PEOPLE CARDS INFORMATION
Card 13: Ahsökawä
A:
Captions:
PH108 Ahsökawä rests in his hammock. Joints of smoked meat hang from the rafters.
The tube used for blowing ebene is called mokohiro. He is holding one.
Main Text:
Card 14
A:
Captions:
Main Text:
Card 15: Barahiwä
A:
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Captions:
PH111 Keböwä curing Barahiwä.
PH130 Wadoshewä, Barahiwä, Keböwä and other important men of Mishimishimaböwei-teri
prepare to eat the ashes of Reirowä who died in 1971. The dead man's ashes are mixed
into plantain soup.
Main Text:
268160
Barahiwä, brother of Wadoshewä
and Daramasiwä, begins an animated harangue of his nephew,
Mohesiwä.
274520 A
woman
carrying a long firewood club begins an exchange of insults with
Barahiwä,
who is shouting at
Mohesiwä.
276400
Mohesiwä
leans on his club, unresponsive to the verbal attacks of
Barahiwä. A
woman
stands behind Mohesiwä and shouts vigorously at his uncle.
280320 Long shot. [Filming has resumed after a short pause.]
Mohesiwä
leans on his club and stares fixedly at the ground.
Bireima
strokes
Törawä
while
Hurumöwä
stands over them protectively. Behind Mohesiwä,
Nakahedami
shouts in the direction of her adversary, Yaukuima.
Barahiwä
makes one final emphatic gesture and departs.
Card 16 Bireima
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Captions:
Main Text:
244880
Räaiyowä
marches toward the fight. Just above his head in the current frame of film,
Törawä
can be seen collapsing. A
woman, probably Törawä's wife Bireima, kneels behind him as he falls to the ground. [A still-frame sequence provides greater
clarity:
FR244880]
257440 Zoom out to wide angle.
Törawä
sits almost collapsed on the ground and is stroked by his wife,
Bireima.
Mohesiwä
leans heavily on his club while his uncle
Hurumöwä
lifts his own club and takes a few stutter-steps forward. Cut.
260080 Medium shot. [Filming has resumed after a short pause.]
Bireima
continues to stroke
Törawä.
Nanokawä
threatens someone off-camera with his club.
265200 Zoom out.
Borowama
joins
Bireima
in ministering to
Törawä.
280320 Long shot. [Filming has resumed after a short pause.]
Mohesiwä
leans on his club and stares fixedly at the ground.
Bireima
strokes
Törawä
while
Hurumöwä
stands over them protectively. Behind Mohesiwä,
Nakahedami
shouts in the direction of her adversary, Yaukuima.
Barahiwä
makes one final emphatic gesture and departs.
297360
Törawä
finally gets to his feet and strides off in an unconvincing display of nonchalance.
He is followed by his wife,
Bireima.
Card 17: Borowama
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Captions:
Main Text:
85360 Again,
Mohesiwä
attacks with his bow stave.
Uuwä
gives ground, dodging the thrusts.
Borowama, mother of
Nakahedami,
Törawä
and
Mohesiwä, leaves her section of the village and walks into the plaza. She brings a himo
club, a short, heavy palmwood staff made for fighting.
98640
Mohesiwä's mother,
Borowama, approaches, retrieves her son's bow stave from the ground, and reprimands
Uuwä.
101440
Mohesiwä
stretches out his injured arm and
Borowama
comforts him by stroking it.
Nakahedami
stamps her feet and shouts insults at
Uuwä
while she goads her brother
Törawä.
102920 Other women and children gather as
Borowama
and
Nakahedami
scold
Uuwä. One woman walks behind him, carrying her baby and a club.
FR533120
107600
Borowama
strokes
Mohesiwä'
s injured arm while they confront Uuwä.
114800
Husiheami,
Borowama's co-wife, supports
Mohesiwä
by standing between him and
Nakahedami. She glares at a
woman
from
Uuwä's side who points an accusing finger at Husiheami and Nakahedami as she charges toward
them.
125400
Husiheami,
Borowama
and
Nakahedami
continue to shout at the women near
Moramanama.
Dirimawä, a son of the famous shaman, Dedeheiwä, walks across the plaza and takes a position at the edge of the crowd.
146840 The injured
Mohesiwä
turns from the confrontation and heads back to his hammock, leaving
Törawä
to keep
Uuwä
at bay.
Kaösarama,
the wife of Mohesiwä's uncle, Daramasiwä, walks in the same direction.
*11 Nakahedami
continues to berate
Uuwä's group as she and
Borowama
return home.
148720 Across the plaza from Möawä
is
Nanokawä,
Borowama's brother, wearing a feather armband. Nanokawä is a leader of the visiting Ironasi-teri
(including
Mohesiwä
) and is a rival of Möawä. He shakes his finger at the retreating Mohesiwä, apparently
reproving him. [Chagnon reports that Nanokawä stood off-camera behind Mohesiwä during
the fight, in a gesture of support.]
155960
Törawä
marches away, shoulders hunched forward, arms akimbo.
Nakahedami
and
Borowama
continue to shout insults at Uuwä's
supporters.
178520 Seeing
Keböwä's approach,
Borowama
grabs a bow stave and hands it to
Mohesiwä, who has been resting. A
woman, probably Mohesiwä's wife Huuhuumi, sits in a hammock beside him, nursing a baby. The woman begins to shout and tucks
her nursling under one arm.
182440
Mohesiwä
and
Keböwä
struggle over the ax.
Borowama
and
Husiheami,
Mohesiwä's wife, back off when
Yoinakuwä
arrives and threatens them.
265200 Zoom out.
Borowama
joins
Bireima
in ministering to
Törawä.
287040
Wadoshewä's younger wife,
Husiheami, strokes
Törawä
as
Borowama tries to help him to his feet.
393760
Waböama
insults someone across the plaza, apparently Borowama, whom she calls a "woman of the Waikas," a neighboring people who are regarded as
inferior Yanomamö. Subtitle: "It's their ugly mothers that made them that way! You're
all descended from pus and pimples! You all come from the Village of Pimples!"
Card 18: Daramasiwä
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Captions:
PH062 Asch and Johnson film shamans during a curing ceremony. Daramasiwä leans against
a house post with both hands behind his head.
PH142 Chagnon records a conversation with Möawä, headman of Mishimishimaböwei-teri,
and Daramasiwä.
PH167 During a curing ceremony, Keböwä prances and struts with his bow and arrows,
Daramasiwä stands against a post, and Yoinakuwä sits up front, near Keböwä, Dedeheiwä
sits with hands clasped on his chest and wears a feather armband.
Main Text:
146840 The injured
Mohesiwä
turns from the confrontation and heads back to his hammock, leaving
Törawä
to keep
Uuwä
at bay.
Kaösarama,
the wife of Mohesiwä's uncle, Daramasiwä, walks in the same direction.
*11 Nakahedami
continues to berate
Uuwä's group as she and
Borowama
return home.
251063 Pan to Sinabimi's son-in-law,
Maiyahariwä.
Daramasiwä, Mohesiwä's paternal uncle, stands opposite, with his eyes almost closed, his club stuck upright
in the ground, and his back to Mohesiwä's opponents.
255960
Nanokawä
stands behind
Daramasiwä.
Mohesiwä
leans on his club behind
Kuaiwä,
Nakahedami's husband.
260600
Hurumöwä
and
Daramasiwä
stand conspicuously between their young nephew and his adversaries. Zoom in to
Törawä
on the ground.
268160
Barahiwä, brother of Wadoshewä
and Daramasiwä, begins an animated harangue of his nephew,
Mohesiwä.
272280
Wadoshewä
waves his hand dismissively in the direction of
Mohesiwä.
Daramasiwä
drops his statuesque pose and also remonstrates in the same direction.
Card 19: Dedeheiwä
A:
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Captions:
PH024 Two women and the shaman Dedeheiwä returning from garden with heavy loads of
plantains
PH029 Dedeheiwä rests on a log after weeding his garden. He pulls a thorn from his
foot
PH044 Dirimawä, Dedeheiwä's son, transplants plantain cuttings in his garden. The
cuttings are heavy and this is men's work.
PH048 Dirimawä, Dedeheiwä's son, transplants plantain cuttings in his garden.
PH065 Tim Asch rests in the shade while Dedeheiwä weeds his garden.
PH104 Dararaiwä and Yoaiyoböwä are sons of Dedeheiwä & his brother.
PH109 Dedeheiwä and Shäyäremi, his youngest half-sister by the same father. He is
50 years older than his sister!
PH116 Hururuawä, one of Dedeheiwä's sons, hollows out a gourd. Such gourds are often
(but not always) used to store the ashes of deceased kin.
PH117 A woman and Dadakämö, Dedeheiwä's daughter, recline in hammocks.
PH127 Warfare is endemic among Yanomamö villages in this region of Yanomamöland. Young
boys are instructed in the ways of warfare from an early age. This group of young
raiders was organized by Dedeheiwä.
PH143 Dedeheiwä instructing his son, Dirimawä, on the secrets of the Hekura.
PH146 Möawä making a bowstave while his wife, Dairama delouses him. Dairama is Dedeheiwä's
daughter.
PH151 Dedeheiwä offering ebene to his son, Dirimawä. The hallucinogenic snuff powder
will be blown through the tube into his son's nose.
PH152 Rämoböwä, Dedeheiwä's son, joins Bissasi-teri and Mishimishimaböwei-teri warriors
in allied raid on Patanowä-teri in 1970.
PH159 Dedeheiwä curing a sick villager by sympathetic magic. He symbolically pierces
his own body with an arrow.
PH167 During a curing ceremony, Keböwä prances and struts with his bow and arrows,
Daramasiwä stands against a post, and Yoinakuwä sits up front, near Keböwä, Dedeheiwä
sits with hands clasped on his chest and wears a feather armband.
PH172 Dedeheiwä lost his 'soul' and these people help find it. They all gather at
night in the plaza to perform a noreshimou, or "soul search" ceremony.
PH180 Dedeheiwä weeds his garden. Tim Asch and I made a short film about this event.
PH184 Dedeheiwä chants to summon hekura spirits. His older brother, Ishiweiwä, is
in the background wearing a monkey tail headband
PH191 Yakahaiwä blows the ebene snuff into Dedeheiwä's nostril. The men are about
to begin their regular curing ceremony.
PH195 Dedeheiwä having ebene blown into his nostril by Yakahaiwä .
PH199 Dedeheiwä wretches after getting a strong blast of ebene in his nostril.
