Man Called Bee: Studying the Yanomamo

DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide A Man Called Bee: Studying the Yanomamo

Forward: film, Dead Birds, which focused Taken from Timothy on warfare among the Dani of Irian Jaya. (It is not surpris-

Asch’s Bias in Ethno- ing that Chagnon first took his graphic Reporting own film footage of the Yano- mamo to Gardner for evalu- In 1968, Napoleon Chagnon ation and advice.) By 1966, invited me to join a multi-disci- when Chagnon submitted his plinary expedition to study the Ph.D. dissertation, the United CONTENTS Yanomamo. As a result of this States was increasingly divided trip, we completed two films, over the Vietnam war-ghetto one an introduction to the dwellers would soon burn cit- Forward Yanomamo that included the p 1 ies and young men burn draft work of the population geneti- cards. The entire country was cists on the expedition, and the preoccupied with the subject other about a feast held be- of violence. And as is so often tween two villages to initiate an the case, anthropological in- Introduction alliance. Later, we received a p 6 terests were influenced by the joint grant to return for further concerns of the wider society, filming and in 1971 we shot particularly the campus com- footage that we subsequently munity. Transcript made into 36 films. These In the social and biologi- p 6 films represent a collaborative cal sciences there was a swing effort that benefited from each toward the exploration of the of our strengths. biological roots of behavior epitomized in the 1966 pub- Film Credits Political Climate During lications of On Aggression by p 15 Chagnon’s Initial Re- Konrad Lorenz and The Terri- search torial Imperative by Robert Ar- dry. Anthropologists, such as Chagnon began his research Sherwood Washburn and Irven Contact Information among the Yanomamo in 1964. Devore, were studying primate p 15 This was the same year that social behavior in order to see Robert Gardner completed his both how aggression was han-

Yanomamo Film Series 1 GUIDE: A Man Called Bee DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide dled within different species and whether we at me and said, “It’s alright, I only have to could learn something about human social shoot one of them.” (Was that a joke?) That organization by looking for analogies in the really terrified me, for l thought, “Shoot one social organization of our closest biological of these Yanomamo and the others would cousins. make you into a pin cushion with their ar- Thus, when Chagnon ‘discovered’ the Ya- rows.” nomamo, an isolated society that still en- When I got to the center of the village, I gaged in frequent raiding and acts of hostil- dramatically struck my pose and then what ity, his work quickly came to the attention of seemed like hundreds of Yanomamo came other social scientists, winning him consider- running down upon us, all rattling their long able recognition. Chagnon first published bows and arrows, making a terrible, fearsome Yanomamo: The Fierce People in 1968. It clatter. Finally, we were individually taken has subsequently sold over one million copies to a hammock and there I was minutely - according to Chagnon, more than any other examined by a number of Yanomamo war- ethnography. In that same year Fried, Harris riors. “Look how white and peaked his skin and Murphy edited and published The Anthro- is. How on earth did such a skinny, weak pology of Armed Conflict and Aggression, which looking person manage to walk that great contained an article by Chagnon on the ef- distance? He looks like a monkey with all fects of war on Yanomamo social structure. that hair under his arms.” On the other The previous year, Natural History Magazine hand, when they went to inspect Chagnon, had published an article by Chagnon. His he passed muster very nicely with hardly a portrayal of the Yanomamo seemed to strike murmur. a sympathetic chord among both academic At the end of this long day, I was physically and general readers in America. and emotionally exhausted. When I tried to tie my hammock to a pole, I suddenly real- Collaboration Between Different ized that I had forgotten the knot that I had Personalities been taught to tie the night before. I tied it once and got into my hammock with great Working with Chagnon among the Ya- relief. But no sooner had I sat in the ham- nomamo wasn’t always easy. For example, mock, than it collapsed to the ground. I Chagnon and I accompanied about 15 Yano- got up and tied it again, but the same thing mamo men and women on a three-day jour- happened. I just couldn’t get up a third time. ney through the jungle to a proposed feast in Finally, Napoleon, who was reclining in his a distant village. We snuck up on the village hammock with his hand respectfully over his and only at the last moment announced, by face, turned to me and shouted in a hoarse shouting, that we were nearby. Napoleon whisper, “For God’s sake, get up and tie your and the headman who had guided us knelt at hammock, you’re embarrassing the entire the entrance to the village with his shotgun expedition!” over his knees. I was told to go into the cen- On the second day while walking in the ter of the village with the other visitors and jungle, I tripped. “He’s so harmless he strike the usual heroic pose. I borrowed a couldn’t hit a tapir with a bow and arrow at machete from somebody and nervously pre- 20 feet,” a headman told Chagnon shortly pared to do as was told. Napoleon looked up thereafter. Needless to say, my role was soon

