Monday, May 28, 2012



The Yanomamo People 

Environment and Human Adaption

The Yanomamo people are a group of approximately 20,000 people who live in 200-250 villages in the Amazon rainforest on the boarder of Venezuela and Brazil. The Yanomamo people live in huts called Shabonos but they have to rebuild them every few years due to heavy rainfall and winds that happen each year in the Amazon forest. Their huts are made for leaves, vines, plums and tree trunks, they always using everything from the forest. The Yanomamo people and slash-and-burn people and they grow bananas, gathers fruit and hunt for animals and fish. These people depend on the rainforest and without it they would die. Their culture is made up of many small family units. The Yanomamo people are known as hunter gathers and their diet is very low in salt. They have the lowest blood pressure of any demographic group. If the people have a good harvest then they will celebrate with different rituals. They also gather large amounts of food to give to their neighboring villages to keep thinks peaceful. Women gather many different types of scrubs such as termites, frogs, land crabs and caterpillars to cook for their family. The Yanomamo people have become instinctive conservationists. Its is a way of life for them, if they were to take to much food in one year the forest would not be able to produce enough new food for them to be able to survive in the nest year. The Yanomamo live in a warm climate that does have a lot of rain because they live in a warm climate they don't wear much clothing. Most children die before age two and many adults in this culture only live to age 40 because of their daily stress survive. 



The Yanomamo people had to learn to adapt to their way of life because of how isolates their villages are from the rest of the world. They have had to learn to live off of the rest of the forest and adapt to being hunter gathers so they can have food and water. The Yanomamo people spend most of their time gather food and water. They have also had to adapt to losing many family members due to major violence in their culture. They are one of the most successful groups in the Amazon rainforest to gain superior balance and harmony. The Yanomamo inhabit two main areas of Brazil and they are the dense rain forest and the savannas. 



Week 2 Language and Gender Roles

The Yanomamo Language has four different languages: Yanam, Sanuma, Yanomamo, and Yanomamo. Yanomamo has the most speakers with about 17,600 speakers (Humberto Marquez). The Yanomamo have no written language but they do have a large vocabulary and oral literature. Storytelling is a major part of their culture. Because they don’t have written language they store all of their vocabulary in their heads. The Yanomamo are diglottic people, which mean they use a special for of bilingualism: the Yanomamo posses a formals and informal dialect. The formal dialect, wayamo, is spoken at rituals and social events and the informal dialect is spoken the rest of the time. Their numeration system consists of three digits: one, two and more than two. There is no measurement for hour; their annual life cycle is dominated by the wet and dry seasons.



The Yanomamo people have to specific genders. The men go out and hunt all of the food and clear away all of the gardens by using the slash and burn method. The women take care of the homes and gathers berries and scrubs. The women also are in charge of weaving baskets. The gender roles are very strict and the women are mostly used for bearing children and to serve their men and family. It would be inacceptable for one gender to perform the other person gender. Even the formal language women are not allowed to speak it only the men are. Although boys spend most of their time with their mothers they learn from a very young age that there status is difference than that of the girls. From a young age the boys are indulged in every way by their fathers. Boys are expected to be fierce and are rarely punished for beating young girls in the village because the grown males beat their wives.



Males primarily dominate the Yanomamo culture but the women do play a very important role. The women are expected to raise and bear many children and rely on help from their daughters to do the family chores from a very young age. 


In the Yanomamo society, marriage ceremonies are almost non-existent and are not celebrated in any way. Marriage is a social dynamic within villages, and they are usually driven by political opportunity by men who are seeking alliances with other men from different villages. Men are expected to be peacekeepers and violent warriors, both of which require force, which women are not considered to have in the Yanomamo culture. In this society, women gain respect as they age, after they marry and have children but they are still never treated the same as men. Elderly women are highly respected and usually can become immune to violence and warfare between villages. The older the women can travel to and from villages and be protected because they are so higly respected


The Blessed Curse

Many Indian cultures believe in spirits like the Yanomamo people do and they believe that al sprits are created equal whether it be a rock, waterfall, moon, animal plant of human being but I don’t think the Yanomamo would be very accepting of this person because gender roles are so important in their culture (R. K Williams). Men and women are treated so different that I don’t think they would know how to react to this situation. They might even go as far as exiling the person out of their village. On the other token the Yanomamo people are accepting of homosexuality in men so they might me accepting of this person if it had more male features.

Subsistence and Economy

Hunting only accounts for 10% of the Yanomamo food but amongst men it is considered to be the most prestigious of skills and meat is highly valued amongst everyone (Claudia Andujar). No hunter ever eats the meat that he has killed; instead he shares it with family and friends. The women are in charge of tending the gardens and they grow around 60 crops which make up about 80% of the Yanomamo diet. The women also gather nuts, shellfish, insect larvae and wild honey.  In this culture both the men and women fish. They use vines and create bundles to trap the fish and then they scope them up with their baskets. The Yanomamo also know a lot about botanicals and they use about 500 hundred plants for food, medicine, house building and many other things as well.



