Actually, one thing that I noticed while reading this book is that despite engaging in violence far more frequently than people in non-tribal cultures, the Yanomamo don’t really seem to have a conception of martial arts or weapons skills, aside from skill with a bow. The takeaway I got was that in small tribal groups like the ones they live in, there isn’t really the sort of labor differentiation necessary to support a warrior class. Rather, it seems that while all men are expected to be available for forays into violence, nobody seems to practice combat skills, except for archery which is also used for food acquisition. While many men were spoken of as being particularly dangerous, in all cases discussed in the book, it was because of their ferocity, physical strength, and quickness to resort to violence. In fact, some of the most common forms of violent confrontation within tribes are forms of “fighting” where the participants simply take turns hitting each other, without being allowed to attempt to defend or evade, in order to demonstrate who’s physically tougher.
I’m not sure how representative the Yanomamo are of small tribal societies as a whole, but it may be that serious differentiation of martial skill didn’t come until later forms of societal organization.
Actually, one thing that I noticed while reading this book is that despite engaging in violence far more frequently than people in non-tribal cultures, the Yanomamo don’t really seem to have a conception of martial arts or weapons skills, aside from skill with a bow. The takeaway I got was that in small tribal groups like the ones they live in, there isn’t really the sort of labor differentiation necessary to support a warrior class. Rather, it seems that while all men are expected to be available for forays into violence, nobody seems to practice combat skills, except for archery which is also used for food acquisition. While many men were spoken of as being particularly dangerous, in all cases discussed in the book, it was because of their ferocity, physical strength, and quickness to resort to violence. In fact, some of the most common forms of violent confrontation within tribes are forms of “fighting” where the participants simply take turns hitting each other, without being allowed to attempt to defend or evade, in order to demonstrate who’s physically tougher.
I’m not sure how representative the Yanomamo are of small tribal societies as a whole, but it may be that serious differentiation of martial skill didn’t come until later forms of societal organization.