GUIDE: A Man Called Bee 2 Yanomamo Film Series DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide one of comic relief compared to Chagnon’s 30 hours of exposed film. He or she may macho male. Of course, Chagnon might be never use the remaining footage. In an effort justified in arguing that I could afford to play to make the best use of his Ju/wasi (!Kung) this role because I was under his protection. footage, the filmmaker John Marshall, de- But frequently, I have found it beneficial to veloped a new approach: the sequence film put myself under the protection of others- method. After I had worked with Marshall anthropologists or local people- and to admit on such sequence films as The Meat Fight and my cultural incompetence when I am new to An Argument About a Marriage, I was eager to a community. apply this approach to filming the Yano- Certainly, here is mamo. Thus, when- an example of how ever I turned on the personality can af- camera, I tried to fect the way in which film long sustained each of us behaves in shots of social in- another culture. The teraction that com- consequences of per- prised a sequence. sonality differences We produced these on data collection are sequences, each as compounded because an independent film, these differences and then we made usually influence our more general films choice of informants out of them, like A and influence a po- Man Called “Bee”: tential informant’s Studying the Yanoma- attraction to us. mo, which focuses on Chagnon’s fieldwork and research methodol- Filmmaking ogy. The contrast in these two kinds of films, as well as Chagnon’s and my biases, is well I lacked the confidence in my own ability illustrated by two films we made that use the to make a complex, narrative film about the same footage of a man and woman talking Yanomamo that would represent their cultur- and weaving a hammock (A Man and His Wife al perspective in any significant way. This, Weave Hammocks). combined with my ambition to demonstrate that ethnographic film could become a valu- Fieldwork able component in teaching anthropology, led me to take a sequence based approach to Fieldwork seems to me to have four quite our film project. different goals: to contribute to contempo- It is common in documentary filmmak- rary analyses and discourse on ethnography, ing to only make one general film out of to broaden and enrich the life of the field- the entire corpus of footage shot. In order worker, to record some of the lives and voices to tell a story, the filmmaker usually takes a of a group of people who might otherwise be few feet from here and a few feet from there silent, and to provide data for future scholars to make a one-hour film out of as much as to analyze, thus serving as an historical re-

Yanomamo Film Series 3 GUIDE: A Man Called Bee DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide cord for members of the group studied. Yet, tural guides. If general ethnographies, such as I have pointed out, it is very difficult for as most of those in the Spindler Introduc- an ethnographer to attain all of these goals tory series, were to acknowledge this bias in a single, written ethnography. This is and to state openly that they primarily reflect because the interpretative nature of ethnog- the views of those in power, we would avoid raphy allows our biases to seep in. characterizing whole groups by the behavior I also believe that there are ways in which of their leaders. This would at least identify we can reduce the effect of our biases in our the nature of the descriptions and analyses work. In order to do this we should recog- presented in these texts, and it might encour- nize each of our biases individually. Gen- age us to recognize that other kinds of stud- der is one of the most obvious influences on ies were necessary to enrich our understand- fieldwork. Not only are each of us socialized ing of other societies. into the gender roles and attitudes of our Another way to reduce personal biases is to own society, but the societies that we study work in pairs, particularly male/female pairs have their own gender-based distinctions. or in teams to juxtapose different perspec- It is often difficult for men to get access tives. Such approaches admit the presence to women’s activities. Many people have of bias and are useful in grasping the com- criticized plexity of any social group. Moreover, Chagnon’s they capitalize on the contrasts between work be- the researchers, not only by broadening cause of the database but also by demonstrating its male how asking different kinds of questions bias. I of different people in a community pro- think this duces different findings. is largely Many of the criticisms aimed at writ- unfair. He ten ethnographies, also apply to eth- is a male. nographic films. The vast majority of Yet this these films have been made by white does cause men about male leaders in non-west- difficulty ern societies. The balance can only be when he is asked to speak or write about addressed if we overtly look at different Yanomamo society as a whole and charac- types of social actors and if the films are terizes all of the men, women and children made by people with different backgrounds: as “The Fierce People”. Happily his latest women, minorities and people from within (fourth) edition (1992) drops this label and the communities being represented. Even retains the simple title of Yanomamo. Chagnon and I, two white males, chose dif- Yanomamo headmen control important ferent people and activities to film. Imagine ritual and political knowledge and it is they how different our representations might have who have the power to grant permission to been, had our differences been even greater. reside in their villages. (In many parts of I believe that film can contribute most the world, this power resides with men.) It directly to the second two goals of ethnog- is common for these male leaders to become raphers that I outlined above: to give a voice anthropologists’ chief informants and cul- to people who might otherwise be silent, and

