Function of Violence

In Western cultures, killing another human being has dire consequences, often leading to imprisonment or a death sentence. In Yanomamo societies, the murder or death of another will often lead to blood revenge, or raids. In every society, there are rules and regulations, and violation of these rules could be punishable in various ways. But murder is a universal no-no, and punishment will always entail. The blood revenge goes like this: Yanomamo societies are very owe, and their political system is based off of kinship. Everyone in each community is related to each other in some way and all lineage is through the males of the family. The man with the most relatives the can trace back to him is made the headman of the community. When someone dies or is killed, it is the headman's job to decide if he wants to pursue loos revenge or not. There are many reasons why someone would be murdered within the many Yanomamo tribes. The main reason is women. Either infidelity, or jealousy, or flirtation with another mans wife... These are all considered valid reasons to be murdered. But just because it's a value reason doesn't mean it's acceptable. Kinship is extremely important to the Yanomamo people's, and killing someone's Kin is reason to be killed yourself. When a Yanomamo kills another person, the must declare themselves as an unokai. They have to go through an elaborate process and "cleanse" themselves so as to not be haunted by the spirit of the person they just killed. It cod be very beneficial to become an unokai. It is statistically proven that unokai have larger families, more wives, more money, and more offspring. Generally, unokai have more political power. This is because the unokai are seen as tough and ferocious, not someone to mess around with. If a tribe does not pursue blood revenge, they are regarded as weak and are often the targets for more killings. If a tribe has many unokais, not many of their members will be killed for fear of blood revenge being seeked. A man might choose to become an unokai to protect his kin and obtain power. Unokais have more wives, and the man with most wives often becomes headman. However, many men chicken out when on a raid to the village they want to seek revenge on, because they do not want to put their kin or themselves in danger. If no one is ok with murder, why do we still haveaws against it? Because, even if no one is ok with it doesn't mean they wouldn't do it. The yanomamos do it partly to maintain power, and they don't have to like doing it. We have laws to prevent eventhis from happening.

Kinship

The person being interviewed was my mother, Colleen Carpenter. Colleen was born and raised in Santa Clarita to Joan Bayley and Hans Otto. Both were imigrants to America, so my mom and her sisters were first generation American-born citizens. Joan Bayley was French-Canadian having come from Ontario right before she met my grandfather, who was a German World War 2 survivor. My father, Dean Meloni, and his brother, Eric, were also first generation American-born citizen, with my grandfather, Ed coming from Venice, Italy, and my grandmother, Jonna, coming from Denmark. Both my mom's parents were very strict and hard working. Hans often built their houses from the ground up, and worked multiple jobs to ensure his family had food, clothes, and a roof over their head. His jobs consisted of general labour, contract worker, Oscar Meyer truck driver, and so forth. Joan was always passionate about cooking and even had her own catering business at one point, however, she developed diabetes and had to quit working. They raised Colleen to be tough and independent, and to always follow her morals. And so, she raised my brother and I to do the same.

The interview took place in person at her house, both of us sitting at her kitchen table drinking lemonade. It wasn't a structured interview though. I had a few questions lined up, but my mother enjoyed talking about her family so much, it was more like her reminiscing about her childhood rather than me asking for information. Thus, it was quite comfortable to sit and talk about our family, and if it had been anyone else, I do not believe it would have been so light-hearted.

As you can see, my mothers side of the family is much larger than my father's. And everyone on my mother's side lives in Northern California while my enitre father's side lives in Southern California. Both sides are extremely close between everyone and no one is really excluded... I'm proud to say my family is extremely tight-knit.

I have been fortunate enough to get to know members from both sides before they passed or moved, and those who are still living, I frequently visit. For my mother, I'd have to say the most influential person was her father, Hans. To this day, he is the hardest working man I have ever met, and even though he is oushing 80, he refuses to give up on any project that he begins. His wisdom and his strength are incomparable and I know that everyone in our family looks up to him and aspires to be just like him. Even relatives on my father's side envy his work ethic and recognize that he is a strong man with a good heart. However, my grandmother, Joan, was the one who always had final say. Her nickname for the family is Big Nana, because her word is law.

Everyone who marries into this family is welcomed with open arms and is immediately accepted. There is no difference between blood and marriage in our family, because we all have the biggest hearts. I'd like to thank our European jeans for that. We come from big colonies, and are used to having large families, so anyone who respects us and gets along with us is part of the family.

However, there is some discrepency between my mother and one of her sisters. The youngest of the three, Karla, is the trouble maker in the group and my mom has never been afraid to call her out.As much as they love each other, they just cannot get along. Besides that, everyone in my family loves each other very much and anyone who joins is very very lucky to have a group like us around. I learned a lot about my family from this nterview and it made me realize just how lucky I am to have so many wonderful people in my life. 

Subsistence and Economy

Subsistence

There are different types of subsistences that human populations have practiced over the course of our existence; horticulture and agriculture just to name a few. The two most common practices are hunter/gatherer and agriculture. There are key differences between the two, and both offer benefits and disadvantages. Agriculture is fairly new to human kind, having practices hunting/gathering for thousands of years, but has a lot of potential in the future for various reasons.

Benefits
Some benefits of being a hunter/gatherer is that many cultures share whatever they are able to hunt down, which creates a sense of security. If you share your game equally with others in the community, the favor is returned if you are unable to provide after the next hunting trip. The community is very mobile and never rests permanently; they must keep moving in order to keep up with the food supply. The meat usually provides a lot of protein and vitamins needed for healthy growth, and it's easy to store if cooked.

Some benefits for agriculture might be that mass production us easily achieved, and it's an easy way to begin trading to different cultures. Many people can keep all of their produce for themselves, never obligated to share.

Disadvanatages
With hunting/gathering, the food is sometimes scarces, and the hunters will most likely be gone for days on end to be sure to capture enough game to provide.

For agriculture, many farmers never really rise above poverty, because the goverment often steps in and imposes taxes. Also, a person needs to eat a large combination of vegetables and produce in order to meet the same amount of protein that meat has to offer.

Diet
I'd say that hunting/gathering provides for a healthier diet because not only do they get vitamins from the various plants and seeds that they gather, but the meat is an awesome source of protein. Plus, their animals also provide milk, essential for good bone growth.

I think that humans made the transition into agriculture because they ficured out how to grow crops and stay in one place, which was easier than constantly moving from one area to the next. They invented irrigation systems, and new ways of planting crops, and learned when to plant which crop. It was out of convenience more than anything.

Economics

There is a direct relationship between the availability of surplus and the ability to trade; meaning, you can't trade unless you have the crops to do it and the people to do it with. It's basic supply and demand which is the key factor in modern day economics.

There are some benefits to trading with others. By trading, we get to try crops and provide essentials with our loved ones that we couldn't produce ourselves. Also, it's an enlightening experience to try something new that you would normally never ry in your own community. Another benefit is that it opens communication with other cultures, to better understand people who view the world differently than we do.

Some disadvantages are that it creates a competitive marketplace, and prices sometimes can get ridiculously high for things that shouldn't normally cost that much. It leaves the producers of the products stuck in poverty because they never see a dime of that money. The government steps in and regulates the prices so that a majority of the money goes back to the community, not the farmers. Another disadvantage is that mass production puts nutrition and animal rights on the back burner. Many animals are raised and slaughtered in the most inhumane ways, and it's all to make a quick buck.

Because agriculture allows us to mass produce, we are more available to trade and have the supplies to do so. In each region, there is a uniquie environment where unique crops are grown, and its very easy to buy and sell the products  to others when there is such high demand. Trade and economics grew along with the popularity of practicing agriculture.