Kayapo: Out Of The Forest
Samantha Hass
Cultural Snapshot
Thursday May 3, 2012
Kayapo: Out of the Forest
The documentary Kayapo: Out of the Forest is about Kayapo tribes in Brazil. These tribes come together to unite against an architectural project that may take place on the Xingu River. This architectural project is the building of a dam. The Kayapo are very much against the project because the dam will end up flooding their land. In order to protest the dam, the Kayapo come out of the forest and go to Altamira to protest the dam along with several different tribes native of Brazil. The documentary shows political life with social order.
In tribal societies, such as the Kayapo, leadership tends not to be hereditary, but based of leadership skills and qualities. …show more content…
There are no permanent chiefs, but there can be a number of chiefs. The men head the Kayapo and the boys start at a young age to become men. The boys, once they reach a certain age, move out of their homes and move to the men’s house. The men’s house is a hut in the middle of the village; it is surrounded by the other huts and is a place of politics. The young boys must respect and obey the older boys and men. In addition, the men hunt and par-take in war dances. The women have different roles in Kayapo society, but there is a common characteristic among men and women.
Similarly, the women and men are both separated by age groups; however, their roles are different. Women in the Kayapo collect plants and food off of trees by cutting them down. In addition, when the women are done collecting the food, they bring it to the men’s house to their kinship and that is where the men eat. The women are know for being tough, but when their leader returns they cry to show their sadness at his absence. The women are allowed to show their displeasure of what the men do or did, but the men do not pay much attention. Also, the women encourage the men to take action.
In our society, the men and women are allowed equal rights to leadership, unlike the Kayapo where only the men are in leadership positions; however, the way one gets a leadership position is similar. In both societies, leadership comes in the form of how one acts. Leadership is given to those that the people believe to have more leadership skills and qualities, it is not hereditary. There is also the similarity of the men’s house, but where it is similar, it is also different to our society.
The men’s house is like an all boys boarding school. In our society there are all boys boarding schools, but these are usually for boys of privilege, wealth and fame. In the Kayapo all boys go to the men’s house, in our society, not all boys go to a boarding school; the majority goes to a public school, where they commute from school to home. In addition, girls, in our society, are allowed to go to boarding schools as well, but like the boys, boarding schools are for girls of privilege and the majority of girls commute to public schools.
In the documentary, I could not help but notice that the Kayapo have modern behaviors. For example, they can use the radio and some of the men had watches on their arms. In addition, when the chief of one of the Kayapo tribes and main warrior of the protest named Payakan needed his appendix removed he went to the hospital instead of using the supernatural or homemade remedies. The documentary also show that the tribe knows about our society and can manipulate the media, including Chief Rop-ni stage-managing his entrance to arrive with the pop-star Sting.
There are a few similarities between the two cultures, but I cannot help but notice all the differences between the two.
Our society gives equal chances of leadership to men and women, not just men. In addition, both cultures have modern tendencies. The Kayapo culture welcomes modern technology and are more high-tech than other cultures that live in forests. The Kayapo knew who Sting was and they used hospitals, used watches, used radios and they also wore modern clothing like shorts and dresses and T-shirts. Another difference is the political structure, the Kayapo have chiefs while our society has a President and then the president’s cabinet. The people of our society must obey the President and the new laws, but the Kayapo do not need to obey and listen to the chiefs because they do not hold much power over the people. There are similarities and differences between the two cultures, but what truly matters is how they utilize their political system to make it work for …show more content…
them.
Samantha Hass
Cultural Snapshot
Thursday May 3, 2012
Nomads of the Rainforest
The NOVA episode entitled Nomads of the Rainforest is about the nomadic people of the Amazon in Ecuador called the Waorani. They are a stone-age nomadic tribe that consists of four families, being extended, and living in harmony with each other. The episode shows how the Waorani hunt and take care of themselves with the resources that they have, they use all that they can and take what is necessary. Many of the tribes of the Waorani have become more modern with the help of modern technology, but there are still some tribes that are isolated from the modern world. The NOVA episode on the Waorani also shows the family life of the nomads.