GUIDE: A Man Called Bee 4 Yanomamo Film Series DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide to provide historical data for future analysis. animal. Long sequences with synchronized sound do Finally, if the resulting footage is properly allow members of a group some voice, even documented and archived with the ethnog- though selected and bounded by an outsider. rapher’s transcriptions, translations and Although the filmmaker decides when to field notes, along with related publications, turn on the camera and where to point it, he it can serve not only as a valuable historical (and it usually has been a he) doesn’t control record, but it can also be used by scholars everything that is in the frame. Often films for re-examination and reinterpretation of provide evidence to support interpretations a culture. Having access to this raw data contrary to, the ones suggested by the eth- would allow future scholars to ask new kinds nographer. For example, when Margaret of questions. It would also give descendents Mead used film to illustrate her interpreta- of those filmed a better opportunity to view tion of Balinese socialization and Balinese their predecessors on their own terms. This character at the meetings of the American is not to say, of course, that the raw data Anthropology Association, other scholars does not reveal certain biases. Nevertheless, criticized her findings, using as evidence the I do believe that field notes and unedited very film she had shown to support her anal- film footage allow for a reinterpretation of a ysis. culture more easily than does a completed, Long shots, that follow individuals through interpretative ethnography, or narrative-style a set of relationships, make explicit whose ethnographic film. perspective is being represented. Even if the I’m reminded of a story told about an film focuses on a headman, for example, the exhibit of portraits of the great photogra- audience does have evidence of how other pher, Alfred Stieglitz. Many of the exhibit- social actors are behaving and it knows that ing photographers had come to the opening. the focus is on a headman and not on all While they were eating cheese and crackers men or all members of the society. Because and drinking wine outside the gallery, Stieg- videotape has inexpensive, two-hour long litz quietly studied each of the photographs cassettes, filmmakers can now follow events intently. After a while he walked out of the without interruption. They can allocate a gallery and announced to the photographers, percentage of their footage to covering the “You know, so many photographs and yet not lives of a variety of social actors-men, wom- one of them is really a portrait of me.” The en and children-while focusing the majority implication was that the portraits told more of their attention on a specific project or about the photographers than they did about group of people. For example, Jane Good- Stieglitz. all, Christopher Boehm and assistants at the Although it is not the purpose of anthro- Gombe Chimpanzee Center followed the pology to do so, anthropologists often use an- central Alpha male for several months to other culture to produce an image of them- provide a continuous videotaped record of selves and their own culture. I have tried to his behavior. Additionally, they have video- outline the ways that this can happen, and I taped the behavior of all the other members have tried to present some ways to ameliorate of the troop on a roster basis, focusing on the it. Whether we are scientists, anthropolo- behavior of a single animal for a day, thus gists, artists or historians, we should openly recording all those who interacted with that recognize our biases because these critically