PH200 Dedeheiwä, in the middle of the plaza at Mishimishimaböwei-teri, chants to his
hekura spirits not long after the ax fight incident.
Main Text:
125400
Husiheami,
Borowama
and
Nakahedami
continue to shout at the women near
Moramanama.
Dirimawä, a son of the famous shaman, Dedeheiwä, walks across the plaza and takes a position at the edge of the crowd.
162880
Shimoneiwä, a son of Dedeheiwä, and
Shiririwä, a son of Ishiweiwä
(Dedeheiwä's older brother), walk from the plaza holding hands.
Card 20: Dimöma
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Captions:
Main Text:
57869 Pan to
Dimöma, Sinabimi's niece, crying in her hammock.
324240 Long shot.
Räaiyowä
stands in front of Yoinakuwä's house. He holds his distinctive club. Zoom in to
Dimöma
who has apparently remained crying in her hammock since the first moments of the
film. Slow zoom out.
352600 Soft focus close-up, then slow zoom out from
Dimöma
in her hammock.
Wailing is heard. Cut.
Card 21: Dirimawä
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Captions:
PH044 Dirimawä, Dedeheiwä's son, transplants plantain cuttings in his garden. The
cuttings are heavy and this is men's work.
PH048 Dirimawä, Dedeheiwä's son, transplants plantain cuttings in his garden.
PH056 Dirimawä plants ohina tubers in his garden. The trunks of the felled trees will
eventually be chopped up for firewood.
PH075 Asch and Johnson film Dirimawä transplanting plantains in his garden. 'Double
system' sync sound required two person teams for filming.
PH143 Dedeheiwä instructing his son, Dirimawä, on the secrets of the Hekura.
PH151 Dedeheiwä offering ebene to his son, Dirimawä. The hallucinogenic snuff powder
will be blown through the tube into his son's nose.
Main Text:
125400
Husiheami,
Borowama
and
Nakahedami
continue to shout at the women near
Moramanama.
Dirimawä, a son of the famous shaman, Dedeheiwä, walks across the plaza and takes a position at the edge of the crowd.
177320
Keböwä
sprints across the plaza, passing behind
Dirimawä
who appears not to notice him.
229760
Dirimawä
shortens a roof pole with his machete, turning it into a nabrushi club.
Räaiyowä,
now armed, races back across the plaza toward the conflict.
Card 22
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Main Text:
Card 23
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Main Text:
Card 24
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Main Text:
Card 25
A:
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Main Text:
Card 26
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Main Text:
Card 27
A:
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Main Text:
Card 28: Hurumöwä
A:
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Captions:
PH010 Curing ceremonies usually occur in the afternoon and preparations begin earlier
in the day. Hurumöwä makes the hallucinogenic snuff powder ebene from yayoi leaves.
PH190 Hurumöwä prepares hallucinogenic snuff powder from yayoi kä hena, a cultivated
plant grown in the gardens. The leaves are dried, roasted and then ground to a fine
powder.
PH207 Hurumöwä pulls a sickness out through the head of Ruwamowä.
PH212 Hurumöwä displays the sickness that he has pulled out of Ruwamowä to the patient.
Main Text:
235480
Yakahaiwä, co-husband of Hurumöwä, charges out of the crowd to drive away a woman on the fringes.
FR720387
257440 Zoom out to wide angle.
Törawä
sits almost collapsed on the ground and is stroked by his wife,
Bireima.
Mohesiwä
leans heavily on his club while his uncle
Hurumöwä
lifts his own club and takes a few stutter-steps forward. Cut.
260600
Hurumöwä
and
Daramasiwä
stand conspicuously between their young nephew and his adversaries. Zoom in to
Törawä
on the ground.
280320 Long shot. [Filming has resumed after a short pause.]
Mohesiwä
leans on his club and stares fixedly at the ground.
Bireima
strokes
Törawä
while
Hurumöwä
stands over them protectively. Behind Mohesiwä,
Nakahedami
shouts in the direction of her adversary, Yaukuima.
Barahiwä
makes one final emphatic gesture and departs.
Card 29: Husiheami
A:
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Captions:
Main Text:
114800
Husiheami,
Borowama's co-wife, supports
Mohesiwä
by standing between him and
Nakahedami. She glares at a
woman
from
Uuwä's side who points an accusing finger at Husiheami and Nakahedami as she charges toward
them.
125400
Husiheami,
Borowama
and
Nakahedami
continue to shout at the women near
Moramanama.
Dirimawä, a son of the famous shaman, Dedeheiwä, walks across the plaza and takes a position at the edge of the crowd.
182440
Mohesiwä
and
Keböwä
struggle over the ax.
Borowama
and
Husiheami,
Mohesiwä's wife, back off when
Yoinakuwä
arrives and threatens them.
194360
Törawä
raises his machete to threaten
Keböwä. Keböwä finally wrests his ax from
Mohesiwä.
Husiheami
faces
Yoinakuwä
on one side of the confrontation, while
Nakahedami
stamps her feet and shouts on the other side. The men separate in a standoff.
287040
Wadoshewä's younger wife,
Husiheami, strokes
Törawä
as
Borowama
tries to help him to his feet.
Card 30: Huuhuumi
A:
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93880 A
woman, possibly
Mohesiwä's wife Huuhuumi
,
takes a child by the hand and begins to walk toward the fight. A baby is slung on
her back. She meets another woman carrying a baby. Both turn away from the conflict.
178520 Seeing
Keböwä's approach,
Borowama
grabs a bow stave and hands it to
Mohesiwä, who has been resting. A
woman, probably Mohesiwä's wife Huuhuumi, sits in a hammock beside him, nursing a baby. The woman begins to shout and tucks
her nursling under one arm.
180120
Keböwä
attacks the
woman, probably Huuhuumi.
Mohesiwä
fends off Keböwä with his bow stave and the woman escapes to the rear. Another woman
breaks into a run across the plaza as
Yoinakuwä
approaches Mohesiwä's group with his machete. [For a still-frame sequence of Keböwä's
attack, see:
FR180120]
Card 31: Dedeheiwä
A:
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Captions:
PH184 Dedeheiwä chants to summon hekura spirits. His older brother, Ishiweiwä, is
in the background wearing a monkey tail headband
Main Text:
162880
Shimoneiwä, a son of Dedeheiwä, and
Shiririwä, a son of Ishiweiwä
(Dedeheiwä's older brother), walk from the plaza holding hands.
Card 32: Iyaböwä
A:
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Captions:
Main Text:
192000
Iyaböwä, carrying an ax, strides toward the conflict but steps on something that delays his
progress.
201520 Unable to intimidate the ax-wielding
Keböwä,
Törawä
exchanges his machete for
Iyaböwä's ax.
PH10
204880
Nanokawä, leader of the visiting group, strides aggressively but unarmed into the throng.
Iyaböwä
and
Yoinakuwä
hang back from the action with their machetes. A
woman, possibly Yaukuima, arrives with a himo
club which she offers to Yoinakuwä in exchange for his machete.
Moramanama
sprints toward the fight, passing a woman who runs away with a baby.
Card 33: Kaaböwä
A:
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Captions:
Main Text:
91920 The number of people involved in the confrontation grows.
Kaaböwä,
Mohesiwä's brother-in-law, brings a club.
Törawä
steps in between
Uuwä
and
Keböwä.
123160 Though
Kaaböwä
is a brother of
Mohesiwä's wife, he stands beside
Uuwä, faced off against
Törawä. [Kaaböwä's alignment is notable because affines are usually strong allies.]
140400 Zoom in to
Törawä,
Yoinakuwä
and
Kaaböwä
who brandish clubs. The original antagonists,
Uuwä
and
Mohesiwä, rest their weapons.
154880 Camera pans with
Törawä.
Kaaböwä
departs with his club over his shoulder.
233400 Zoom in.
Wadoshewä
passes
Mohesiwä
and moves off to the right. There, a
man
wearing a red loin cloth, probably Kaaböwä, strikes a terrific overhead blow with a long club at someone in the throng.
235400
Wadoshewä
shakes his finger at the
man, probably Kaaböwä, who has just struck a blow at someone in the crowd.
PH21
Card 34: Kaösarama
A:
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Captions:
PH016 Baskets are indispensable for transporting loads of food and firewood from the
gardens. Kaösarama makes a wöö basket for carrying loads up to seventy pounds.
PH097 Kaösarama snacks on one of the many abundant fruits gathered in the surrounding
forest.
Main Text:
146400
Räaiyowä
waves at his aunt,
Kaösarama, and then runs off toward his house.
146840 The injured
Mohesiwä
turns from the confrontation and heads back to his hammock, leaving
Törawä
to keep
Uuwä
at bay.
Kaösarama,
the wife of Mohesiwä's uncle, Daramasiwä, walks in the same direction.
*11 Nakahedami
continues to berate Uuwä's group as she and
Borowama
return home.
Card 35: Keböwä
A:
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Captions:
PH111 Keböwä curing Barahiwä.
PH130 Wadoshewä, Barahiwä, Keböwä and other important men of Mishimishimaböwei-teri
prepare to eat the ashes of Reirowä who died in 1971. The dead man's ashes are mixed
into plantain soup.
PH167 During a curing ceremony, Keböwä prances and struts with his bow and arrows.
Daramasiwä stands against a post, and Yoinakuwä sits up front, near Keböwä. Dedeheiwä
sits with hands clasped on his chest and wears a feather armband.
PH171 Painted and decorated with ear ornaments, Keböwä chants to his hekura spirits.
Main Text:
90520 Recognizing that his brother
Mohesiwä
has been hurt,
Törawä
rushes out with his nabrushi
club raised against
Uuwä. [Nabrushi clubs are made as needed, from roof poles cut to a length suitable for
fighting.] Uuwä's brothers-in-law,
Yoinakuwä
(Sinabimi's husband) and
Keböwä, also arrive with clubs.
91920 The number of people involved in the confrontation grows.
Kaaböwä,
Mohesiwä's brother-in-law, brings a club.
Törawä
steps in between
Uuwä
and
Keböwä.
170320 During the lull, Yoinakuwä
and
Keböwä, his younger brother, have prepared to attack Mohesiwä's house. Yoinakuwä's wife Sinabimi
was beaten by Mohesiwä. But Keböwä, her husband's brother, charges out first, wielding
his ax.
171200 A
woman
stops in her tracks when
Keböwä
charges past. She turns and follows him.
173640
Yoinakuwä
runs from of his house with a machete, following his brother
Keböwä.