The men and women of the Waorani have equal status; one is not more superior to the other. The people live in peace and in cooperation with no organizational structure or social hierarchy and no leader or leaders. The men of this Amazon nomadic tribe hunt for food and make tools and weapons like the blowgun, which is the primary weapon of these people. The men also indirectly teach the boys of the tribe. The boys learn by observing and practicing. They are encouraged from a young age to be aggressive and to hunt. For example, boys eight to ten are allowed to take their father’s blowgun and go out and hunt to strengthen themselves and to sharpen their eyes and ears. This is somewhat similar to the women and girls of the Waorani as well.
The women do the gardening, collecting of food and growing of food. In addition, the women also make pouches. Little girls of the tribe watch the women work and learn from indirect teaching. Also, the women cook what the men brought from the hunt, if they brought anything at all. The children, whether they are boys or girls have no responsibilities or they only have a few. One of the responsibilities that children may have includes taking care of their pets if they have any. By taking care of it means hunting to find the pet food.
In our society there is social organization in the form of a democratic government, the opposite of the Amazon nomads.
The President and his cabinet hold the leadership position in our society. In addition, men and women are equal in our society just like the Waorani, but there are exceptions. The men are considered the head of house and the majority of the time they are considered the breadwinners of the family and make the more important family decisions although the women of the house may put input into the making of the decisions. Also, some men are paid more in our society than women are paid.
Men and women have similar roles in our society as well as in the Waorani tribe. Men usually hunt more than women do, but in our society women hunt as well. In our society, when it comes to hunting, it is mostly for fun. Not many people kill for food because we can go to the grocery store for meat. Hunting is done for fun and for a sport.
Women usually grow and maintain the gardens and do the cooking. Women grow food for cooking in both cultures in
gardens.
In both cultures women and men play significant roles. The partnerships are mainly equal with both men and women collecting some type of food source. Men and women also have children to teach and look after by indirectly teaching them. Also, family life is similar in both cultures. Families live in peace and they share and are cooperative with one another. Everyone plays a part in the family, men, women and children, whether it is chores or hunting or gathering food form gardens.
Cultural Snapshot
Thursday May 3, 2012
Kayapo: Out of the Forest
The documentary Kayapo: Out of the Forest is about Kayapo tribes in Brazil. These tribes come together to unite against an architectural project that may take place on the Xingu River. This architectural project is the building of a dam. The Kayapo are very much against the project because the dam will end up flooding their land. In order to protest the dam, the Kayapo come out of the forest and go to Altamira to protest the dam along with several different tribes native of Brazil. The documentary shows political life with social order.
In tribal societies, such as the Kayapo, leadership tends not to be hereditary, but based of leadership skills and qualities. …show more content…
There are no permanent chiefs, but there can be a number of chiefs. The men head the Kayapo and the boys start at a young age to become men. The boys, once they reach a certain age, move out of their homes and move to the men’s house. The men’s house is a hut in the middle of the village; it is surrounded by the other huts and is a place of politics. The young boys must respect and obey the older boys and men. In addition, the men hunt and par-take in war dances. The women have different roles in Kayapo society, but there is a common characteristic among men and women.
Similarly, the women and men are both separated by age groups; however, their roles are different. Women in the Kayapo collect plants and food off of trees by cutting them down. In addition, when the women are done collecting the food, they bring it to the men’s house to their kinship and that is where the men eat. The women are know for being tough, but when their leader returns they cry to show their sadness at his absence. The women are allowed to show their displeasure of what the men do or did, but the men do not pay much attention. Also, the women encourage the men to take action.
In our society, the men and women are allowed equal rights to leadership, unlike the Kayapo where only the men are in leadership positions; however, the way one gets a leadership position is similar. In both societies, leadership comes in the form of how one acts. Leadership is given to those that the people believe to have more leadership skills and qualities, it is not hereditary. There is also the similarity of the men’s house, but where it is similar, it is also different to our society.