Yanomamo Film Series 5 GUIDE: A Man Called Bee DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide influence what we perceive and later what we in the first year were based on false data, and represent to others, through our writing and had to be discarded). Between the images film editing. and the commentary we also glimpse some of And, while we cannot avoid the biases and the ambiguities of the anthropologist’s role problems inherent in the interpretation of and his relation to the subjects of his study. culture, if we make as careful a record of For example, in the tension between mutual rapidly changing cultures as we can, we cer- exploitation and reciprocity. The film com- tainly can make it easier for the reinterpreta- plements Chagnon’s book on his fieldwork, tion of culture. studying the Yanomamo. Boris Pasternak once said that the good thing about being a writer is that: “Although the artist will die, the happi- Transcription ness of living which he has experienced is immortal; captured in a personal and VOICE OVER NARRATION yet universal form, it can actually be relived by others through his work.” The Yanomamo Indians of Venezuela and Perhaps the good thing about being an Brazil presently number 15,000 people, liv- ethnographer is that we have an opportunity ing in some 150 villages that are scattered to represent another people’s unique culture over a vast tropical forest. During the past in a way that tells us more about them than it 100 years, the Yanomamo have expanded does us. in all directions from the Sierra Parima, a chain of low lying forested hills that forms the backbone of the tribal distribution. This expansion is still going on today, continuing Introduction a process of micro political evolution, which has led to linguistic, demographic, and or- This is one of the few ethnographic films in ganizational differences in the large blocks which the anthropologist appears as one of of villages that comprise the entire tribe. In the subjects, and as such it is a lively intro- the central and southwestern areas, villages duction to the nature of fieldwork. Napo- are very large, warfare is intense, and social leon Chagnon, who lived among the Yano- organization is more complex than in other mamo for 36 months over a period of eight regions. In the southwest, The Shamatari years, is shown in various roles as “fieldwork- population bloc is typical. Their original vil- er”: entering a village armed with arrows and lages grew to about 150 people, and fissioned adorned with feathers; sharing coffee with to produce two new villages. These new the shaman Dedeheiwa who recounts the villages entered into wars with each other, myth of fire; dispensing eye drops to a baby moving further and further apart, penetrat- and accepting in turn a shaman’s cure for his ing new lands. In turn, each village grew, fis- own illness; collecting voluminous genealo- sioned, and entered into wars among them- gies; making tapes, maps, Polaroid photos; selves and with their neighbors. Today, there and attempting to analyze such patterns as are about a dozen villages in the Shamatari village fission, migration, and aggression. cluster, all descended by fissioning and popu- The commentary touches on the problems of lation growth from a single village. During the fieldworker (all the genealogies compiled the past 8 years, I have spent a total of 36

GUIDE: A Man Called Bee 6 Yanomamo Film Series DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide months among the Yanomamo, collecting and excitedly tries to converse with me. He anthropological data that describes and ex- is a leader in his own village, which broke plains this process of growth and fissioning. away from Mishmishimabowei-Teri recently. Much of that time was spent in the village of He has temporarily moved back into Mish- Mishmishimabowei-Teri, one of the larger mishimabowei-Teri, at the insistence of his Shamatari villages, some 275 people in total. several brothers-in-law. He and the local headman are closely related in the male line, In 1968, against the and do not get along well. advice of my friends in They are competitors for the village of Bisaasi-Teri, women and leadership. I ascended the Mavaca River and contacted the SUBTITLED DIALOGUE: Mishmishimabowei-Teri, “Younger brother, when did who had never before seen you rejoin this village?” foreigners. The Bisaasi- “Just recently!” Teri, mortal enemies of “Aren’t you living some- the Mishmishimabowei- where else, though?” Teri, were certain that “No, I live here now ... over they would kill me on there in that house!” the spot, or that lahalas, “Well, I’ll be a…” fabulous water serpents, would rise up out of the VOICE OVER NARRA- river and devour me. I TION: I reciprocate the survived both these haz- continuing good will of the ards, and returned to visit people with goods and ser- the Mishmishimabowei-Teri every year until vices. They have grown to trust me, and to 1972. recognize the effectiveness of the medicines I always bring for them. They expect me to TITLE: MISHMISHIMABOWEI-TERI cure the perennial eye infections of the chil- 26 February 1971 dren and babies, and although their language has no words for thank you, they can express VOICE OVER NARRATION: their appreciation in other ways: a smile, a click of the tongue, or a gift of food. When I first went to live with the Yano- mamo, they wanted to know my name. I SUBTITLED DIALOGUE: told them that it was Chag-non, or Cha- “Hold him tight. None of it went into his gnon, but they couldn’t pronounce it. It eyes. He’s got a bad infection. I’ll give sounded to them like their name for a pesky him more medicine tomorrow.” bee, “shaki,” and that is what they decided to call me. To the Yanomamo, I am the VOICE OVER NARRATION: Wadoshewa man called “bee.” Visitors are supposed to and his brothers are an important faction in recline with poise. Nanokawa, one of the the village. No gift is unencumbered, and as hosts, grows impatient with his own customs, he presents me with a basket of smoked meat