Men go out and hunt and fish every day and the women and young children are always tending the gardens and taking care of the daily chores. The children are expected to help from a very young age. Women the women in the Yanomamo culture get their period they then become women and take on all of the roles of a grown woman. There is a very distinct separation of labor between the men and the women. Their diet is very low in fat and sugar, high in protein and fiber and complexes carbohydrates and adequate protein. Obesity is non-existent among the Yanomamo people who follow their hunter gather diet (Kat McCallum). Because they have a healthy diet and an active lifestyle it prevents them from getting heart disease. The first leading cause of death is infectious disease and the second is physical violence between villages. The Yanomamo people are very dependent on the Amazon forest and have to move their gardens every few years because they Amazon soil isn’t very good. Some of the villages produce a small surplus from their gardens to sell of exchange with other villages for things they can’t produce themselves.



The Yanomamo people don’t deal with any kind of currency because they are not a highly advanced civilization. They do trade goods with other villages but they don’t deal with any form of money. Trade is a very important aspect of their life and it helps reduce the chances of warfare between villages. Often one village with have manufactured goods that are badly needed by other villages.

Marriage and Kinship

Marriages are arranged by older kin, usually men such as brothers, uncles or the women’s father. There is a shortage of women in the villages and some men do have multiple wives. The Yanomamo also practice polygamy which helps to stimulate the population and they do have a lot of cousin marriages which makes more people doubly related to each other. Kinship is critical in the arrangement of marriages and very strong bonds are formed between groups who exchange women. The men are in charge of arrangement the marriages and some of the arrangements are for political power. Marriage in the Yanomamo tribe is considered to be important but they don’t participate in an actual wedding ceremony. Marriage is simply for reproduction and political gain. The marriages are arranged usually by older kin such as fathers, brothers or uncles. The arrangement of marriage is mostly made before the girl hits puberty by the men who are attempting to create alliances with other people in the village. Women are becoming short on demand because of the acceptance of polygamy in the tribe. The women of the tribe have no voice in who they will marry and they are promised to men many years before their puberty. Once the women hit puberty have their first menstrual cycle they are kept in a place away from all men and made to sit over a whole to get rid of the blood. Their mothers and older women throw away the young girls old clothes and give her new garments that represent that they are now a women and ready for marriage.



Some men are unmarried and they try and seduce married women and this causes many fights and brawls between tribes. Sexual jealousy is one of the biggest social problems between kin and outside tribes. The men take much pride in having as many brides as possible and having many children with them as well. They prefer to have mostly boys because girls cannot participate in the affairs of corporate kinship and political matters.The Yanomamo people believe that there are many bad taboos associated with blood. When it comes to cooking meat they make sure they cook all of the blood out so none of it is visible. They also make women stay in tents and get feed with sticks because they believe that the menstrual blood is bad. They also believe that much illness may be cause by the breach of a ritual regulation or taboo (Jeremy).

Sexual intercourse is prohibited with a female if she is pregnant of nursing which created a problem for the men because it leaves very little sexual active females. Teenage males frequently have homosexual affairs because the females of their own ages are usually married. By the time the males is 20 years old though he is anxious to display his masculinity and becomes an active competitor for the favors of the sexually active women.  All of this leads to friction between the men in the village. Incest for the Yanomamo people is defined by any sexual relations between close kin such as parents, children or siblings. If any woman is caught acting this incest out them will be shunned and not cremated at death.

The men have the most authority in the kinship of the culture. Social life is organized around those same principles utilized by all tribesmen: kinship relationships, descent from ancestors, marriage exchanges between kinship/descent groups, and the transient charisma of distinguished headmen who attempt to keep order in the village and whose responsibility it is to determine the village's relationships with those in other villages. Their positions are largely the result of kinship and marriage patterns--they come from the largest kinship groups within the village. Stated by www.everyculture.com “Neither status nor property is inherited among the people. At death, Kin incinerate the personal property of the deceased.”




The Inuit Eskimos have some similarities but many differences from the Yanomamo people. The Men do hunt and fish like the Yanomamo and the women raise the children, cook and clean but women can also hunt if they want to too. The relationships between the Inuit are strictly monogamous, open marriages, polygamy, divorce and remarriage is simply unheard of in their culture. Marriages were often arraigned sometimes when the women were still babies. The Yanomamo do don’t follow the Eskimo system. Many of them marry their cousins or men have multiple wives so almost everyone in the village is somehow related to one another. In the Yanomamo culture the ego does know its parents but they don’t specifically know who their aunts, uncles and cousins are because everyone sleeps around to men have multiple women that he is with. The Yanomamo don’t really follow a specific pattern. The Hawaiian system is where the kinship between relatives of the same sex and generation are referred to by the same term.

Social and Political Organization

The Yanomamo people are a stratified culture. The women are not equal to the men and even young boys who grow up with their mothers know after a certain age that they have more power than women and they can do whatever they want without being punished.

