands of blood samples were taken from Yanomami Indians in Brazil and Venezuela, by North American researchers.

The researchers, led by geneticist James Neel and anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon, intended the samples to be used for biomedical research, but they took the blood without the informed consent of the Yanomami.

This unparalleled violation of scientific ethics sparked a fierce international debate between geneticists, anthropologists and Yanomami Indians which has lasted over forty years.

Davi Kopenawa, Yanomami shaman and spokesman, said that the scientists did not specify how the blood would be used. He stated, ‘Nobody imagined that the blood would be kept in their freezers… We were all very sad when we realized that our blood and blood of our deceased ancestors was being preserved… Science is not a god who knows what is best for everybody. It is we Yanomami who know whether or not research is good for our people’.

The Yanomami have spent years urging that the blood be returned to them, because for them the preservation of the blood of a deceased person is unthinkable. May 2010 saw a landmark turning point when it was announced that the blood samples would be returned to the Amazon.

Latest threats

Over 1,000 gold-miners are now working illegally on Yanomami land, transmitting deadly diseases like malaria and polluting the rivers and forest with mercury. Cattle ranchers are invading and deforesting the eastern fringe of their land.

Yanomami health is suffering and critical medical care is not reaching them, especially in Venezuela.

Today, many NGO’s are supporting their health and education projects. Also,leading the international campaign for the demarcation of Yanomami territory.

Hope this indigenous tribe with its own fascinating culture and traditions is able to survive for many more years to come.