Yanomamo Film Series 7 GUIDE: A Man Called Bee DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide and peach palm fruit, he whispers, Dedeheiwa possesses the truth about the spirits, and has tried to teach me his complex, SUBTITLED DIALOGUE: “Shaki, I’m out rich, and sophisticated religion. To perform of matches…” effectively as a religious leader, one must “You’re very generous. I’ll really enjoy this.” learn the behavior of all of the spirits; how “You should. I am generous.” they kill their enemies by destroying their “Why are you so generous? Why?” souls with fire, and how mortals, in the form “I am the one who is generous.” of hekura spirits, can kill other mortals by eating their souls, removing all trace of pol- VOICE OVER NARRATION: My pos- luting body fat by licking their fingers clean. sessions are more important to the Mish- Shamans spend many hours attacking their mishimabowei-Teri than my services, and we enemies in distant villages. Since people, always exchange items. I do not really want especially children, are dying regularly, this is the bows, arrows, spun cotton, and other proof that their spiritual aggression is effec- things they offer me, but I cannot do my tive. If the miyamo portion of one’s soul is work without providing them with fish hooks, devoured by enemies, there is no antidote. fish line, machetes, and knives. They would not ac- SUBTITLED DIALOGUE: cept me “When you take ebene again, put for very some here, in my nose!” long, “The headman (Moawa) gave me unless I this corn in exchange for sardines.” brought “Are you enjoying the corn?” them “I sure am.” these “Are you fierce? things. “Yup!” But if I gave them VOICE OVER NARRATION: Po- away laroid photographs are very conve- freely, nient in my census work. those who did not receive something would resent me, Primitive society is defined and organized in and all would be reminded of my stinginess. large part by kinship ties, marriage practices, Therefore we trade with each other. I have and descent from common ancestors. Ge- spent many delightful hours with Dedeheiwa, nealogical data are fundamental for building one of the most knowledgeable men I have a coherent picture of village composition and known, and a true leader. He has told me fissioning. It is therefore necessary to know about the details of village history, of ancient and understand the variations in kinship and current wars with other villages, and se- terminology, the system of classifying and crets of kinship and genealogy that bind the referring to relatives. Then I can show how members of his village together. As he peri- all the members of each village are related to odically reminded me, he possesses the truth. each other and I can construct a genealogical

GUIDE: A Man Called Bee 8 Yanomamo Film Series DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide diagram of the entire village. riage ties.

SUBTITLED DIALOGUE: Although I have known Amonamo for four “Is this your daughter?” years, it was not clear to me until this inter- “Yes.” view that she was the same person as Kash- “Did raiders take her away?” inamo, a name given to me by informants in “Yes, they dragged her away.” other, villages. All genealogical information has to be checked and cross checked with “This is Amotawa. How are you related to many informants from different villages in him?” order to eliminate redundancies and errors. “I call him ‘husband.”’ People often deceive me about names and relations in order to avoid using the names VOICE OVER NARRATION: of close kinsmen or in some cases, to play To study village fissioning, it is important to a practical joke. Because of this, I had to also show how the members of one village throw away most of the genealogical data I are related to people in other villages. Only collected during my first year of study. With then is it possible to find out how different detailed accounts of past wars and the his- kinship groups stayed together or divided tory of each settlement, and with accurate when earlier villages fissioned. genealogies that show how members of wide- ly separated villages are related, a complete SUBTITLED DIALOGUE: picture of village fissioning emerges. Village “Does she two names?” fissioning can be explained in terms of the “She certainly does!” marriage patterns, the social composition “You look confused.” of particular villages, and the demographic features of the population. VOICE OVER NARRATION: It is also possible to discover the size of large lineages The way people are related to each other and their significance in the politics of each by kinship and marriage is also reflected in village. Some large lineages are distributed where they live in the village. Whole lineage among all the villages that constitute a popu- segments, the adult males of the same lineal lation bloc. Mishmishimabowei-Teri is com- descent group, often occupy a single section prised of several large lineal descent groups, of the village with their wives and children. the largest of which is the headman’s group, Within the village, people avoid some kins- Moawa’s lineage. Nearly 85 percent of the men because of taboos, but may visit freely residents of Mishmishimabowei-Teri be- with others. The Yanomamo villages in this long to only four lineages. These have been region of the tribe are conspicuously larger bound to each other over several generations than those in other areas, and there is more by reciprocal marriage exchanges. But these living space for each person. The immense 4 lineages and others are also found in neigh- clearing in the center of the village is used boring Shamatari villages. Village fissioning for dancing, and as a playground for the divides the lineal groups into local segments children. When men have killed large game and redistributes them in new villages in on the hunt, they strut across the clearing to varying proportions depending on past mar- exhibit their abilities. Mapping the village in

