UWC Grade 5 (2009-2010)

The Yanomamo (Yah-no-mah-muh) also called Yanomamo, Yanomami and Sanuma (which means ‘Human Being') are deep jungle indigenous Indians living in the Amazon basin in both Venezuela and Brazil. The Yanomamo are believed to be the most primitive, culturally intact people in existence in the world. In spite of that, they exist within the modern period by use of technology which is well-adapted to their environment.

They number approximately 12,000 people and are distributed in some 125 widely scattered villages in the upper Amazon basin of Brazil and in the South of Venezuela (South America). They live in small villages that are separated by many miles of unoccupied land. The villages can be as small as 40 to 50 people or as large as 300 people grouped by families in one large communal dwelling called a Shabono; this disc shaped structure with an open-air central plaza is an earthly version of their god's Abode. The villages are autonomous but constantly will interact with each other. The quote following read in the book Yanomamo Warfare is intended to give more details about number of Yanomamo "The Yanomamo are by far the most numerous and best described of the four major divisions of Yanomamo. Population estimates put their numbers at 6,00

0 around 1970 (Migliazza 1972:34), at...

Slash and burn consists of cutting and burning of forests or woodlands to create fields for agriculture or pasture for livestock, or for a variety of other purposes. It is sometimes part of shifting cultivation agriculture, and of transhumance livestock herding. Historically, the practice of slash and burn has been widely practiced throughout most of the world, in grasslands as well as woodlands, and known by many names. In temperate regions, such as Europe and North America, the practice has been mostly abandoned over the past few centuries. Today the term is mainly associated with tropical rain forests. Slash and burn techniques are used by between 200 and 500 million people worldwide.[1] Older English terms for slash and burn include assarting, swidden, and fire-fallow cultivation. Slash and burn is a specific functional element of certain farming practices, often shifting cultivation systems. In some cases such as parts of Madagascar, slash and burn may have no cyclical aspects (e.g., some slash and burn activities can render soils incapable of further yields for generations), or may be practiced on its own as a single cycle farming activity with no follow on cropping cycle. Shifting cultivation normally implies the existence of a cropping cycle component, whereas slash-and-burn actions may or may not be followed by cropping.

1,437,383.926 Watt hours saved

The word Ya̧nomamö means 'human being' in their language.

The Ya̧nomamö depend on the forest; they use "slash-and-burn" horticulture, grow bananas, gather fruit, hunt animals and fish. Ya̧nomamö Indians frequently move to avoid areas that become overused — a practice known as shifting cultivation.

It should be noted that "Ya̧nomamö" is not what the Yanomamo call themselves, but is rather a word in their language meaning 'man', adopted by American anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon as a convenient way to refer to the culture and by extension the people.