The Yanomami
Who were these people in the past?
Known history of the Yanomami people is very scarce, most of the recorded history is found around the time of the gold rush, when they were first encountered. Although, in the eighteenth century, a European explorer named Alexander Humboldt met them. Humboldt described them as a dangerous, war mongering people, and their reputation since has changed very little. The Yanomami people inhabit a portion of the Amazon rain forest, right on the border of Venezuela and Brazil. They have lived sheltered lives, mainly being affected only by the Gold Rush in the 1980’s.
Known history of the Yanomami people is very scarce, most of the recorded history is found around the time of the gold rush, when they were first encountered. Although, in the eighteenth century, a European explorer named Alexander Humboldt met them. Humboldt described them as a dangerous, war mongering people, and their reputation since has changed very little. The Yanomami people inhabit a portion of the Amazon rain forest, right on the border of Venezuela and Brazil. They have lived sheltered lives, mainly being affected only by the Gold Rush in the 1980’s.
How did they lose their position in their country?
Before the 1980’s, the Yanomami had very little contact with the outside world. The recent Gold Rush in the 1980’s brought their existence to a more widespread knowledge, when thousands of miners illegally trespassed on their territory, after gold was discovered. The constant noise from the supply planes overhead and the generators and pumps scared away most of the animals that the Yanomami would eat, and the high pressure hoses used to wash away riverbanks silted the rivers and destroying growing ground.
Mercury was commonly used to separate gold from rock. Haphazardly, the mercury was then dumped into the river at the expense of the ecosystem and the Yanomami. The effects of the mercury poisoning reached the surrounding trees, some of which relied on birds and fish to disperse their seeds. Eventually, the mercury reached the Yanomami people in the form of a neurotoxin that targets child development. After the Gold rush, child mortality rates rose, and birth rates declined. Along with physical health, the miners introduced alcohol to the Yanomami people for non-ritual use. The Yanomami were weakened by illnesses, and had to resort to begging for food. The Yanomami had once had a complex social system that relied on trading and bartering goods and food amongst each other, yet now, after recently being introduced to western society, they were having to trade their well-preserved culture for their survival.
The effects of these things are not good. The Yanomami, confused and disoriented from the steady flow of miners with strange beliefs, traditions, technologies, and diseases, they found that their belief and cultural system was undermined. A good point that was made was that the Yanomami were not being integrated into Western society; instead begging, prostitution, and drunkenness were being introduced into theirs. The Yanomami territory was defined by the government in 1992, although they did not steadily keep their commitment to protect the land. Tragedy struck in July of 1993, when a group of miners tried to completely eradicate the Yanomami village of Haximu, killing sixteen people in what was classified by Brazilian Attorney General Aristides Junqueira as genocide. Even after this, though, miners continued to enter the Yanomami’s land illegally. The Yanomami lost their position in their country when their quiet, sheltered lifestyle was introduced to the worst parts of popular culture; alcohol, prostitution, pollution, and disease.
Before the 1980’s, the Yanomami had very little contact with the outside world. The recent Gold Rush in the 1980’s brought their existence to a more widespread knowledge, when thousands of miners illegally trespassed on their territory, after gold was discovered. The constant noise from the supply planes overhead and the generators and pumps scared away most of the animals that the Yanomami would eat, and the high pressure hoses used to wash away riverbanks silted the rivers and destroying growing ground.
Mercury was commonly used to separate gold from rock. Haphazardly, the mercury was then dumped into the river at the expense of the ecosystem and the Yanomami. The effects of the mercury poisoning reached the surrounding trees, some of which relied on birds and fish to disperse their seeds. Eventually, the mercury reached the Yanomami people in the form of a neurotoxin that targets child development. After the Gold rush, child mortality rates rose, and birth rates declined. Along with physical health, the miners introduced alcohol to the Yanomami people for non-ritual use. The Yanomami were weakened by illnesses, and had to resort to begging for food. The Yanomami had once had a complex social system that relied on trading and bartering goods and food amongst each other, yet now, after recently being introduced to western society, they were having to trade their well-preserved culture for their survival.
The effects of these things are not good. The Yanomami, confused and disoriented from the steady flow of miners with strange beliefs, traditions, technologies, and diseases, they found that their belief and cultural system was undermined. A good point that was made was that the Yanomami were not being integrated into Western society; instead begging, prostitution, and drunkenness were being introduced into theirs. The Yanomami territory was defined by the government in 1992, although they did not steadily keep their commitment to protect the land. Tragedy struck in July of 1993, when a group of miners tried to completely eradicate the Yanomami village of Haximu, killing sixteen people in what was classified by Brazilian Attorney General Aristides Junqueira as genocide. Even after this, though, miners continued to enter the Yanomami’s land illegally. The Yanomami lost their position in their country when their quiet, sheltered lifestyle was introduced to the worst parts of popular culture; alcohol, prostitution, pollution, and disease.
What is their reality today?
Today, the Yanomami are still affected by the mercury poisoning in the 1980’s. According to the Commission for the Creation of the Yanomami Park in Sao Paulo, and the Indianist Missionary Council in Brasilia, many politicians are fighting to reduce the amount of territory that the Yanomami have because they want access to the mineral deposits. If this happens, prospectors will almost definitely be replaces by larger scale commercial mining operations that will devastate the rain forest, and the Yanomami people. There are many variations of the Yanomami languages, but so far none of them have been listed as endangered. The Yanomami still live in their traditional way, and, oddly, use drugs as recreation. Women, men, and children are all addicted to chewing and sucking on tobacco. However, a widely used drug among the Yanomami people is something called ebene, which they use despite the negative consequences.
Today, the Yanomami are still affected by the mercury poisoning in the 1980’s. According to the Commission for the Creation of the Yanomami Park in Sao Paulo, and the Indianist Missionary Council in Brasilia, many politicians are fighting to reduce the amount of territory that the Yanomami have because they want access to the mineral deposits. If this happens, prospectors will almost definitely be replaces by larger scale commercial mining operations that will devastate the rain forest, and the Yanomami people. There are many variations of the Yanomami languages, but so far none of them have been listed as endangered. The Yanomami still live in their traditional way, and, oddly, use drugs as recreation. Women, men, and children are all addicted to chewing and sucking on tobacco. However, a widely used drug among the Yanomami people is something called ebene, which they use despite the negative consequences.