177320
Keböwä
sprints across the plaza, passing behind
Dirimawä
who appears not to notice him.
178520 Seeing
Keböwä's approach,
Borowama
grabs a bow stave and hands it to
Mohesiwä, who has been resting. A
woman, probably Mohesiwä's wife Huuhuumi, sits in a hammock beside him, nursing a baby. The woman begins to shout and tucks
her nursling under one arm.
180120
Keböwä
attacks the
woman, probably Huuhuumi.
Mohesiwä
fends off Keböwä with his bow stave and the woman escapes to the rear. Another woman
breaks into a run across the plaza as
Yoinakuwä
approaches Mohesiwä's group with his machete. [For a still-frame sequence of Keböwä's
attack, see:
FR180120]
182440
Mohesiwä
and
Keböwä
struggle over the ax.
Borowama
and
Husiheami,
Mohesiwä's wife, back off when
Yoinakuwä
arrives and threatens them.
186000 Camera pans with
Törawä
as he runs past the struggle between
Mohesiwä
and
Keböwä. He joins a
woman, who then sprints on ahead of him. Törawä stops and turns to look at Mohesiwä. Holding
his right arm out toward the woman, he then runs back to the fight.
194360
Törawä
raises his machete to threaten
Keböwä. Keböwä finally wrests his ax from
Mohesiwä.
Husiheami
faces
Yoinakuwä
on one side of the confrontation, while
Nakahedami
stamps her feet and shouts on the other side. The men separate in a standoff.
196080
Keböwä
feigns disengagement, then suddenly seizes
Mohesiwä
by the arm and strikes him repeatedly on the leg with the blunt end of his ax.
198280
Keböwä
continues to strike
Mohesiwä, undeterred by the fact that
Törawä
threatens him with a raised machete.
Yoinakuwä
watches
Törawä. A
woman, possibly Yaukuima, the sister of Keböwä and Yoinakuwä, runs across the plaza with a himo
club over her shoulder.
201520 Unable to intimidate the ax-wielding
Keböwä,
Törawä
exchanges his machete for
Iyaböwä's ax.
PH10
203160
Törawä
attacks
Keböwä
who is struggling with
Mohesiwä
for control of the ax. Törawä
misses his first swing but then delivers a series of blows, with the blunt end of
his ax, to Keböwä's lower back and legs. Keböwä retreats inside the shabono but quickly
squares off again with his antagonists.
206600
Keböwä
again struggles with
Mohesiwä
for control of his ax.
Törawä
maneuvers to strike Keböwä. As a number of armed men sprint to the action,
Nanokawä
strides off to obtain a club.
211240
Törawä
moves toward
Mohesiwä
and
Keböwä, who struggle over possession of the ax. He is blocked again, this time by
Yoroshianawä, his classificatory father. [Yoroshianawä's action is notable in view of the expectation
that classificatory fathers support their 'sons' in a fight.]
212240 For a second time
Törawä
escalates the fight by turning the sharp edge of his ax upward, preparing to strike
Keböwä.
Yoroshianawä
watches closely.
212760 Again,
Yoroshianawä
prevents
Törawä
from attacking
Keböwä. Yoroshianawä shoves his nephew, who staggers back a step. Keböwä's sister,
Yaukuima, watches from behind
.
214280
Yaukuima, Keböwä'
s sister, seizes the handle of
Törawä's ax as he staggers back. She twists the sharp edge away from
Keböwä and
pulls Törawä off balance.
FR679574
216040
Yaukuima
drags
Törawä
out of the fight toward the village entrance.
Keböwä
sees that Törawä's back is turned and charges the young man from behind.
216480
Yoroshianawä, unaware of
Keböwä's attack, strides away from
Törawä.
Visible over the heads of the crowd, Keböwä launches a powerful overhead blow with
his ax, the dull end forward. The rest of the action is not visible. [Chagnon, who
was near Törawä, says that the ax hit him squarely between the shoulder blades.]
FR685867
230440
Nakahedami, Törawä's sister, threatens
Yaukuima, Keböwä'
s sister
,
by wielding a piece of firewood. At this moment, Yaukuima is probably called by Keböwä,
for she suddenly abandons her fight and dashes to him. She lifts the ax from his
hand and runs off with it.
230960
Keböwä
takes up a himo
club and swings as
Törawä
charges him.
231200
Törawä
raises his ax high, attempting for a third time to strike
Keböwä
with the sharp edge.
Törawä rushes at Keböwä, but someone catches the ax and slows Törawä's momentum.
232080 As
Törawä's movement is slowed,
Nanokawä
steps in between him and
Keböwä.
232120
Törawä's father,
Wadoshewä, tussles briefly with a
bystander, probably Maiyahariwä, and pushes him back.
Nanokawä
moves forward, beside Törawä, wielding his club in the direction of
Keböwä.
Mohesiwä
advances.
232360
Keböwä
slashes again with his himo
club, probably at
Törawä. One cannot tell from the image whether the blow lands. Mohesiwä strikes at Keböwä
with his club.
232800
Törawä
gives up his attack. [He was weakened by Keböwä's earlier blow and now is perhaps further weakened from a second blow with the himo
club.]
234560
Törawä
turns, lowers his ax, and retreats from the surge of the crowd.
Mohesiwä
again rushes
Keböwä.
Card 36
A:
Captions:
Main Text:
Card 37: Kuaiwä
A:
249080
255960
Captions:
Main Text:
249080 Medium shot.
Mohesiwä
and
Wadoshewä, newly armed with a club, stand behind
Kuaiwä, Nakahedami's husband.
255960
Nanokawä
stands behind
Daramasiwä.
Mohesiwä
leans on his club behind
Kuaiwä,
Nakahedami's husband.
Card 38: Kumishiwä
A:
162040
Captions:
PH115 Kumishiwä reclines in his hammock. He is the current headman of Mishimishimaböwei-teri
headman, succeeding Möawä.
PH139 Möawä's most recent wife, added to his family in 1974. He died in approximately
1978/79 and Kumishiwä, one of his agnates, eventually became the headman of Mishimishimaböwei-teri.
PH150 Kumishiwä inspects a butchered tapir.
Main Text:
162040 Zoom out. The crowd thins.
Roenama,
Kumishiwä's wife, and other female
supporters
of Uuwä, walk toward the camera.
Card 39: Maiyahariwä
A:
232120
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Captions:
Main Text:
232120
Törawä's father,
Wadoshewä, tussles briefly with a
bystander, probably Maiyahariwä, and pushes him back.
Nanokawä
moves forward, beside Törawä, wielding his club in the direction of
Keböwä.
Mohesiwä
advances.
251063 Pan to Sinabimi's son-in-law,
Maiyahariwä.
Daramasiwä, Mohesiwä's paternal uncle, stands opposite, with his eyes almost closed, his club stuck upright
in the ground, and his back to Mohesiwä's opponents.
279440
Maiyahariwä
departs as
Wadoshewä
walks off-camera. At the rear of the shabono,
Nakahedami
struggles with
Yaukuima. Cut.
Card 40: Möawä
A:
147240
148720
440315
Captions:
PH115 Kumishiwä reclines in his hammock. He is the current headman of Mishimishimaböwei-teri
headman, succeeding Möawä.
PH119 Möawä, headman of Mishimishimaböwei-teri. The most violent man I have ever met.
PH139 Möawä's most recent wife, added to his family in 1974. He died in approximately
1978/79 and Kumishiwä, one of his agnates, eventually became the headman of Mishimishimaböwei-teri.
PH142 Chagnon records a conversation with Möawä, headman of Mishimishimaböwei-teri,
and Daramasiwä.
PH146 Möawä making a bowstave while his wife, Dairama delouses him. Dairama is Dedeheiwä's
daughter.
PH155 During a break in the filming, Möawä chants in hallucinogenic ecstasy to the
hekura.
PH156 Yahohoiwä, Möawä's brother, spits on the effigy of a Patanowä-teri man. They
hope to kill him in a joint raid together with their ally, Kaobawä.
PH168 View from the house where Asch, Johnson and I stayed during 1971 filming. We
were next to the village headman, Möawä.
PH183 Möawä has decorated himself so that when he takes ebene through the pipe he
is holding, the hekura spirits will be attracted by his chanting.
PH206 Shamans sometimes succumb to the attacks of enemy hekura spirits and must depend
on the efforts of their allies for help. Möawä stands over a prostrate shaman and
attempts to revive him.
Main Text:
147240
Möawä, a resident and headman of the village, passes close to the camera, wearing body
paint and feathers. Although Möawä is the most violent man in the village and a classificatory
brother of
Uuwä, he refrains from intervening in the incident.
148720 Across the plaza from Möawä
is
Nanokawä,
Borowama's brother, wearing a feather armband. Nanokawä is a leader of the visiting Ironasi-teri
(including
Mohesiwä
) and is a rival of Möawä. He shakes his finger at the retreating Mohesiwä, apparently
reproving him. [Chagnon reports that Nanokawä stood off-camera behind Mohesiwä during
the fight, in a gesture of support.]
440315 Möawä, headman of the village, asks in the Yanomamö language for Chagnon to give him some
soap.
Card 41: Mohesiwä
A:
7077
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Captions:
Main Text:
7077 Title: "THE AX FIGHT" For several weeks before the film was shot, people from
the neighboring village of Ironasi-teri had been visiting relatives in Mishimishimaböwei-teri.
The visitors are led by Nanokawä, who was invited by his brother-in-law, Wadoshewä. Nanokawä's two nephews play prominent roles in the film. Mohesiwä
is a visitor, Törawä a resident.
*11
(People whose names are underlined are not on camera at the current moment. A mouseclick
on an underlined name causes the icon of that person to be centered in the Main Genealogy
window.)
50600
Sinabimi
sobs in her hammock.
Sharama, her half-sister, strokes and comforts her. [Chagnon has reconstructed events on
the basis of contradictory reports. He concludes that shortly before filming began,
Sinabimi, a resident,was working in her garden. Her visiting nephew, Mohesiwä, demanded food. Sinabimi followed her husband's instructions and refused to share
her plantains with him. Mohesiwä then beat her with a club. She ran crying into the
village and told what had happened. Early rumors circulated that the incident had
involved incest. When he heard them, Chagnon first assumed that Sinabimi had been sexually
assaulted. Yanomamö concepts of incest, however, include any
act of familiarity or physical contact between a man and a prohibited woman. Technically,
Mohesiwä's contact with Sinabimi was also an incestuous act. ]
63760 As women sob and wail,
Sinabimi's male relatives hear of the outrage. Her brother, Uuwä, is infuriated. Off camera, the men pull out support poles for a club fight. Uuwä
takes up a club and marches to the center of the village where he loudly challenges
and insults Mohesiwä.