Every Yanomamo tribe is a separate political entity and can therefore decide upon their relations with each one of the other Yanomamo village. The Yanomamo are egalitarian people but age, sex and personal accomplishments withhold great importance in for people’s status. High status is granted with harsh combat, accomplished hunting, and expertise of sjamanim. Status cannot be inherited it must be earned and status and property are lost when a person dies. High status men are in charge and they monopolize the positions of political power and authority. Those that are highly regarded in the Yanomamo society are those having been victorious in combat, acquired expertise in shamanism and good hunting skills. Therefore, unlike many other cultures, this status is not inherited but instead earned. This is where the social hierarchy ties in with the Yanomamo political system. The village leader is always the man with the most elaborate local patrilineage. The result being that the majority of authoritarian positions within the community are dominated by older men. To fulfill his role as head of the tribe, this man or men must display his ability to settle disputes, defend the territory, manage the relations with neighboring villages and maintain the kingship agreements of the clan. However, the Yanomamo believe in a very egalitarian society in which every man is free and if he or she so wishes, they may detach themselves from the rest of the tribe. In order for a man to change his status he must be very violent and have many wives in order to be highly respected.





The villages headman is the dominate political leader and come from the largest part linage. If the village is really large and filled with two local descent groups then there might be a few head man. Political power is decided on whoever is the most violent and has the most wives and children this is also connected with reproductive success. Political power cannot be transferred to another person it must be earned. A woman can never be a headman; the headman is supposed to be peacemakers and violent warriors. Women are disrespected at a young age but they gain respect from other men in the culture as they age. Yanomamo society and politics is dominated by family relations.

Violence normally happens in the culture because of infidelity. If a woman cheats on her man then the husband and the man that she had the affair with will fight. Many of their killings are vengeance killings because of the marital issues. There are also raids when two villages fight and try to kill as many people as possible. The main goal is to kill the grown men that might have been responsible for the killing of the avenger’s family. All of these revenge kills are highly rewarded and the men gain social status once the killings are done.

Belief Systems and the Arts

The Yanomamo believe that the cosmos consist of four parallel planes. One of the layers or parallels is occupied by ancient beings and the second layer of spirits of dead men and women. The third layer is the earth and below that is the underworld. The underworld is filled with the spirits that bring harm to living people. The Yanomamo believe hat they have multiple souls. They also think they each have demons that they can use at their own deposal to cure or cause illness to other people. Catholic and Protestants have been trying for years to make a breakthrough with the Yanomamo people but haven’t had much success.



They also have people that use plants and other herbs to cast spells. The people that cast these spells are called Shaman and only men can become them. The Yanomamo have many different rituals but one of their most dramatic ceremonies is the reahu or the mortuary ceremony. This is where they cremate the deceased person and then consume there bone ash with a plant puree, this is a sign of respect. The ceremony has considerable political implications if the deceased was a strong warrior. Ceremonies are a major part of the Yanomamo life. The religious ceremonies they take part in are very important to them.

The Yanomamo people have very simple art. They are usually black or red and have common objects such as baskets, arrow paints and body paints. They also have a lot of verbal art and myth telling. Performers and myth tellers gain status based on their talents. They paint each other’s bodies for celebrations and ceremonies. Humberto Marquez interviewed a villager and he stated “We painted ourselves when there is a celebration, to show that we are happy, and also so that we can hear the Shaman’s song clearly when he calls us.” The women make handcrafter baskets that are very beautifully woven. The baskets are used for everyday use such as gathering food and firewood.



The Yanomamo people pass their information orally and they don’t write things down. Some of the paintings that have been found have been made by Indians who had never seen a paper or pencil before in their whole lives. They also get poising from frogs and they boil it down to make it stronger this goes into a drug they make for ceremonies. Then the men and women decorate themselves with red berry die they then take the apena snuff drug which makes them hallucinate but the women are allowed to take the drug. Smoking or snuffing this drug is a major part of the Yanomamo religion because it allows them to communicate with the spirit world while dancing singing and chanting. They believe that the drug allows them to see what the spirit world sees and this means that through many different ways of life they can see art (Brea Wenger). They do create their own music with songs and chanting.
The Yanomamo do not have or use musical instruments but they do chant and gather for there rituals. They also use the sounds of the forest as background noise for all of there gatherings. 

Conclusion




The Yanomamo haven’t advanced much in a few thousand years they still live like they are in the Stone Age but they are in danger of losing some of their land because people and developers are moving further and further into the Amazon. The Brazilians call them the most primitive people in the world because they have lived in total isolation from the outside world for years and that’s why they have kept their traditions. The Yanomamo people still use simple tools and they take food from the forest by hunting, fishing and collecting fruit, insect, frogs and other insects. Because the miners contaminated the water ways it created the perfect environment for malaria. Now days 70% of the Yanomamo people got infected with malaria and in some areas it has risen to 90%. The gold digger also hunt the Yanomamo food, rape their women, and waste their fields and crops, they also killed men who oppose them. 