Yanomamo Film Series 9 GUIDE: A Man Called Bee DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide great detail will enable me to show how liv- SUBTITLED DIALOGUE: ing space varies from village to village within “What’s this in the photograph?” a population bloc and between villages of “I don’t know. What is it?” adjacent population blocs. It appears that “It’s your village; see!” where political alliances based on feasting are important in inter-village affairs, the vil- “Where is the waterfall you call Shayarewa?” lages themselves are larger, to accommodate “Over there ... in that direction.” visitors who come to trade, dance and feast. Thus, inter-village politics has an effect, not VOICE OVER NARRATION: only on the numerical size of the village, but Two factors determine Yanomamo settlement on its physical size as well. pattern. Short, micro-movements are in response to the demands of agricul- One must have a ture. A garden plot is abandoned detailed map of after a few years, and a new plot the area around a is cleared nearby, often just be- village, in order to yond the existing garden. On the understand land other hand, the long migrations, views and agri- macro-movements, are determined cultural practices. by military factors. Detailed maps The Yanomamo based on field data, reveal the practice a kind of political and ecological reasons for slash-and-burn past village movements. Each gar- horticulture known den is associated with particular as “pioneering” prominent men who founded the cultivation. It is village. I collect their names in presently rare, but order to cross-reference settlement was much more pattern history with genealogies widespread in the and data with village fissioning. past. Land once People know where their children, used is never re- siblings and ancestors were born so cleared and cul- that the recent settlement history tivated a second of each village can be reconstruct- time. Many miles and thousands of fertile ed by using birthplace, estimated ages of acres separate Yanomamo villages. Still, village residents, and the maps of abandoned old garden regions are an attraction since garden sites. All of this information gradual- peach palm trees, which produce an impor- ly builds up until a detailed picture of village tant crop, continue to bear fruit long after fissioning emerges. the garden has been abandoned. Thus, new gardens are often found near old ones, and It took two years to become fluent enough in people prefer to remain in one general area Yanomamo to penetrate the rich concepts of for a long time, to exploit their peach palm mythology and cosmology. By then, I knew crops. enough about the various myths that I could ask knowledgeable men like Dedeheiwa to

GUIDE: A Man Called Bee 10 Yanomamo Film Series DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide recite particular myths as completely as they away. As Sloth was sailing through the air, could. By pretending to be ignorant of the the mountain fell and crushed Naro. Even myth, I could put informants at ease. They long after the birds had begun painting enthusiastically told me the complete truth, themselves with Naro’s blood, Sloth was still to show me that they knew more than the flying through the air. At long last, Sloth hit people in other villages. the ground. He got to the top and found the magical vine.” SUBTITLED DIALOGUE: “In the very beginning, the ancestors had no “One end of it was tied to the mountain. fire. They are nothing but raw caterpillars.” The other end was fastened to the sky. Sloth “Caterpillars? Wasn’t it dirt that they ate?” was terrified. He was poised to strike the “Dirt my foot! Caterpillars! The ancestor vine, but he was hesitant. He was in a crotch ‘Alligator’ also lived then.” of the tree. The tree was bent over under “Who? Which ancestor stole the fire?” tremendous strain. He chopped. Sloth was “’Alligator’ secretly had fire.” flung from the tree and sailed through the “You don’t say!” air.” “’Alligator’ wouldn’t share the fire.” “Where was this?” TITLE: LATER--AT A CATHOLIC MIS- “Over there! At ‘Caterpillar Rapids.”’ SION ON THE ORINOCO RIVER

VOICE OVER NARRATION: VOICE OVER NARRATION: After record- Their myths are rich in metaphor, and can- ing each myth, or variants, I spent hours not be understood by knowing only the ver- and days with other informants who explain nacular language. People tell myths dramati- in detail the meaning of particular words, cally, and add detail to the meaning with phrases, and gestures. Working privately various body movements, tone of voice, and with Lelabowa, I learn about the hidden facial expressions. meanings and details that Kambowa left out. Many of the ledges, like Mishmishimabowei- NARRATOR’S TRANSLATION OF Teri, are remote and have no contact with MYTHS: “Leha was making a scaffold high the outside world except through my spo- in the tree when Naro snuck up and shot a radic visits, and the rumors they hear from charm at him. Leha shrieked as the charm visiting Yanomamo. passed through the skin of his throat. It did not kill him.” SUBTITLED DIALOGUE: “Where does Kumishiwa river flow? Are for- “Leha was near a fallen abena tree. Leha eigners living there?” was chopping wood from the fallen tree. “Yes.” Naro blew a charm at him as he chopped. It “Do they speak their own (non Yanomamo) struck Leha. It nicked his throat. “ language?” “There are Yanomamo among them.” “When he struck the cord with his machete, “Name the villages there.” it separated, and Sloth was flung, violently “There was a village called Yonowa’s village. through the air. He was flipped high and far They were a rotten bunch. They