83120
Mohesiwä
swings rapidly at
Uuwä
with his bow stave, but misses each time. Mohesiwä's sister
Nakahedami,
carrying a club, runs from her house toward the conflict.
84240
Uuwä
delivers one clean blow with his club, striking
Mohesiwä
on the wrist. Some twenty minutes later, Mohesiwä can be seen still nursing and massaging
the wrist.
85360 Again,
Mohesiwä
attacks with his bow stave.
Uuwä
gives ground, dodging the thrusts.
Borowama, mother of
Nakahedami,
Törawä
and
Mohesiwä, leaves her section of the village and walks into the plaza. She brings a himo
club, a short, heavy palmwood staff made for fighting.
89720
Nakahedami
reaches her brother
Mohesiwä
and offers him the himo club to use against
Uuwä.
90520 Recognizing that his brother
Mohesiwä
has been hurt,
Törawä
rushes out with his nabrushi
club raised against
Uuwä. [Nabrushi clubs are made as needed, from roof poles cut to a length suitable for
fighting.] Uuwä's brothers-in-law,
Yoinakuwä
(Sinabimi's husband) and
Keböwä, also arrive with clubs.
91920 The number of people involved in the confrontation grows.
Kaaböwä,
Mohesiwä's brother-in-law, brings a club.
Törawä
steps in between
Uuwä
and
Keböwä.
93160
Mohesiwä
abandons his bow stave and takes the himo club brought by
Nakahedami.
93880 A
woman, possibly
Mohesiwä's wife Huuhuumi
,
takes a child by the hand and begins to walk toward the fight. A baby is slung on
her back. She meets another woman carrying a baby. Both turn away from the conflict.
96640
Mohesiwä,
Törawä
and
Uuwä
square off, glaring at each other.
97440
Mohesiwä
braces his club on the ground and assumes the formal stance used by Yanomamö in club
fights. He apparently challenges
Uuwä
to hit him.
Nakahedami
circles behind him.
98640
Mohesiwä's mother,
Borowama, approaches, retrieves her son's bow stave from the ground, and reprimands
Uuwä.
101440
Mohesiwä
stretches out his injured arm and
Borowama
comforts him by stroking it.
Nakahedami
stamps her feet and shouts insults at
Uuwä
while she goads her brother
Törawä.
107600
Borowama
strokes
Mohesiwä'
s injured arm while they confront Uuwä.
114800
Husiheami,
Borowama's co-wife, supports
Mohesiwä
by standing between him and
Nakahedami. She glares at a
woman
from
Uuwä's side who points an accusing finger at Husiheami and Nakahedami as she charges toward
them.
121629
Mohesiwä
leans on his club. With formal gestures, he denounces
Uuwä
and justifies beating Sinabimi.
123160 Though
Kaaböwä
is a brother of
Mohesiwä's wife, he stands beside
Uuwä, faced off against
Törawä. [Kaaböwä's alignment is notable because affines are usually strong allies.]
140400 Zoom in to
Törawä,
Yoinakuwä
and
Kaaböwä
who brandish clubs. The original antagonists,
Uuwä
and
Mohesiwä, rest their weapons.
146840 The injured
Mohesiwä
turns from the confrontation and heads back to his hammock, leaving
Törawä
to keep
Uuwä
at bay.
Kaösarama,
the wife of Mohesiwä's uncle, Daramasiwä, walks in the same direction.
*11 Nakahedami
continues to berate
Uuwä's group as she and
Borowama
return home.
148720 Across the plaza from Möawä
is
Nanokawä,
Borowama's brother, wearing a feather armband. Nanokawä is a leader of the visiting Ironasi-teri
(including
Mohesiwä
) and is a rival of Möawä. He shakes his finger at the retreating Mohesiwä, apparently
reproving him. [Chagnon reports that Nanokawä stood off-camera behind Mohesiwä during
the fight, in a gesture of support.]
153160 When
Mohesiwä
has almost reached his house,
Uuwä
turns his back on
Törawä
and walks off. Törawä then spits, turns, and swaggers off as well.
170320 During the lull, Yoinakuwä
and
Keböwä, his younger brother, have prepared to attack Mohesiwä's house. Yoinakuwä's wife Sinabimi
was beaten by Mohesiwä. But Keböwä, her husband's brother, charges out first, wielding
his ax.
178520 Seeing
Keböwä's approach,
Borowama
grabs a bow stave and hands it to
Mohesiwä, who has been resting. A
woman, probably Mohesiwä's wife Huuhuumi, sits in a hammock beside him, nursing a baby. The woman begins to shout and tucks
her nursling under one arm.
180120
Keböwä
attacks the
woman, probably Huuhuumi.
Mohesiwä
fends off Keböwä with his bow stave and the woman escapes to the rear. Another woman
breaks into a run across the plaza as
Yoinakuwä
approaches Mohesiwä's group with his machete. [For a still-frame sequence of Keböwä's
attack, see:
FR180120]
182440
Mohesiwä
and
Keböwä
struggle over the ax.
Borowama
and
Husiheami,
Mohesiwä's wife, back off when
Yoinakuwä
arrives and threatens them.
184000
Yoinakuwä
sneaks behind
Mohesiwä
to outflank him.
Ruwamowä
walks casually past, paying little attention to the violence.
186000 Camera pans with
Törawä
as he runs past the struggle between
Mohesiwä
and
Keböwä. He joins a
woman, who then sprints on ahead of him. Törawä stops and turns to look at Mohesiwä. Holding
his right arm out toward the woman, he then runs back to the fight.
194360
Törawä
raises his machete to threaten
Keböwä. Keböwä finally wrests his ax from
Mohesiwä.
Husiheami
faces
Yoinakuwä
on one side of the confrontation, while
Nakahedami
stamps her feet and shouts on the other side. The men separate in a standoff.
196080
Keböwä
feigns disengagement, then suddenly seizes
Mohesiwä
by the arm and strikes him repeatedly on the leg with the blunt end of his ax.
198280
Keböwä
continues to strike
Mohesiwä, undeterred by the fact that
Törawä
threatens him with a raised machete.
Yoinakuwä
watches
Törawä. A
woman, possibly Yaukuima, the sister of Keböwä and Yoinakuwä, runs across the plaza with a himo
club over her shoulder.
203160
Törawä
attacks
Keböwä
who is struggling with
Mohesiwä
for control of the ax. Törawä
misses his first swing but then delivers a series of blows, with the blunt end of
his ax, to Keböwä's lower back and legs. Keböwä retreats inside the shabono but quickly
squares off again with his antagonists.
206600
Keböwä
again struggles with
Mohesiwä
for control of his ax.
Törawä
maneuvers to strike Keböwä. As a number of armed men sprint to the action,
Nanokawä
strides off to obtain a club.
211240
Törawä
moves toward
Mohesiwä
and
Keböwä, who struggle over possession of the ax. He is blocked again, this time by
Yoroshianawä, his classificatory father. [Yoroshianawä's action is notable in view of the expectation
that classificatory fathers support their 'sons' in a fight.]
226360
Nanokawä, previously unarmed, arrives with a heavy club. He wades into the throng, pushing
Mohesiwä
backward.
PH19
232120
Törawä's father,
Wadoshewä, tussles briefly with a
bystander, probably Maiyahariwä, and pushes him back.
Nanokawä
moves forward, beside Törawä, wielding his club in the direction of
Keböwä.
Mohesiwä
advances.
232360
Keböwä
slashes again with his himo
club, probably at
Törawä. One cannot tell from the image whether the blow lands. Mohesiwä strikes at Keböwä
with his club.
233400 Zoom in.
Wadoshewä
passes
Mohesiwä
and moves off to the right. There, a
man
wearing a red loin cloth, probably Kaaböwä, strikes a terrific overhead blow with a long club at someone in the throng.
234560
Törawä
turns, lowers his ax, and retreats from the surge of the crowd.
Mohesiwä
again rushes
Keböwä.
245240 A
woman
passes her infant to a child. Cut. [The camera is off for a few minutes while it
is moved to its second location, closer to Mohesiwä's section of the shabono.
*11
]
249080 Medium shot.
Mohesiwä
and
Wadoshewä, newly armed with a club, stand behind
Kuaiwä, Nakahedemi's husband.
251063 Pan to Sinabimi's son-in-law,
Maiyahariwä.
Daramasiwä, Mohesiwä's paternal uncle, stands opposite, with his eyes almost closed, his club stuck upright
in the ground, and his back to Mohesiwä's opponents.
255960
Nanokawä
stands behind
Daramasiwä.
Mohesiwä
leans on his club behind
Kuaiwä,
Nakahedami's husband.
257440 Zoom out to wide angle.
Törawä
sits almost collapsed on the ground and is stroked by his wife,
Bireima.
Mohesiwä
leans heavily on his club while his uncle
Hurumöwä
lifts his own club and takes a few stutter-steps forward. Cut.
268160
Barahiwä, brother of Wadoshewä
and Daramasiwä, begins an animated harangue of his nephew,
Mohesiwä.
272280
Wadoshewä
waves his hand dismissively in the direction of
Mohesiwä.
Daramasiwä
drops his statuesque pose and also remonstrates in the same direction.
274520 A
woman
carrying a long firewood club begins an exchange of insults with
Barahiwä,
who is shouting at
Mohesiwä.
276400
Mohesiwä
leans on his club, unresponsive to the verbal attacks of
Barahiwä. A
woman
stands behind Mohesiwä and shouts vigorously at his uncle.
280320 Long shot. [Filming has resumed after a short pause.]
Mohesiwä
leans on his club and stares fixedly at the ground.
Bireima
strokes
Törawä
while
Hurumöwä
stands over them protectively. Behind Mohesiwä,
Nakahedami
shouts in the direction of her adversary, Yaukuima.
Barahiwä
makes one final emphatic gesture and departs.
289280 As
Törawä
begins to stand,
Mohesiwä
turns and walks rapidly back toward his house.
Wadoshewä
makes one more comment to his son and walks away.
Card 42: Moramanama
A:
112680
125400
204880
Captions:
Main Text:
112680
Moramanama
and other women move in closer. Moramanama is the widow of
Uuwä's two paternal uncles and is therefore Uuwä's classificatory mother.
125400
Husiheami,
Borowama
and
Nakahedami
continue to shout at the women near
Moramanama.