The Yanomamo haven’t advanced much in a few thousand years they still live like they are in the Stone Age but they are in danger of losing some of their land because people and developers are moving further and further into the Amazon. The Brazilians call them the most primitive people in the world because they have lived in total isolation from the outside world for years and that’s why they have kept their traditions. The Yanomamo people still use simple tools and they take food from the forest by hunting, fishing and collecting fruit, insect, frogs and other insects. Because the miners contaminated the water ways it created the perfect environment for malaria. Now days 70% of the Yanomamo people got infected with malaria and in some areas it has risen to 90%. The gold digger also hunt the Yanomamo food, rape their women, and waste their fields and crops, they also killed men who oppose them.
The Yanomamo don’t have a strong influence on the outside world but the outside world does have an effect on them. They are losing more and more land by the year because of state developers and disease.




References

The Yanomamo, Giovanni Saffirio, James O. Wilson, copyright © 2007 

www.yanomamicatrimani.org

Culture-Venezuela New Compendium on Yanomamo Language, Humberto 


Marquez,Copyright © 2012, www.ipsnews.net

Yanomamo, Andy Thomason, © copyright May, 21 1999, 

www.archive.sutie101.com

Survival for the tribal Peoples, The Yanomamo, Claudia Andujar

www.survivalinternational.org

Yanomamo Diet, Food and Nutrition Kat McCallum copyright © November 22,


2010 www.livingstrong.com

Yanomamo-Religion and Expressive Culture, Jeremy Copyright 2012 Advameg,


Inc www.everyculture.com

Yanomami Put the Body Painting Down on Paper, Humberto Marquez, 


copyright © 2012 IPS-Inter Press service

Yanomamo, Arte Amazon, Peter Bach © Arte Amazonia

www.arte-amazonia.com/the-people/yanomami

Yanomamo Art, Brea Wenger Yanomamo Tribe (art) April 6, 2010

www.ksuanth.wetpaint.com

Conflict and Human Rights in the Amazon, the Yanomamo, Stephanie Bier 


August 19, 2010 www.america.edu

The Yanomamo in Ancient times and today, Maelle and Linda

www.gymmuenchecnstein.ch

Cultural Anthropology the human challenge, The Blessed Curse, R. K. Williams 


Class text book


                                                                                                                                                           









Wednesday, May 23, 2012


Art as a Culture


a. What were the cave artists trying to say?

The caves are sending many different messages. It’s hard to be sure what the caves actually mean because they were created so many years ago. I believe that the caves represent how important animals were to the Paleolithic people. These people were defiantly hunter gathers and lived for and by the animals. The paintings show that they had respect for their surroundings and the animals that they ate and followed. The paintings might also represent rituals that the Paleolithic people would perform or their worship to come sort of animal gods. I also think that the artist of the cave drawings were also trying to show the different types of animals that were living in their area and it showed the animals migrations.The painting could also represent a religious stand point and maybe that the animals in the paintings are very important to the Paleolithic people who painted them.



b. Why do you think that there were so many animals and not as many people in the paintings?

I think there were more animals than people in the paintings because in the culture of hunting and gathering people aren’t able to settle in one place and build homes to start a family. Before agriculture people weren’t able to settle in one place because their food was always migrating and people always had to follow the animals in order to have food to eat all year round. Hunter gathers would be able to live off the land and have food more accessible but they were never able to stay in one place for very long. The pictures show that there were probably more animals than people living in the migrating groups.The paintings could have also only been painted by one person and maybe that's why their was only one drawing of one man. 

c. What can the paintings tell us about other aspects of the life of cave dwellers or Paleolithic people?

The painting on the cave walls show that the cave dwellers had a lot of respect of animals and spent a lot of time in the caves because there were so many different paintings. The caves also show that maybe protected the Paleolithic people from the outside elements such as weather and any other dangers such as animals, floods and the heat or cold. There were many different openings to the caves which show that the people probably spent a lot of time outside. Some areas of the caves seemed hard to move around it which might show that the Paleolithic people might have been thin or shorter than we are today.



d. What difficulties did these early humans navigate in order to paint these pictures?

There were a lot of small areas in the cave and the ceilings of the caves were extremely uneven. It looks like at times that many of the people would have had to crawl or paint upside down in order to create their drawings. The people would have also had a hard time getting to some of the areas of the caves because some openings were extremely high up off the valley floor.



e. Speculate as to three (3) possible functions of this art to early humans.

The cave painting could have been created as a sacred tribute to the animal gods or they could have been created in order to honor the animals in the paintings. Because there were so many different animal painting and not very many people it also shows that maybe the Paleolithic people cared more about animals then they did about their own race. Any form of art is an expression and since we don’t know how long the drawings took to create they could have also been created to show the emotion the Paleolithic people had towards animals.

Compare the possible functions of the art from the Lascaux Caves to modern art, in all of its various forms.  What are some commonalities in function you can find in how the art of early humans and modern humans?

