Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Doing Fieldwork Among the Yanomamo- Values and Norms

This post relates to the values and norms of the Yanomamo. In class we talked about different values and norms. The term values is the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly. Next, the term norms is the expectations, or rules of behavior, that reflect and enforce values. Some of the cultural norms within the Yanomamo include the people being fierce. The members of the Yanomamo are fierce and expect others to look at them as fierce. Aggression is another important norm that all Yanomamo members possess. If they show aggression towards one another then in turn will have power. Wife beating, chest pounding, and organized attacks on other villages are some of the ways of life. They are taught early on not to trust anyone. In the United States we were taught from an early age to treat others the way you would like to be treated. We both hold different values for what may or may not be desirable. Yanamamo people are also extremely loud and threatening when talking to one and other. They may say things such as, "Share your food with me!" "Loan me your flashlight so I can go hunting tonight!" Giving into a demand was looked at as weak. A person was to stand up for themselves. Chagnon soon had to adjust his norms-behavior in order to get a long with the Indians.

This relates to my life because if a member of the Yanamamo was to stay in my home I'm sure that some of the daily routines with my family would shock them just the same. The amount of time and money Americans spend "beautifying" themselves would be looked at as the biggest waste of time to them. Just because they may do things differently doesn't mean our way of life is wrong. Both cultures can co-exist.
  This photo is of a naked woman from the Yanomamo. 






To their tribe they look at her as being clothed where as to Americans we would say things such as "ew" or "why 






isn't she wearing any clothes?" 














Doing Fieldwork Among the Yanomamo

Summary: This article is about an Anthropologist who graduated from the University of Michigan. This intelligent individual is looking to study the fieldwork among the Yanomamo Indians. This particular tribe live in Southern Venezuela. They live in areas that have not yet been contacted by other human life. The people among the tribe have very different values than that of people from the United States. First of all according to Chagnon the tribe members among the Yanomamo are disgustingly dirty. "I looked up and gasped when I saw a dozen burly, naked, filthy, hideous men staring at us down the shafts of their drawn arrows!" He also stated that chunks of green tobacco was stuck in between their teeth and lips. Green slime also hung from their noses. Reading this I was appauled! How could anyone bare the feeling of being dirty to that extreme. As I continued reading I realized that the people among the Yanomamo have different cultural norms that set them apart from other groups. By not bathing regularly they are able to accomplish more in a shorter amount of time.

Relation to Sociology: This relates to Sociology because in class we learned what it means to be ethnocentric. To be ethnocentric means to view your lifestyle as better than others. Anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon thought that the Yanomamo did not meet his standards of living therefore making his lifestyle appear to be superior. Chagnon also viewed society in the United States as better because of the way we eat, where as the people there steal eachother's food and constantly beg for me. In a way we are similar to the Yanomamo because when we prepare meals we do so for an entire group of people living in our home.

Relation to My Life: I can see why Chagnon might be so quick to judge the Yanomamo. If I was to take the trip myself the first thing I would notice was the way the people lived. I would most definitely notice the lack of structure. Not only are the people filthy (in my eyes), but where is the meaning of life among these people. There is no schooling that is mentioned and without education a society or group tends to fall apart. Overall I enjoyed the article and thought it was good for me to read about other cultures norms and values compared to that of my own.


PH013.JPG.jpg   A different cultural norm. The members of the Yanomamo wear little to no clothing!!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Are Dialects Fading?

Summary:      This article talks about two different topics. The first being that dialect differences will never disappear. The article used the example that teenagers purposely set themselves apart from their parents by speaking in a different way. For example when texting we tend to come up with slang or abbreviations such as: ttyl- talk to you later, lame-sauce- something that is super uncool or not pleasing. Teenagers almost create their own dialect to intentionally set themselves apart from adults.
                      The second part of the article discusses how there are different dialects all over the world. A professor from California referred to her dialect as "Valley Girl," because she grew up in Southern California. The mentioned professor also admitted to speaking with an "uptalk." Uptalk is the use of rising information for sentences that are not questions. For example simply saying "Ms. Castelli?" That is not a formal question. What does formal really mean? Is there a right way or a wrong way to talk? Not necessarily. After watching the videos in class and participating in the class discussions, I came to realize that people are going to naturally pick up on a different dialects that you may or may not be used to.


Relation to Sociology: This relates to Sociology because often times groups of people work together. If you were to apply for a job and you were able to put down on your application that you speak three languages this puts you ahead of someone who can only speak one because you are now able to communicate with more people.


Relation to My Life: I feel as if language is a big part of my life because not only does it help me communicate with my peers, but it allows all people to carry a little bit of heritage with them. Unfortunately after the second generation families typically lose that language. It's interesting to be able to meet different types of people from different cultures and compare them to your own.

   - HELLO IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES!!