Dirimawä, a son of the famous shaman, Dedeheiwä, walks across the plaza and takes a position at the edge of the crowd.
204880
Nanokawä, leader of the visiting group, strides aggressively but unarmed into the throng.
Iyaböwä
and
Yoinakuwä
hang back from the action with their machetes. A
woman, possibly Yaukuima, arrives with a himo
club which she offers to Yoinakuwä in exchange for his machete.
Moramanama
sprints toward the fight, passing a woman who runs away with a baby.
Card 43
A:
Captions:
Main Text:
Card 44: Nakahedami
A:
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Captions:
Main Text:
83120
Mohesiwä
swings rapidly at
Uuwä
with his bow stave, but misses each time. Mohesiwä's sister
Nakahedami,
carrying a club, runs from her house toward the conflict.
85360 Again,
Mohesiwä
attacks with his bow stave.
Uuwä
gives ground, dodging the thrusts.
Borowama, mother of
Nakahedami,
Törawä
and
Mohesiwä, leaves her section of the village and walks into the plaza. She brings a himo
club, a short, heavy palmwood staff made for fighting.
89720
Nakahedami
reaches her brother
Mohesiwä
and offers him the himo club to use against
Uuwä.
93160
Mohesiwä
abandons his bow stave and takes the himo club brought by
Nakahedami.
97440
Mohesiwä
braces his club on the ground and assumes the formal stance used by Yanomamö in club
fights. He apparently challenges
Uuwä
to hit him.
Nakahedami
circles behind him.
101440
Mohesiwä
stretches out his injured arm and
Borowama
comforts him by stroking it.
Nakahedami
stamps her feet and shouts insults at
Uuwä
while she goads her brother
Törawä.
102920 Other women and children gather as
Borowama
and
Nakahedami
scold
Uuwä. One woman walks behind him, carrying her baby and a club.
FR533120
114800
Husiheami,
Borowama's co-wife, supports
Mohesiwä
by standing between him and
Nakahedami. She glares at a
woman
from
Uuwä's side who points an accusing finger at Husiheami and Nakahedami as she charges toward
them.
125400
Husiheami,
Borowama
and
Nakahedami
continue to shout at the women near
Moramanama.
Dirimawä, a son of the famous shaman, Dedeheiwä, walks across the plaza and takes a position at the edge of the crowd.
146840 The injured
Mohesiwä
turns from the confrontation and heads back to his hammock, leaving
Törawä
to keep
Uuwä
at bay.
Kaösarama,
the wife of Mohesiwä's uncle, Daramasiwä, walks in the same direction.
*11 Nakahedami
continues to berate
Uuwä's group as she and
Borowama
return home.
155960
Törawä
marches away, shoulders hunched forward, arms akimbo.
Nakahedami
and
Borowama
continue to shout insults at Uuwä's
supporters.
194360
Törawä
raises his machete to threaten
Keböwä. Keböwä finally wrests his ax from
Mohesiwä.
Husiheami
faces
Yoinakuwä
on one side of the confrontation, while
Nakahedami
stamps her feet and shouts on the other side. The men separate in a standoff.
207400
Törawä
escalates the conflict by preparing to strike with the sharp edge of his ax. Before
he can strike, however, an unidentified man in the crowd prevents him from using
the blade. As Törawä gathers for the blow, he is spun around, shoved down, and pushed
bodily away. Törawä crashes into
Yoinakuwä
and their momentum carries them to where
Nakahedami
stands on the sidelines.
209240
Törawä
recovers his balance. He takes a few steps backward. His sister
Nakahedami
and another woman stamp their feet and shout. Törawä raises his ax, dull side forward,
and prepares again to enter the fray.
227000
Nakahedami,
visible through a break in the crowd, flails at a woman, probably Yaukuima.
230440
Nakahedami, Törawä's sister, threatens
Yaukuima, Keböwä'
s sister
,
by wielding a piece of firewood. At this moment, Yaukuima is probably called by Keböwä,
for she suddenly abandons her fight and dashes to him. She lifts the ax from his
hand and runs off with it.
252320 Behind
Wadoshewä,
Yaukuima
brandishes a piece of firewood and yells at Nakahedami. Zoom out.
255960
Nanokawä
stands behind
Daramasiwä.
Mohesiwä
leans on his club behind
Kuaiwä,
Nakahedami's husband.
256480
Nakahedami
prepares to strike
Yaukuima
with the sharp edge of her ax, but before she swings she turns the blunt end forward.
Nanokawä
sees this threat and moves toward the women.
279440
Maiyahariwä
departs as
Wadoshewä
walks off-camera. At the rear of the shabono,
Nakahedami
struggles with
Yaukuima. Cut.
280320 Long shot. [Filming has resumed after a short pause.]
Mohesiwä
leans on his club and stares fixedly at the ground.
Bireima
strokes
Törawä
while
Hurumöwä
stands over them protectively. Behind Mohesiwä,
Nakahedami
shouts in the direction of her adversary, Yaukuima.
Barahiwä
makes one final emphatic gesture and departs.
287640
Wadoshewä
returns and tersely addresses his son
Törawä.
Nakahedami, still holding an ax, continues to shout insults in the direction of Yaukuima.
Card 45: Nanokawä
A:
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Captions:
Main Text:
7077 Title: "THE AX FIGHT" For several weeks before the film was shot, people from
the neighboring village of Ironasi-teri had been visiting relatives in Mishimishimaböwei-teri.
The visitors are led by Nanokawä, who was invited by his brother-in-law, Wadoshewä. Nanokawä's two nephews play prominent roles in the film. Mohesiwä
is a visitor, Törawä a resident.
*11
(People whose names are underlined are not on camera at the current moment. A mouseclick
on an underlined name causes the icon of that person to be centered in the Main Genealogy
window.)
148720 Across the plaza from Möawä
is,
Borowama's brother, wearing a feather armband. Nanokawä is a leader of the visiting Ironasi-teri
(including
Mohesiwä
) and is a rival of Möawä. He shakes his finger at the retreating Mohesiwä, apparently
reproving him. [Chagnon reports that Nanokawä stood off-camera behind Mohesiwä during
the fight, in a gesture of support.]
204880
Nanokawä, leader of the visiting group, strides aggressively but unarmed into the throng.
Iyaböwä
and
Yoinakuwä
hang back from the action with their machetes. A
woman, possibly Yaukuima, arrives with a himo
club which she offers to Yoinakuwä in exchange for his machete.
Moramanama
sprints toward the fight, passing a woman who runs away with a baby.
206600
Keböwä
again struggles with
Mohesiwä
for control of his ax.
Törawä
maneuvers to strike Keböwä. As a number of armed men sprint to the action,
Nanokawä
strides off to obtain a club.
226360
Nanokawä, previously unarmed, arrives with a heavy club. He wades into the throng, pushing
Mohesiwä
backward.
PH19
232080 As
Törawä's movement is slowed,
Nanokawä
steps in between him and
Keböwä.
232120
Törawä's father,
Wadoshewä, tussles briefly with a
bystander, probably Maiyahariwä, and pushes him back.
Nanokawä
moves forward, beside Törawä, wielding his club in the direction of
Keböwä.
Mohesiwä
advances.
255960
Nanokawä
stands behind
Daramasiwä.
Mohesiwä
leans on his club behind
Kuaiwä,
Nakahedami's husband.
256480
Nakahedami
prepares to strike
Yaukuima
with the sharp edge of her ax, but before she swings she turns the blunt end forward.
Nanokawä
sees this threat and moves toward the women.
260080 Medium shot. [Filming has resumed after a short pause.]
Bireima
continues to stroke
Törawä.
Nanokawä
threatens someone off-camera with his club.
Card 46: Räaiyowä
A:
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Captions:
PH053 A woman sits in her hammock while Räaiyowä contemplates the photographer. Loads
of plantains lie on the ground in front of his house.
PH054 Räaiyowä sits next to a large load of newly harvested plantains.
Main Text:
31320 Wide shot of
Yoinakuwä's house, the characteristic open-air section of the circular, Yanomamö village shabono.
*12
Five children, including
Räaiyowä, the young son of Yoinakuwä and
Sinabimi, look intently into the shabono. Superimposed titlecard: "You are about to see and
hear the unedited record of this seemingly chaotic and confusing fight, just as the
field workers witnessed it on their second day in the village."
37560 Fadeout titlecard.
Sinabimi's son,
Räaiyowä,
and other children look inward at Yoinakuwä's house. They are distracted by distant shouts from the plaza. Zoom in to hammocks
strung between house posts of the shabono.
146400
Räaiyowä
waves at his aunt,
Kaösarama, and then runs off toward his house.
219760
Chagnon
appears at the periphery of the fight, taking a picture with a 35mm camera. A
man
with an ax strides from Wadoshewä's section of the shabono toward the conflict.
Räaiyowä, Sinabimi's 10-year old son, turns and runs at top speed toward his house.
PH17
224600
Törawä
lunges to his feet and starts back toward his assailant
.
Räaiyowä
continues his dash across the plaza. Zoom in.
229760
Dirimawä
shortens a roof pole with his machete, turning it into a nabrushi club.
Räaiyowä,
now armed, races back across the plaza toward the conflict.
236560
Räaiyowä
and a young
girl
watch the fight from the middle of the plaza. The boy moves toward the action with
his club held at the ready, then plants the butt on the ground in imitation of a
club fighter's stance.
240840 A
man
carrying a club over his shoulder passes
Räaiyowä
on the way to join the crowd. The boy shoulders his club and marches in the man's
footsteps toward the confrontation.
244880
Räaiyowä
marches toward the fight. Just above his head in the current frame of film,
Törawä
can be seen collapsing. A
woman, probably Törawä's wife Bireima, kneels behind him as he falls to the ground. [A still-frame sequence provides greater
clarity:
FR244880]
324240 Long shot.
Räaiyowä
stands in front of Yoinakuwä's house. He holds his distinctive club. Zoom in to
Dimöma
who has apparently remained crying in her hammock since the first moments of the
film. Slow zoom out.
Card 47: Roenama
A:
162040
Captions:
Main Text:
162040 Zoom out. The crowd thins.
Roenama,
Kumishiwä's wife, and other female
supporters
of Uuwä, walk toward the camera.
Card 48: Ruwamowä
A:
184000
Captions:
PH207 Hurumöwä pulls a sickness out through the head of Ruwamowä.
PH212 Hurumöwä displays the sickness that he has pulled out of Ruwamowä to the patient.
Main Text:
184000
Yoinakuwä
sneaks behind
Mohesiwä
to outflank him.