Art is a form of expression people create art because of a feeling they have weather that feeling is sad, desperate, happy ect. There are some many different kinds of art and there have been so many art movements throughout the centuries. The art from the caves seemed thought out and the hall with the painting of the bulls almost seem to tell a story. Some of my favorite pieces of art have an untold story or they make you wonder what the artist was thinking when they created it.



One of my favorite artists was Thomas Kinkaid. I have always loved his painting because you makes you feel like you want to jump into the painting and be there. His paintings have always expressed peace to me and everyone one of his paintings have be me want to visit one of his painted cottages or lay by one of the rivers in his beautiful settings.



For those who practice this form of artistic expression, what function does it serve?  What are they trying to communicate? (5 pts)

Art is always a way to communicate with others one way or another. Weather the artist is trying to tell a story or make a certain point art is all created different. Thomas Kinkade called himself the warrior of light and most of his paintings depicted tranquil scenes with lush landscapes and streams running near by. Many of his paintings also contained bible passagesCommunicating has always been what humans do and I think paintings are a very unique way of communication. You could be telling a story through art weather you know it or not. I also believe for many people that art is an outlet and a way of expressing who they really are or who they want to be.



B. is there a complete culture surrounding this art form, i.e., a language, a set of behaviors, form of dress, etc.?  Describe and identify the features of this culture. (10 pts)

Kinkade always seemed to channel a certain kind of American vision and found a perfect way to convey it through each one of his paintings. Art does always have to comment on the things that are painted and he showed that in his work. Kinkades painting were all about a certain style and they never changed or strayed away from a certain idea. His paintings represent what Americans want to have and where they want to be. His paintings were all about the culture of beauty and peace. It always seemed like there was an underlying meaning or story to each painting and the names of each painting always seemed to fit perfectly.



c. How does this art form (and its culture) benefit society?  Are there any detrimental affects? (5 pts)

I believe that Thomas Kinkade’s art has touched many people. He claimed to be the nation;s most collected living artist and his paintings were said to be sold for around $100 million a year in sales and is said to be in over 10 million homes in the United states. Kinkade was loved by many and didn't cause any damaging affect with his paintings. His business was struggling in recent years before his death but he will always be remembered for painting beautiful cottages, rives, landscapes and being the master for light with his paint brush. 

Wednesday, May 16, 2012


Politics & Violence

Rules against killings in the Yanomamo Culture:

The Yanomamo people don’t have any written language, laws, law enforcement or judges which make it very difficult to try and run a society. They do have some regular rules that people know when they are doing right from wrong but people rarely follow them. One of the main differences between the Yanomamo people and western cultures would have to be the revenge killings. In our culture it is wrong to take another person’s life even they killed someone in your family and he will also be punished for it. In the Yanomamo culture they don’t get punished for their actions and sometimes they will raise their social status in society for because they killed someone. We as a western culture are so reliant on our law makers and judges that we are unable to kill for revenge because it is so frowned upon.

The Process of Revenge

Normally in the Yanomamo culture the revenge fights start over women, sex or jealousy. The fights normally included a lot of yelling and weapon of some sort and they always seem to emasculate fast. If a death occurs during the fight then the village divides up and the families will start the mini war for revenge and it is total chaos. The two parties that are fighting will try and kill any family member to get revenge for the death of their loved one and normally they go after the first available member they can kill. 70% of the men and women in the village over the age of 40 have had someone in their family die one way or another from the revenge killings.





Unokais vs. Non-Unokais:

There are many different benefits to being a Unokais and one of them are you are high up in society and you are respected. The only way you can be a Unokais is if you have killed someone during the revenge killings Also if you are a Unokais you can have marital and reproductive benefits. They have a better opportunity in finding mates because of the high social statues. A Yanomamo man can still participate in the revenge killings but normally they don’t because they only normally kill one person. If their participate in to many of the revenge killings they might end up killing family members because all of the village are tide pretty close and almost everyone is related one way or another.

Non-Unokais

It seems that there are not many benefits of being a non-Unokais because you don’t get first pick of the women and you don’t get to have a high social standing because you haven’t killed in the vengeance killings before. It wouldn’t do any good to be a non-Unokais because you don’t get any respect or benefits. The only good thing that can come from being a non-Unokais is that fact that you wouldn’t be a murder and many people in society are related so it would also mean that you have killed any of your family members.

Political Structure: The revenge killings bring a lot of people closer together because a large part f the Yanomamo village will band together to fight other villages nearby that they share a kinship with. The fact that killing others is so praised in the Yanomamo society it also brings people closer because everyone want to be accepted and have a high social standing. The culture is also a lot about loyalty and during the killings some loyalties may get broken because o kinship or it could make some of the loyalties stronger. If the loyalties don’t remain strong it could weaken the community as a whole because they rely on that so much.