The men’s house is like an all boys boarding school. In our society there are all boys boarding schools, but these are usually for boys of privilege, wealth and fame. In the Kayapo all boys go to the men’s house, in our society, not all boys go to a boarding school; the majority goes to a public school, where they commute from school to home. In addition, girls, in our society, are allowed to go to boarding schools as well, but like the boys, boarding schools are for girls of privilege and the majority of girls commute to public schools.
In the documentary, I could not help but notice that the Kayapo have modern behaviors. For example, they can use the radio and some of the men had watches on their arms. In addition, when the chief of one of the Kayapo tribes and main warrior of the protest named Payakan needed his appendix removed he went to the hospital instead of using the supernatural or homemade remedies. The documentary also show that the tribe knows about our society and can manipulate the media, including Chief Rop-ni stage-managing his entrance to arrive with the pop-star Sting.
There are a few similarities between the two cultures, but I cannot help but notice all the differences between the two.
Our society gives equal chances of leadership to men and women, not just men. In addition, both cultures have modern tendencies. The Kayapo culture welcomes modern technology and are more high-tech than other cultures that live in forests. The Kayapo knew who Sting was and they used hospitals, used watches, used radios and they also wore modern clothing like shorts and dresses and T-shirts. Another difference is the political structure, the Kayapo have chiefs while our society has a President and then the president’s cabinet. The people of our society must obey the President and the new laws, but the Kayapo do not need to obey and listen to the chiefs because they do not hold much power over the people. There are similarities and differences between the two cultures, but what truly matters is how they utilize their political system to make it work for …show more content…
them.
Samantha Hass
Cultural Snapshot
Thursday May 3, 2012
Nomads of the Rainforest
The NOVA episode entitled Nomads of the Rainforest is about the nomadic people of the Amazon in Ecuador called the Waorani. They are a stone-age nomadic tribe that consists of four families, being extended, and living in harmony with each other. The episode shows how the Waorani hunt and take care of themselves with the resources that they have, they use all that they can and take what is necessary. Many of the tribes of the Waorani have become more modern with the help of modern technology, but there are still some tribes that are isolated from the modern world. The NOVA episode on the Waorani also shows the family life of the nomads.
The men and women of the Waorani have equal status; one is not more superior to the other. The people live in peace and in cooperation with no organizational structure or social hierarchy and no leader or leaders. The men of this Amazon nomadic tribe hunt for food and make tools and weapons like the blowgun, which is the primary weapon of these people. The men also indirectly teach the boys of the tribe. The boys learn by observing and practicing. They are encouraged from a young age to be aggressive and to hunt. For example, boys eight to ten are allowed to take their father’s blowgun and go out and hunt to strengthen themselves and to sharpen their eyes and ears. This is somewhat similar to the women and girls of the Waorani as well.
The women do the gardening, collecting of food and growing of food. In addition, the women also make pouches. Little girls of the tribe watch the women work and learn from indirect teaching. Also, the women cook what the men brought from the hunt, if they brought anything at all. The children, whether they are boys or girls have no responsibilities or they only have a few. One of the responsibilities that children may have includes taking care of their pets if they have any. By taking care of it means hunting to find the pet food.
In our society there is social organization in the form of a democratic government, the opposite of the Amazon nomads.
The President and his cabinet hold the leadership position in our society. In addition, men and women are equal in our society just like the Waorani, but there are exceptions. The men are considered the head of house and the majority of the time they are considered the breadwinners of the family and make the more important family decisions although the women of the house may put input into the making of the decisions. Also, some men are paid more in our society than women are paid.
Men and women have similar roles in our society as well as in the Waorani tribe. Men usually hunt more than women do, but in our society women hunt as well. In our society, when it comes to hunting, it is mostly for fun. Not many people kill for food because we can go to the grocery store for meat. Hunting is done for fun and for a sport.
Women usually grow and maintain the gardens and do the cooking. Women grow food for cooking in both cultures in
gardens.
In both cultures women and men play significant roles. The partnerships are mainly equal with both men and women collecting some type of food source. Men and women also have children to teach and look after by indirectly teaching them. Also, family life is similar in both cultures. Families live in peace and they share and are cooperative with one another. Everyone plays a part in the family, men, women and children, whether it is chores or hunting or gathering food form gardens.