Yanomamo Film Series 11 GUIDE: A Man Called Bee DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide were raided recently. There were no survi- to help me to learn the truth, to understand vors.” the secrets of the spirits, and to become a “All died? Who were they?” Yanomamo. Participant observation leads “Nobody survived!” to an intimate understanding of another culture. It has been a great privilege to live VOICE OVER NARRATION: Dedeheiwa with people like Dedeheiwa, who taught me and Moawa, as leaders in their villages, much about being human. It is personally are concerned and alarmed by some of the satisfying to know that they Yanomamo think changes that are taking place, especially there is hope for me, that they can transform the introduction of shotguns into some Ya- me into a human being in their terms. I nomamo villages. Moawa cares about the received my greatest compliment from Lele- strength and aggressiveness of his distant bowa, when he told me that I was “almost a enemies, who have obtained shotguns from human now, almost a real Yanomamo.” the foreigners. He is a leader, and he has to be aware of changes in military power. He SUBTITLED DIALOGUE: is strong and valiant, and one of the most “Biyedira shall be your hekura. I give him effective leaders I have met in his culture, or unto you. Go to the edge of the universe, my my own. When he looks at you and suggests foreign friend. There you will find your heku- something, he commands. He sizes people ra suspended from the mountains. Here is up and decides how far he can push them, your hekura going into you now! Go ahead. displaying uncanny perception. In a constant Call him to you! I am a good teacher. I pos- game of brinkmanship, he subordinates oth- sess the hekura and the Truth.” ers to his will. He knows when to be kind, and when to be strong. I found it difficult to “Yes, my friend, you teach well ... when I live in his village, and yet resist his constant return to live here, you must teach me every- suggestions that I give him my shotgun. thing about hekura. I will trade for hisiomo seeds (hallucinogens) for you from the Yano- There are other expressions of leadership mamo who live on the Ocamo River. I will among the Yanomamo. It was much easier bring many seeds. Then we can all chant to to live with Dedeheiwa and to become in- the together. The rest of you here will teach timate friends with him. His dealings with me about other hekura, won’t you?” me were most often benevolent. I am sick, and he tries to cure me as he would cure a “You bet we will! We won’t be stingy with member of his own family. When he is sick, our knowledge!” I try to cure him with my medicine. Nei- ther of us believes in the other’s techniques VOICE OVER NARRATION: For the mo- or paraphernalia, but our efforts show mu- ment, Dedeheiwa’s culture will continue. tual concern for each other’s well being. By His village will live with the constant pres- indicating my willingness to be affected by sures of old grievances and personal conflicts his spirits and his curing, I learn a great deal between important men. There will be ten- more about his supernatural world than I sion between groups, each applying pressure might otherwise. The Yanomamo appreciate on the others to pull the political alliances in my interest in their hekura spirits, and want one direction or another, or to resolve con-

GUIDE: A Man Called Bee 12 Yanomamo Film Series DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide flicts over women to the advantage of some. If people are killed in such fights, large seg- A few will be dissatisfied and leave, and the ments of the village will be forced to move domestic crises will be relieved when the vil- out and start their gardens elsewhere, or take lage becomes smaller. Other conflicts will refuge with a friendly neighbor. People an- be resolved within the village by resort to ticipate this, and small groups begin clearing duels, to pounding chests and fighting with gardens elsewhere, knowing that sooner or clubs. Men will be insulted when their status later a fight will erupt. They can avoid this is questioned, or as stronger groups within by moving out, by fissioning, before the level the village try of tension becomes to take women too high. from them. They will challenge The pressures that these adversar- impinge on the vil- ies and fight with lage from the out- them. They will side tend to keep remember their it at its maximum victories and size, for a small brag of them, village is vulner- and brood about able to the raids of their losses. As determined men old grievances like these. They smolder and strike silently, usu- proliferate, the ally at dawn, and smallest insult kill. They also fear can lead immedi- retaliation, and they ately to a serious know the capac- conflict in which ity of all groups people can be badly injured, or even killed. to fight back. They hesitate to attack large, Chest pounding escalates to club fights, club powerful villages, unless they have help from fights to ax fights, and ax fights to shooting their allies. Yet even the mightiest are liable with arrows. to attack and live constantly, if not nervously, in a condition of threat of attack. Here, This fight was sparked by a breach of eti- a large, powerful village mobilizes as word quette, a failure to share food. But its roots spreads that raiders have been seen nearby. lie deep in the history of earlier fights, and in the conflicts growing out of complex The Yanomamo solve some of their war- marriage arrangements that bind family to fare problems by making alliances with their family, and lineage to lineage. People were neighbors. They first visit them to trade injured in this fight, but none died. The bows, arrows, dogs, and baskets. This lays general stress and tension in the village in- the necessary foundation of trust and friend- creased, and some people began to leave the ship on which more elaborate alliances are group. built; alliances that involve feasting between the members of two villages. These alliances