Social Status & Organization: Social Status is extremely important to the Yanomamo people so when a revenge killing occurs it is important for the village that is going to fight the other village to band together and from a unity to the revenge they deserve for the loss of their loved one. When one group looses a member of their family they are sometimes impacted negatively because their family is going down in size and it does happen often. The people who participate in the killings ultimately gain social status and that is the most sought after success in their culture.




Kinship: Almost all of the surrounding villages have family member in them. The revenge killings negativity impact the pope lint he village because they sometimes end up killing their own family, Relationship between people can be impacted negatively if they don’t want to participate in the revenge killings if they know that their family members will be in the attacked village and sometimes this can make a person’s social status go down if they don’t want to participate in the killings. They don’t want to participate in killing their own family.

Marriage& Reproduction: If a man is a Unokais then they will get many benefits which helps them in many ways. Because they have killed someone they have a high social standing which makes them pretty popular with the women and they get many women to choose from. They can also have children with many different women because they are so highly respected in the society.

Laws against killing:

In many cultures there needs to be laws in place to try and prevent people from acting out and creating total chaos. In western society it is wrong to kill another person unless it is in times of war or self defense. Even in times of self defense people feel horrible after they commit the killings because they know in their heart that it is wrong to kill someone. We have to have these laws because people are going to break the law no matter what because they have problems. There is no such thing as a perfect society and that’s why we have these laws in place and people employed to protect us. In our culture killing someone for any reason is completely looked down upon and sometimes talked about in the media to bash the person who committed the crimes name. There is always going to be revenge in any culture but it’s not allowed in our culture and for good reason because it is a never ending process. Revenge will never give people what they really seek because all they really want is their loved one back.  




Wednesday, May 9, 2012


Interview and Family Tree

I conducted the interview with my mother. We have a very large family tree. My mother was born in Van Nuys California to my Grandmother Donna Hart stated on my family tree.  My mother’s mom and father divorced while my grandmother was pregnant with my mom. My mother was raised alone by my grandmother and didn’t even meet her father till she was 18. The while family tree listed below my mother had no idea about till she was 18. She lived a life mostly alone and spending time with friend since my grandmother worked 40 to 50 hours a week for the studios. My mother was raise by her great aunt while by grandma was at work till she was eight years old. Once my other great aunt died she stayed with friends during the day until she was old enough to stay home alone. My mother‘s ethnic backgrounds is half Italian and English, Irish, Swedish, German and Norwegian.

I felt the interview was very comfortable because my mother and I are so close. There were a few things that my mom was unsure about and she had a stuff time because she didn’t meet her dad till she was 18 which still is a sad thing for her to discuss. She is close to a few people on the family tree but because my mother (EGO) has so many half brother and sisters it makes it a little confusing. The interview was very informative and I learned things about my heritage that I didn’t know before. My mother lived a harder life than I even realized.

My family tree dates all the way back to 1828 and it has changed every much over the time of the tree.  The family started in Sicily and then migrated over and started buying real state and many convenient stores which made some of the family pretty wealthy. At the start of my family tree there were many children and for about 60 years everyone on the tree had at least 4 children but as time moved on there was less and less children born to each family ad a few people on the family tree didn’t have any children.  Towards the end of the tree most people only had two children including my mother. Because my mother was married into the family she isn’t close to most of the people because my Grandmother and grandfather got divorced before my mother was even born. Most of my family is Sicilian except for my father’s side. There are many rifts between the family due to my Grandfather Vince with is the EGO’s father. He was married many times and has many different children with many different women some he wasn’t married too; this was looked down upon in my family. There are some ethnic differences because half of my family has money and the other half doesn’t so this also created tension and decided where most of the family lived. My mother was close to great aunt Jerri and two half sisters Suzy and Serafina.

Do you know the relatives on both your mother and father’s side of the family well? 

Yes, I know both sides of my family pretty well. I know my father’s side a lot better because we always get together for family functions and we are all pretty close. I did the interview with my mother because I don’t know her families side as well and I thought it would be interesting to learn more about it. In know my mother’s: father, mother, a few half sibling, aunt and a few cousins but most of them I have never met before.

Do you socialize equally with them?  Why or why not? 

I socialize more with my father side of the family because many of them live closer and I grew up knowing all of my cousins, aunt and uncles on my father side so I feel very comfortable with them. On my mother’s side (EGO) I only know a few people and we use to get together with them every year on Christmas Eve but some people have moved away and  my one great aunt who would host all the parties has gotten a lot older and its harder for her to host there parties anymore.

Which members of your family have the most influence in decisions made in the family? 
Explore why this is the case.

On my mother’s side my Grandma and Great Aunt Jerri would plan all o the events that would get the whole family together. At this time my grandma and Aunt Jerri are not on speaking terms so this had really made it hard for my family to see my mother’s side. On my Dad’s side him and his six brothers and sister always come together and have family meetings to make group decisions, which I find to be a great thing. I have always thought the communication is the key.