Ruwamowä
walks casually past, paying little attention to the violence.
Card 49: Sharama
A:
14458
50600
Captions:
PH087 Both men and women butcher animals for cooking. Sharama prepares to cut up this
warö pig.
PH091 Both men and women butcher animals for cooking. Sharama prepares to cut up this
warö pig.
Main Text:
14458 Graphic: Map of Amazonia. The visiting group had recently splintered from Mishimishimaböwei-teri
to found its own settlement. Coming back to their old village, the visitors demanded
to be fed: they now wished to be treated as guests. Events reveal that after several weeks the hosts began to resist providing food. Like many of the
local men, Yoinakuwä
instructed his wives Sinabimi
and Sharama
not to feed visitors any more.
50600
Sinabimi
sobs in her hammock.
Sharama, her half-sister, strokes and comforts her. [Chagnon has reconstructed events on
the basis of contradictory reports. He concludes that shortly before filming began,
Sinabimi, a resident,was working in her garden. Her visiting nephew, Mohesiwä, demanded food. Sinabimi followed her husband's instructions and refused to share
her plantains with him. Mohesiwä then beat her with a club. She ran crying into the
village and told what had happened. Early rumors circulated that the incident had
involved incest. When he heard them, Chagnon first assumed that Sinabimi had been sexually
assaulted. Yanomamö concepts of incest, however, include any
act of familiarity or physical contact between a man and a prohibited woman. Technically,
Mohesiwä's contact with Sinabimi was also an incestuous act.]
Card 50: Shimoneiwä
A:
162880
Captions:
Main Text:
162880
Shimoneiwä, a son of Dedeheiwä, and
Shiririwä, a son of Ishiweiwä
(Dedeheiwä's older brother), walk from the plaza holding hands.
Card 51: Shiririwä
A:
162880
Captions:
Main Text:
162880
Shimoneiwä, a son of Dedeheiwä, and
Shiririwä, a son of Ishiweiwä
(Dedeheiwä's older brother), walk from the plaza holding hands.
Card 52: Sinabimi
A:
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Captions:
PH136 Sinabimi returns home with large load of plantains. Homemade tump lines and
baskets comprise the basic technology for transporting heavy loads on foot over rough
ground.
Main Text:
14458 Graphic: Map of Amazonia. The visiting group had recently splintered from Mishimishimaböwei-teri
to found its own settlement. Coming back to their old village, the visitors demanded
to be fed: they now wished to be treated as guests. Events reveal that after several weeks the hosts began to resist providing food. Like many of the
local men, Yoinakuwä
instructed his wives Sinabimi
and Sharama
not to feed visitors any more.
31320 Wide shot of
Yoinakuwä's house, the characteristic open-air section of the circular, Yanomamö village shabono.
*12
Five children, including
Räaiyowä, the young son of Yoinakuwä and
Sinabimi, look intently into the shabono. Superimposed titlecard: "You are about to see and
hear the unedited record of this seemingly chaotic and confusing fight, just as the
field workers witnessed it on their second day in the village."
37560 Fadeout titlecard.
Sinabimi's son,
Räaiyowä,
and other children look inward at Yoinakuwä's house. They are distracted by distant shouts from the plaza. Zoom in to hammocks
strung between house posts of the shabono.
50600
Sinabimi
sobs in her hammock.
Sharama, her half-sister, strokes and comforts her. [Chagnon has reconstructed events on
the basis of contradictory reports. He concludes that shortly before filming began,
Sinabimi, a resident,was working in her garden. Her visiting nephew, Mohesiwä, demanded food. Sinabimi followed her husband's instructions and refused to share
her plantains with him. Mohesiwä then beat her with a club. She ran crying into the
village and told what had happened. Early rumors circulated that the incident had
involved incest. When he heard them, Chagnon first assumed that Sinabimi had been sexually
assaulted. Yanomamö concepts of incest, however, include any
act of familiarity or physical contact between a man and a prohibited woman. Technically,
Mohesiwä's contact with Sinabimi was also an incestuous act. ]
57869 Pan to
Dimöma, Sinabimi's niece, crying in her hammock.
63760 As women sob and wail,
Sinabimi's male relatives hear of the outrage. Her brother, Uuwä, is infuriated. Off camera, the men pull out support poles for a club fight. Uuwä
takes up a club and marches to the center of the village where he loudly challenges
and insults Mohesiwä.
90520 Recognizing that his brother
Mohesiwä
has been hurt,
Törawä
rushes out with his nabrushi
club raised against
Uuwä. [Nabrushi clubs are made as needed, from roof poles cut to a length suitable for
fighting.] Uuwä's brothers-in-law,
Yoinakuwä
(Sinabimi's husband) and
Keböwä, also arrive with clubs.
121629
Mohesiwä
leans on his club. With formal gestures, he denounces
Uuwä
and justifies beating Sinabimi.
170320 During the lull, Yoinakuwä
and
Keböwä, his younger brother, have prepared to attack Mohesiwä's house. Yoinakuwä's wife Sinabimi
was beaten by Mohesiwä. But Keböwä, her husband's brother, charges out first, wielding
his ax.
219760
Chagnon
appears at the periphery of the fight, taking a picture with a 35mm camera. A
man
with an ax strides from Wadoshewä's section of the shabono toward the conflict.
Räaiyowä, Sinabimi's 10-year old son, turns and runs at top speed toward his house.
PH17
251063 Pan to Sinabimi's son-in-law,
Maiyahariwä.
Daramasiwä, Mohesiwä's paternal uncle, stands opposite, with his eyes almost closed, his club stuck upright
in the ground, and his back to Mohesiwä's opponents.
Card 53
A:
Captions:
Main Text:
Card 54
A:
Captions:
Main Text:
Card 55: Törawä
A:
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260080
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366800
Captions:
Main Text:
7077 Title: "THE AX FIGHT" For several weeks before the film was shot, people from
the neighboring village of Ironasi-teri had been visiting relatives in Mishimishimaböwei-teri.
The visitors are led by Nanokawä, who was invited by his brother-in-law, Wadoshewä. Nanokawä's two nephews play prominent roles in the film. Mohesiwä
is a visitor, Törawä a resident.
*11
(People whose names are underlined are not on camera at the current moment. A mouseclick
on an underlined name causes the icon of that person to be centered in the Main Genealogy
window.)
85360 Again,
Mohesiwä
attacks with his bow stave.
Uuwä
gives ground, dodging the thrusts.
Borowama, mother of
Nakahedami,
Törawä
and
Mohesiwä, leaves her section of the village and walks into the plaza. She brings a himo
club, a short, heavy palmwood staff made for fighting.
90520 Recognizing that his brother
Mohesiwä
has been hurt,
Törawä
rushes out with his nabrushi
club raised against
Uuwä. [Nabrushi clubs are made as needed, from roof poles cut to a length suitable for
fighting.] Uuwä's brothers-in-law,
Yoinakuwä
(Sinabimi's husband) and
Keböwä, also arrive with clubs.
91920 The number of people involved in the confrontation grows.
Kaaböwä,
Mohesiwä's brother-in-law, brings a club.
Törawä
steps in between
Uuwä
and
Keböwä.
96640
Mohesiwä,
Törawä
and
Uuwä
square off, glaring at each other.
101440
Mohesiwä
stretches out his injured arm and
Borowama
comforts him by stroking it.
Nakahedami
stamps her feet and shouts insults at
Uuwä
while she goads her brother
Törawä.
123160 Though
Kaaböwä
is a brother of
Mohesiwä's wife, he stands beside
Uuwä, faced off against
Törawä. [Kaaböwä's alignment is notable because affines are usually strong allies.]
140400 Zoom in to
Törawä,
Yoinakuwä
and
Kaaböwä
who brandish clubs. The original antagonists,
Uuwä
and
Mohesiwä, rest their weapons.
146840 The injured
Mohesiwä
turns from the confrontation and heads back to his hammock, leaving
Törawä
to keep
Uuwä
at bay.
Kaösarama,
the wife of Mohesiwä's uncle, Daramasiwä, walks in the same direction.
*11 Nakahedami
continues to berate
Uuwä's group as she and
Borowama
return home.
153160 When
Mohesiwä
has almost reached his house,
Uuwä
turns his back on
Törawä
and walks off. Törawä then spits, turns, and swaggers off as well.
154880 Camera pans with
Törawä.
Kaaböwä
departs with his club over his shoulder.
155960
Törawä
marches away, shoulders hunched forward, arms akimbo.
Nakahedami
and
Borowama
continue to shout insults at Uuwä's
supporters.
186000 Camera pans with
Törawä
as he runs past the struggle between
Mohesiwä
and
Keböwä. He joins a
woman, who then sprints on ahead of him. Törawä stops and turns to look at Mohesiwä. Holding
his right arm out toward the woman, he then runs back to the fight.
194360
Törawä
raises his machete to threaten
Keböwä. Keböwä finally wrests his ax from
Mohesiwä.
Husiheami
faces
Yoinakuwä
on one side of the confrontation, while
Nakahedami
stamps her feet and shouts on the other side. The men separate in a standoff.
198280
Keböwä
continues to strike
Mohesiwä, undeterred by the fact that
Törawä
threatens him with a raised machete.
Yoinakuwä
watches
Törawä. A
woman, possibly Yaukuima, the sister of Keböwä and Yoinakuwä, runs across the plaza with a himo
club over her shoulder.
201520 Unable to intimidate the ax-wielding
Keböwä,
Törawä
exchanges his machete for
Iyaböwä's ax.
PH10
203160
Törawä
attacks
Keböwä
who is struggling with
Mohesiwä
for control of the ax. Törawä
misses his first swing but then delivers a series of blows, with the blunt end of
his ax, to Keböwä's lower back and legs. Keböwä retreats inside the shabono but quickly
squares off again with his antagonists.
206600
Keböwä
again struggles with
Mohesiwä
for control of his ax.
Törawä
maneuvers to strike Keböwä. As a number of armed men sprint to the action,
Nanokawä
strides off to obtain a club.
207400
Törawä
escalates the conflict by preparing to strike with the sharp edge of his ax. Before
he can strike, however, an unidentified man in the crowd prevents him from using
the blade. As Törawä gathers for the blow, he is spun around, shoved down, and pushed
bodily away. Törawä crashes into
Yoinakuwä
and their momentum carries them to where
Nakahedami
stands on the sidelines.
209120
Yoroshianawä
steps into view at the location where
Törawä
was prevented from striking with his ax.