Yanomamo Film Series 13 GUIDE: A Man Called Bee DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide help assure that neighbors will not attack they enjoy it. Skill in warfare keeps a village each other without warning, and that some sovereign, strong in the face of threats and neighbors will be friendly enough either to intimidation from others. This is perhaps offer refuge in a time of need, or to help raid the most important skill a sovereign people enemies. Still, the political relationships be- can transmit to its children. These may be tween distant villages, even related villages, the last people to enjoy the political luxury are unpredictable enough that allies do not of declaring war without far-reaching con- and cannot trust each other. sequences for other societies, and the last through whom we can glimpse dimly into our Honor is paramount in relations between own past. We are looking here at ourselves, men. It is important for men to be aggres- several times removed, but nevertheless, our- sive, brave, and self-assured. The reputation selves. of each village is the sum of individual repu- tations of how many fierce ones the village has. Little boys learn early in their lives that aggressive skills are important. These are the skills that will make their village strong and will foster fierce behavior in men. Men like Dedeheiwa are admired and respected. They perform daily in front of the entire village, before the children who will watch and imitate them.

TITLE: CHILDREN PLAYING SHAMAN (using ashes)

Like children everywhere, they subscribe to the religious beliefs of their parents and elders. For them, it is even more intensive and real, for they are constantly being cured by shamans, and are exposed daily to public expressions of the ritual and theology. They know at an early age the names and habits of the spirits. They practice shamanism at the age of four or five, and they will be ready to replace Dedeheiwa and the others by the time they are twenty.

Children do not go on raids when they are young. But they practice the two essential skills that a warrior must have: shooting ac- curately under stress, and dodging arrows shot in return. It is a dangerous game, but

GUIDE: A Man Called Bee 14 Yanomamo Film Series DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES study guide

Film Credits Film by Napoleon A. Chagnon, Department of Anthropology Pennsylvania State University & Timothy Asch Department of Anthropology Harvard University Photography by Timothy Asch Edited by Frank Galvin Script, translation, and additional photography by Napoleon A. Chagnon Sound by Craig Johnson Associate Editor: Anne Fischel Other Films in the Animation Art: Peter Kaufmann Series Animation Photography: George W. Hughes & Vic Rossi Final Production: Ben Cantesano Arrows Thanks to the Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas (I.V.I.C.) Ax Fight Copyright 1974 by Napoleon A. Chagnon, Timothy Asch, and Documen- Bride Service tary Educational Resources Children’s Magical Death Climbing the Peach Palm Awards Study Guide Credits A Father Washes His Written by Chidren CINE Golden Eagle Timothy Asch & Napoleon Chagnon The Feast American Film Festival Red Rib- Firewood bon Compiled and Edited by Jaguar: A Yanomamo Film Council of Greater Colum- Lauren DeSantis Twin Cycle Myth bus, Chris Bronze Award Magical Death Designed by Moonblood Lauren DeSantis A Man and His Wife Weave a Hammock Purchasing Information Contact Information Myth of Naro as Told by Dedeheiwa color, 40 minutes, 1974 Documentary Educational New Tribes Mission dvd / vhs / 16mm Resources 101 Morse St. Ocamo is My Town institution sale $195, Watertown MA 02472 Tapir Distribution consumer sale $69.95 Weeding the Garden 800-569-6621 or 617-926-0491 Yanomamo Multidisci- Contact DER for rental and http://www.der.org plinary Study [email protected] 16mm pricing Yanomamo of the Orinoco

Yanomamo Film Series 15 GUIDE: A Man Called Bee