Are family members who marry into the family treated differently than members born into the family?
Yes, people born into the family are treated differently than people who are married in. My grandmother wasn’t treated very well by the Turdo family for many years until my mom went looking to find her family. Once they all meet my mom they welcomed my grandmother back into the family but before my mom went looking for her father my grandmother hadn’t spoken with the Turdo family in 18 years. I found this part of the interview to be very sad because on my Dad’s side of the family everyone welcomes everyone newcomer on with open arms.

Are their different attitudes towards family members based upon gender?  Describe
.
Yes, and No, my family started out pretty traditional where the women cooked, cleaned and raised the children; whereas the men went out and worked. This whole concept changed over the years because of divorces and having children out of wedlock. For the most part now my family treats every gender as equals.

What insights have you learned about your family through this exercise?

I learned a lot about my family. I never realized how many family members that my mom even had. I thought it was really cool that my mom had a whole family tree that we could build together. My great aunt has been working on the family tree for a few years so everyone in our family can see where they came from. It was very cool to make my own version of the family tree. I also learned that I am Norwegian form my father’s side which I didn’t know before.  I learned a lot about my mother childhood that I didn’t know before and some of it I had forgotten. I always think it is good to know where you come from!

Turdo family tree

IGNAZIO TURDO & ANNA D’AGOSTINO

The Family Tree for my Mother's side! (EGO)

Parents to Giovanni & Angela Turdo – (m. 7/29/1828) in Monreale, Italy

GIOVANNI TURDO & ANGELA TERZO
They both struggled to feed and support 9 children.  Angela was a strong personality and supported her family with her wood-fire oven that she charged for people to use in making bread, etc.  She was taken out of an orphanage at apprx. 14 yrs of age by her soon to be husband for immediate marriage.  Rumors say Angela was partly Arab.  She died approx. in her 80s.)  Giovanni was a livery maker (ie. fancy saddles, carts for horses).  Was self-confident/strong personality and known to have a hot temper.  He exercised by walking every day from Monreale to Palermo approx. 3 miles.  He lived to be 85 yrs old.

                                                9 Children
1.   Ignazio – (b. 1/9/1884) (m. Bettina Colletta)
a.    (F) Angela (died old)
b.    (M) Giovanni
c.(F) Michele
2.   (F) Anna (“Zia Ignica”) – (b. 11/15/1885) (m. John Madonia)
a.    No children
3.   Guiseppa (“Pepina”) – (b. 7/4/1887) (m. Rosario Sivigla) (d. at 94)
  1. (M) Paolo – (b. 4/6/1891)( d. c. 1990) (m. Rose Bretagna d. 1984 remarried Sam LaMantia 2nd m. had Franco)
a.    (M) John Paul Turdo (“Big John”) (b. 11/11/1920)(d. 2001) (m. 19945 Donna (M) Lee King  b. 2/20/27 d. 1994 ) John remarried Lauri Cartwright
                                          i.        (F) Marcia Rose Turdo (b. 11/6/1946)(m. 1968 Jay C. Brandon  b.12/30/46) no children
                                        ii.        (F) Paula Marie Turdo (b. 11/6/1946) (m. 1969 Bruce L. Williams)
1.     (M) Brian Travis William (b. 8/22/1970) Paula remarried Woody Matlock
2.    (M) John Paul Williams (b. 11/2/74) (m. Bigette A. Hesketh 2000)
·         (M) Christian John Williams (b. 10/19/1997
·         (M) Hunter Alexander Williams (b. 11/20/2001)
·         (M) Landon Ryder Williams (b. 11/27/2008)
·         New Baby Due (b.11/20/11?)
                                       iii.        (F) Donna Lee Turdo (b. 8/21/1952 (m. 1978 Jan D. Affinito) Donna remarried Petre La Pella
1.    (M) Rudy Travis Affinito (b. 6/8/1980) no children
                                       iv.        (M) Franco (1/2 Brother) (b. 1940) (m. Rosa)