209240
Törawä
recovers his balance. He takes a few steps backward. His sister
Nakahedami
and another woman stamp their feet and shout. Törawä raises his ax, dull side forward,
and prepares again to enter the fray.
211240
Törawä
moves toward
Mohesiwä
and
Keböwä, who struggle over possession of the ax. He is blocked again, this time by
Yoroshianawä, his classificatory father. [Yoroshianawä's action is notable in view of the expectation
that classificatory fathers support their 'sons' in a fight.]
212240 For a second time
Törawä
escalates the fight by turning the sharp edge of his ax upward, preparing to strike
Keböwä.
Yoroshianawä
watches closely.
212760 Again,
Yoroshianawä
prevents
Törawä
from attacking
Keböwä. Yoroshianawä shoves his nephew, who staggers back a step. Keböwä's sister,
Yaukuima, watches from behind
.
214280
Yaukuima, Keböwä'
s sister, seizes the handle of
Törawä's ax as he staggers back. She twists the sharp edge away from
Keböwä and
pulls Törawä off balance.
216040
Yaukuima
drags
Törawä
out of the fight toward the village entrance.
Keböwä
sees that Törawä's back is turned and charges the young man from behind.
216480
Yoroshianawä, unaware of
Keböwä's attack, strides away from
Törawä.
Visible over the heads of the crowd, Keböwä launches a powerful overhead blow with
his ax, the dull end forward. The rest of the action is not visible. [Chagnon, who
was near Törawä, says that the ax hit him squarely between the shoulder blades.]
FR685867
217000 [In 1975 Chagnon wrote narration for the current moment: "Törawä
instantly collapses to the ground and lies there motionless." According to Asch,
the sound of the blow was inaudible on the original tape recording It was simulated
in a Massachusetts film lab. A watermelon was hit with an ax.] Fast swish-pan and
zoom out to wide angle, perhaps motivated by the fact that the cameraman was upset by the
violence.
220960 Törawä
cannot be seen on camera. [Chagnon's 1975 narration for the current moment: "The
situation is now very tense, for it is not clear if the young man has been killed
or is merely unconscious."]
PH18
224600
Törawä
lunges to his feet and starts back toward his assailant
.
Räaiyowä
continues his dash across the plaza. Zoom in.
230440
Nakahedami, Törawä's sister, threatens
Yaukuima, Keböwä'
s sister
,
by wielding a piece of firewood. At this moment, Yaukuima is probably called by Keböwä,
for she suddenly abandons her fight and dashes to him. She lifts the ax from his
hand and runs off with it.
230960
Keböwä
takes up a himo
club and swings as
Törawä
charges him.
231200
Törawä
raises his ax high, attempting for a third time to strike
Keböwä
with the sharp edge.
Törawä rushes at Keböwä, but someone catches the ax and slows Törawä's momentum.
232080 As
Törawä's movement is slowed,
Nanokawä
steps in between him and
Keböwä.
232120
Törawä's father,
Wadoshewä, tussles briefly with a
bystander, probably Maiyahariwä, and pushes him back.
Nanokawä
moves forward, beside Törawä, wielding his club in the direction of
Keböwä.
Mohesiwä
advances.
232360
Keböwä
slashes again with his himo
club, probably at
Törawä. One cannot tell from the image whether the blow lands. Mohesiwä strikes at Keböwä
with his club.
232800
Törawä
gives up his attack. [He was weakened by Keböwä's earlier blow and now is perhaps further weakened from a second blow with the himo
club.]
234560
Törawä
turns, lowers his ax, and retreats from the surge of the crowd.
Mohesiwä
again rushes
Keböwä.
235800
Törawä
backs out of the fight, makes a half turn, and lets his ax drop.
244880
Räaiyowä
marches toward the fight. Just above his head in the current frame of film,
Törawä
can be seen collapsing. A
woman, probably Törawä's wife Bireima, kneels behind him as he falls to the ground. [A still-frame sequence provides greater
clarity:
FR244880]
257440 Zoom out to wide angle.
Törawä
sits almost collapsed on the ground and is stroked by his wife,
Bireima.
Mohesiwä
leans heavily on his club while his uncle
Hurumöwä
lifts his own club and takes a few stutter-steps forward. Cut.
260080 Medium shot. [Filming has resumed after a short pause.]
Bireima
continues to stroke
Törawä.
Nanokawä
threatens someone off-camera with his club.
260600
Hurumöwä
and
Daramasiwä
stand conspicuously between their young nephew and his adversaries. Zoom in to
Törawä
on the ground.
265200 Zoom out.
Borowama
joins
Bireima
in ministering to
Törawä.
280320 Long shot. [Filming has resumed after a short pause.]
Mohesiwä
leans on his club and stares fixedly at the ground.
Bireima
strokes
Törawä
while
Hurumöwä
stands over them protectively. Behind Mohesiwä,
Nakahedami
shouts in the direction of her adversary, Yaukuima.
Barahiwä
makes one final emphatic gesture and departs.
287040
Wadoshewä's younger wife,
Husiheami, strokes
Törawä
as
Borowama
tries to help him to his feet.
287640
Wadoshewä
returns and tersely addresses his son
Törawä.
Nakahedami, still holding an ax, continues to shout insults in the direction of Yaukuima.
289280 As
Törawä
begins to stand,
Mohesiwä
turns and walks rapidly back toward his house.
Wadoshewä
makes one more comment to his son and walks away.
297360
Törawä
finally gets to his feet and strides off in an unconvincing display of nonchalance.
He is followed by his wife,
Bireima.
299440 Törawä
leaves. Fast zoom out and pan to a young
man, near the camera. He laughs and feints with his machete at the soundman, Craig
Johnson. Cut.
366800 Medium long shot.
Waböama
holds her baby and shouts insults, apparently at Törawä's mother and father. Subtitle: "It's your goddam son that has all the filthy blemishes
on his ugly face! [Zoom out.] He's an ass of the first order! His ugly skin is so
blemished that he looks more like a pimple than a person!"
Card 56: Uuwä
A:
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162040
Captions:
Main Text:
63760 As women sob and wail,
Sinabimi's male relatives hear of the outrage. Her brother, Uuwä, is infuriated. Off camera, the men pull out support poles for a club fight. Uuwä
takes up a club and marches to the center of the village where he loudly challenges
and insults Mohesiwä.
83120
Mohesiwä
swings rapidly at
Uuwä
with his bow stave, but misses each time. Mohesiwä's sister
Nakahedami,
carrying a club, runs from her house toward the conflict.
84240
Uuwä
delivers one clean blow with his club, striking
Mohesiwä
on the wrist. Some twenty minutes later, Mohesiwä can be seen still nursing and massaging
the wrist.
85360 Again,
Mohesiwä
attacks with his bow stave.
Uuwä
gives ground, dodging the thrusts.
Borowama, mother of
Nakahedami,
Törawä
and
Mohesiwä, leaves her section of the village and walks into the plaza. She brings a himo
club, a short, heavy palmwood staff made for fighting.
89720
Nakahedami
reaches her brother
Mohesiwä
and offers him the himo club to use against
Uuwä.
90520 Recognizing that his brother
Mohesiwä
has been hurt,
Törawä
rushes out with his nabrushi
club raised against
Uuwä. [Nabrushi clubs are made as needed, from roof poles cut to a length suitable for
fighting.] Uuwä's brothers-in-law,
Yoinakuwä
(Sinabimi's husband) and
Keböwä, also arrive with clubs.
91920 The number of people involved in the confrontation grows.
Kaaböwä,
Mohesiwä's brotherin-law, brings a club.
Törawä
steps in between
Uuwä
and
Keböwä.
96640
Mohesiwä,
Törawä
and
Uuwä
square off, glaring at each other.
97440
Mohesiwä
braces his club on the ground and assumes the formal stance used by Yanomamö in club
fights. He apparently challenges
Uuwä
to hit him.
Nakahedami
circles behind him.
98640
Mohesiwä's mother,
Borowama, approaches, retrieves her son's bow stave from the ground, and reprimands
Uuwä.
101440
Mohesiwä
stretches out his injured arm and
Borowama
comforts him by stroking it.
Nakahedami
stamps her feet and shouts insults at
Uuwä
while she goads her brother
Törawä.
102920 Other women and children gather as
Borowama
and
Nakahedami
scold
Uuwä. One woman walks behind him, carrying her baby and a club.
FR533120
107600
Borowama
strokes
Mohesiwä'
s injured arm while they confront
Uuwä.
112680
Moramanama
and other women move in closer. Moramanama is the widow of
Uuwä's two paternal uncles and is therefore Uuwä's classificatory mother.
114800
Husiheami,
Borowama's co-wife, supports
Mohesiwä
by standing between him and
Nakahedami. She glares at a
woman
from
Uuwä's side who points an accusing finger at Husiheami and Nakahedami as she charges toward
them.
121629
Mohesiwä
leans on his club. With formal gestures, he denounces
Uuwä
and justifies beating Sinabimi.
123160 Though
Kaaböwä
is a brother of
Mohesiwä's wife, he stands beside
Uuwä, faced off against
Törawä. [Kaaböwä's alignment is notable because affines are usually strong allies.]
140400 Zoom in to
Törawä,
Yoinakuwä
and
Kaaböwä
who brandish clubs. The original antagonists,
Uuwä
and
Mohesiwä, rest their weapons.
146840 The injured
Mohesiwä
turns from the confrontation and heads back to his hammock, leaving
Törawä
to keep
Uuwä
at bay.
Kaösarama,
the wife of Mohesiwä's uncle, Daramasiwä, walks in the same direction.
*11 Nakahedami
continues to berate
Uuwä's group as she and
Borowama
return home.
147240
Möawä, a resident and headman of the village, passes close to the camera, wearing body
paint and feathers. Although Möawä is the most violent man in the village and a classificatory
brother of
Uuwä, he refrains from intervening in the incident.
153160 When
Mohesiwä
has almost reached his house,
Uuwä
turns his back on
Törawä
and walks off. Törawä then spits, turns, and swaggers off as well.
155960
Törawä
marches away, shoulders hunched forward, arms akimbo.
Nakahedami
and
Borowama
continue to shout insults at Uuwä'
s
supporters.
162040 Zoom out. The crowd thins.
Roenama,
Kumishiwä's wife, and other female
supporters
of Uuwä, walk toward the camera.
Card 57: Waböama
A:
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Captions:
PH003 Meat is a highly prized food. Waböama has cut up an agouti rodent. She wraps
the meat in leaves to cook it by laying the package directly on the embers.