  1. (M) Gaspara – (b. 1/15/1893) (m. Rosalia Macaluso)
a.    (F) Angela – (m. Francesco Coniglio)
                                          i.        (M) Ignazio
                                        ii.        (M) Rino
                                       iii.        (F) LaLa
                                       iv.        (F) Rosalia
                                        v.        (F) Silvana
b.    (M) Giovanni – (b. 3/11/23) (d. 1/31/2005) Heart disease, High Blood Pressure, diabetes (m. Crocifissa (“Fina”) Badiagiacca) (b. 9/8/30) (d. 1/23/1991) carpool tunnel, breast cancer) (They were first cousins and eloped)
                                          i.        (F) (EGO’s second cousin) Rosalia Anna Turdo (“Rosanna”) (b. 5/18/59) carpool tunnel, thyroid, breast cancer (m. Fillipo Daniel Rabottini (“Philip)
1.    (M) Ercole (“Eric”) – (b. 3/4/95)
2.    (M) Marco – (b. 5/14/1998)
                                        ii.        (F) Silvana (b. 9/15/65) breast cancer (m. Scott Brownlie)
1.    (F) Amanda – (b. 7/17/91)
2.    (M) Jonathon – (b. 11/?/1994)
c.(M) Salvatora (“Toto”) (b. ______) (m. Maria ____________
                                          i.        Rino (m. Mecala)
1.    _________
2.    _________
                                        ii.        (F) Lilliana (m. ___________
1.    __________
2.    __________
d.    (F) Nina (b. ______) – (m. Giovanni Viola)
                                          i.        (F) Pia (m. Domenico (“Mimmo”) Billeci)
1.    (F) Annalisa
2.    (F) Valentina (b. ?/?1978)
                                        ii.        (M) Franco Viola (m. ___________ Caliste)
1.    (M) Giovanni
2.    (F) Nina
3.    _______
e.    Ignazio (b. 8/9/1935) – (m. Gioacchina (“Ina”) Giaconia (b. 7/29/1940)
                                          i.        (F) Mellody Lynn (“Linda”) (b. 8/10/1960) (d. 7/3/2003) diabetes (different mother)
                                        ii.        (M) Rino (b. 10/30/1966) (m. Caterina Clemente)
1.    (F) Laure (b. 11/25/1993)
2.    (F) Elena (b. 5/14/1997)
                                       iii.        (F) Letizia (b. 6/5/1968) (m. Francesco Stallone)
1.    (F) Celine
2.    (F) Erica
                                       iv.        Danielle (b. 5/31/1970) (m. Giusi __________
1.    (F) Andrea
2.    (M) Davide
                                        v.        (F) Diana (b. 10/28/1972) (m. Fabrizio Cinquemani)
1.    (F) Alessia
2.    __________
  1. (F) Rosalia (“Rosina”) – (b. 9/30/1894) (m. John Colletta)
a.    (M) John (m. __________
b.    (F) Angelina (b. 1/9/1929) (m. Joseph Macaluso) (b. 12/17/1925)
                                          i.        (F) Anna Marie (b. 2/2/1952) (m. 11/25/2000 Michael Moore
                                        ii.        (M) Joseph, Jr. (b 12/15/1956) (d. ?/?/?) (m.  Pam Barnes) (d. ?/?/?)
1.    (M) Joseph Jr. (b. 3/11/?) (d. ?/?/?)
2.    (M) Paul (b. 12/15/?) (d. ?/?/?)
                                       iii.        (F) Rosemaria (b. 11/9/1964) (m. 3/14/1992) Russ Anschultz (d. ?/?/?)
1.    (M) Brent (b.  6/18/1995)
2.    (F) Emily (b.  2/16/2003)
c.(F) Flora – (d. 2004 diabetes) (m. John Randazzo a baker)
d.    (M) Joseph (“Pino”) (m. Concetta) (“Connie”)
                                          i.        (F) Dollie (m. Robert Stokke)
                                        ii.        (F) Maria (m. ________
                                       iii.        (M) Joseph, Jr. (m.
e.    (F) Anna
f.     (M) Michael
  1. (F) Benedetta (“Nina”) (b. 8/30/1896) diabetes
a.    (M) John
b.    (M) Paolo
c.(F) Angela
  1. (M) Michelangelo (“Mike”) (b. 1/19/1900)(m. 6/26/1926)(d. 11/11/1957)(m. Serafina (F) Brettagna (“Fay”) (b. 1/1/1910) ( d.6/20/1975) Michelangelo  smoker heartattack
a.    (M) John (d. 2/25/72) (m. 6/1951 Marie Bonanno d. 12/25/00)
                                          i.        (F) Serena (m. Tom Ritchie)
1.    (F) Liane (b. 5/26/79)
            a.(F)          Myiana (b. 5/30/97)
b.    (M) (EGO’s father) Vince (b. ___________)(4 marriages) (Asthma, High Blood Pressure)
  1st. m. Shirley (b. 5/2/27) (m. Rob Robinson)
ii.        (F) (EGO’s ½ sister) Serafina (“Fina”) (b. ________)(m. Chadwick Barrie)
1.(M)         Dion (b. 4/23/72) (m. Erin Denti)
·               (F) Chandee Barrie (b. 5/70/92)
·               (F) Ella Barrie (b. 2/20/2009)
·               (F) Cheyenne Barrie (b. 11/3/96)
·               (F) Hayley Barrie (b. 4/12/98)
iii.     (F) (EGO’s ½ sister) Suzy (b. ___________)(m. Rick Earnhart)
1.    (M) Eric Earnhart (b. 7/2/75)
2.    (F) Nicole Earnhart (b. 6/11/87)
- Haley Earnhart (b. 3/21/09)
3.    (M) Bryan Earnhart (b. 8/8/88)

  2nd. m. Donna Hart (b. _____________) (Mother to EGO)
1.    (EGO) Pam Hart (b. 7/24/61) (m.(FatherRoy Johnson)
·               (ME) Heather Louise (b. 4/12/1985)
·               (BROTHER) Sean William (b. 8/15/1989) (asthma)




 Key

b. = born, m. = married, d. = died m. = male f. -= female EGO = mom