PH018 Food preparation is a task that must always start from scratch. Waböama butchers
an agouti rodent for cooking
Main Text:
366800 Medium long shot.
Waböama
holds her baby and shouts insults, apparently at Törawä's mother and father. Subtitle: "It's your goddam son that has all the filthy blemishes
on his ugly face! [Zoom out.] He's an ass of the first order! His ugly skin is so
blemished that he looks more like a pimple than a person!"
380880
Waböama
shouts. Subtitle: "And it's clear to us why all your children are so foul and ugly!
We know! We know!" Two young men smile at the camera.
Yoaiyoböwä,
waves. Zoom in.
393760
Waböama
insults someone across the plaza, apparently Borowama, whom she calls a "woman of the Waikas," a neighboring people who are regarded as
inferior Yanomamö. Subtitle: "It's their ugly mothers that made them that way! You're
all descended from pus and pimples! You all come from the Village of Pimples!"
406240
Waböama
turns away, glancing back petulantly as she walks to her hammock. She sits down.
Pan and cut.
Card 58: Wadoshewä
A:
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289280
Captions:
PH005 Yoroshianawä joins his brother Wadoshewä in deciding how to distribute smoked
tapir meat to other people in the village.
PH006 Wadoshewä and his kinsmen distributing tapir and rasha.
PH009 Wadoshewä and his brothers cut up chunks of smoked tapir meat into appropriate
portions before distributing them to others.
PH013 Wadoshewä and his brothers eat some of the choicest morsels before distributing
the rest of the tapir to other people in the village.
PH130 Wadoshewä, Barahiwä, Keböwä and other important men of Mishimishimaböwei-teri
prepare to eat the ashes of Reirowä who died in 1971. The dead man's ashes are mixed
into plantain soup.
Main Text:
7077 Title: "THE AX FIGHT" For several weeks before the film was shot, people from
the neighboring village of Ironasi-teri had been visiting relatives in Mishimishimaböwei-teri.
The visitors are led by Nanokawä, who was invited by his brother-in-law, Wadoshewä. Nanokawä's two nephews play prominent roles in the film. Mohesiwä
is a visitor, Törawä a resident.
*11
(People whose names are underlined are not on camera at the current moment. A mouseclick
on an underlined name causes the icon of that person to be centered in the Main Genealogy
window.)
219760
Chagnon
appears at the periphery of the fight, taking a picture with a 35mm camera. A
man
with an ax strides from Wadoshewä's section of the shabono toward the conflict.
Räaiyowä, Sinabimi's 10-year old son, turns and runs at top speed toward his house.
PH17
232120
Törawä's father,
Wadoshewä, tussles briefly with a
bystander, probably Maiyahariwä, and pushes him back.
Nanokawä
moves forward, beside Törawä, wielding his club in the direction of
Keböwä.
Mohesiwä
advances.
233400 Zoom in.
Wadoshewä
passes
Mohesiwä
and moves off to the right. There, a
man
wearing a red loin cloth, probably Kaaböwä, strikes a terrific overhead blow with a long club at someone in the throng.
235400
Wadoshewä
shakes his finger at the
man, probably Kaaböwä, who has just struck a blow at someone in the crowd.
PH21
249080 Medium shot.
Mohesiwä
and
Wadoshewä, newly armed with a club, stand behind
Kuaiwä, Nakahedami's husband.
252320 Behind
Wadoshewä,
Yaukuima
brandishes a piece of firewood and yells at Nakahedami. Zoom out.
268160
Barahiwä, brother of Wadoshewä and Daramasiwä, begins an animated harangue of his nephew,
Mohesiwä.
272280
Wadoshewä
waves his hand dismissively in the direction of
Mohesiwä.
Daramasiwä
drops his statuesque pose and also remonstrates in the same direction.
279440
Maiyahariwä
departs as
Wadoshewä
walks off-camera. At the rear of the shabono,
Nakahedami
struggles with
Yaukuima. Cut.
287040
Wadoshewä's younger wife,
Husiheami, strokes
Törawä
as
Borowama
tries to help him to his feet.
287640
Wadoshewä
returns and tersely addresses his son
Törawä.
Nakahedami, still holding an ax, continues to shout insults in the direction of Yaukuima.
289280 As
Törawä
begins to stand,
Mohesiwä
turns and walks rapidly back toward his house.
Wadoshewä
makes one more comment to his son and walks away.
Card 59: Yakahaiwä
A:
235480
Captions:
PH057 Yakahaiwä in hammock.
PH166 Yakahaiwä, wearing a feather armband, helps to cure his close agnate Yahohoiwä's
sick child.
PH191 Yakahaiwä blows the ebene snuff into Dedeheiwä's nostril. The men are about
to begin their regular curing ceremony.
PH195 Dedeheiwä having ebene blown into his nostril by Yakahaiwä .
Main Text:
235480
Yakahaiwä, co-husband of Hurumöwä, charges out of the crowd to drive away a woman on the fringes.
FR720387
Card 60: Yaukuima
A:
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227000
230440
252320
256480
279440
280320
287640
Captions:
Main Text:
198280
Keböwä
continues to strike
Mohesiwä, undeterred by the fact that
Törawä
threatens him with a raised machete.
Yoinakuwä
watches
Törawä. A
woman, possibly Yaukuima, the sister of Keböwä and Yoinakuwä, runs across the plaza with a himo
club over her shoulder.
204880
Nanokawä, leader of the visiting group, strides aggressively but unarmed into the throng.
Iyaböwä
and
Yoinakuwä
hang back from the action with their machetes. A
woman, possibly Yaukuima, arrives with a himo
club which she offers to Yoinakuwä in exchange for his machete.
Moramanama
sprints toward the fight, passing a woman who runs away with a baby.
212760 Again,
Yoroshianawä
prevents
Törawä
from attacking
Keböwä. Yoroshianawä shoves his nephew, who staggers back a step. Keböwä's sister,
Yaukuima, watches from behind
.
214280
Yaukuima, Keböwä'
s sister, seizes the handle of
Törawä's ax as he staggers back. She twists the sharp edge away from
Keböwä and
pulls Törawä off balance.
FR679574
216040
Yaukuima
drags
Törawä
out of the fight toward the village entrance.
Keböwä
sees that Törawä's back is turned and charges the young man from behind.
227000
Nakahedami,
visible through a break in the crowd, flails at a woman, probably Yaukuima.
230440
Nakahedami, Törawä's sister, threatens
Yaukuima, Keböwä'
s sister
,
by wielding a piece of firewood. At this moment, Yaukuima is probably called by Keböwä,
for she suddenly abandons her fight and dashes to him. She lifts the ax from his
hand and runs off with it.
252320 Behind
Wadoshewä,
Yaukuima
brandishes a piece of firewood and yells at Nakahedami. Zoom out.
256480
Nakahedami
prepares to strike
Yaukuima
with the sharp edge of her ax, but before she swings she turns the blunt end forward.
Nanokawä
sees this threat and moves toward the women.
279440
Maiyahariwä
departs as
Wadoshewä
walks off-camera. At the rear of the shabono,
Nakahedami
struggles with
Yaukuima. Cut.
280320 Long shot. [Filming has resumed after a short pause.]
Mohesiwä
leans on his club and stares fixedly at the ground.
Bireima
strokes
Törawä
while
Hurumöwä
stands over them protectively. Behind Mohesiwä,
Nakahedami
shouts in the direction of her adversary, Yaukuima.
Barahiwä
makes one final emphatic gesture and departs.
287640
Wadoshewä
returns and tersely addresses his son
Törawä.
Nakahedami, still holding an ax, continues to shout insults in the direction of Yaukuima.
Card 61: Yoaiyoböwä
A:
380880
Captions:
Main Text:
380880
Waböama
shouts. Subtitle: "And it's clear to us why all your children are so foul and ugly!
We know! We know!" Two young men smile at the camera.
Yoaiyoböwä,
waves. Zoom in.
Card 62: Yoinakuwä
A:
14458
30960
31320
37560
90520
140400
170320
173640
180120
182440
184000
194360
198280
204880
207400
324240
Captions:
PH147 Yoinakuwä, intoxicated on ebene, strikes a magical blow with his machete at
malevolent hekura. This occurred not long after the ax fight incident in Mishimishimaböwei-teri.
PH167 During a curing ceremony, Keböwä prances and struts with his bow and arrows,
Daramasiwä stands against a post, and Yoinakuwä sits up front, near Keböwä, Dedeheiwä
sits with hands clasped on his chest and wears a feather armband.
PH179 Yoinakuwä, painted red to attract his hekura spirits, participates in a curing
ceremony
Main Text:
14458 Graphic: Map of Amazonia. The visiting group had recently splintered from Mishimishimaböwei-teri
to found its own settlement. Coming back to their old village, the visitors demanded
to be fed: they now wished to be treated as guests. Events reveal that after several weeks the hosts began to resist providing food. Like many of the
local men, Yoinakuwä, instructed his wives Sinabimi
and Sharama
not to feed visitors any more.
30960 Fade-in to close-up of
Yoinakuwä. Yoinakuwä's body paint probably indicates his participation in a shamanistic curing
ritual in which hallucinogens are used. (When a name in bold is mouseclicked, the cursor points to that person on screen.
The person's icon is centered in the Genealogy.)
Camera cuts.
31320 Wide shot of
Yoinakuwä's house, the characteristic open-air section of the circular, Yanomamö village shabono.
*12
Five children, including
Räaiyowä, the young son of Yoinakuwä and
Sinabimi, look intently into the shabono. Superimposed titlecard: "You are about to see and
hear the unedited record of this seemingly chaotic and confusing fight, just as the
field workers witnessed it on their second day in the village."
37560 Fadeout titlecard.
Sinabimi's son,
Räaiyowä,
and other children look inward at Yoinakuwä's house. They are distracted by distant shouts from the plaza. Zoom in to hammocks
strung between house posts of the shabono.
90520 Recognizing that his brother
Mohesiwä
has been hurt,
Törawä
rushes out with his nabrushi
club raised against
Uuwä. [Nabrushi clubs are made as needed, from roof poles cut to a length suitable for
fighting.] Uuwä's brothers-in-law,
Yoinakuwä
(Sinabimi's husband) and
Keböwä, also arrive with clubs.
140400 Zoom in to
Törawä,
Yoinakuwä
and
Kaaböwä
who brandish clubs. The original antagonists,
Uuwä
and
Mohesiwä, rest their weapons.
170320 During the lull, Yoinakuwä
and
Keböwä, his younger brother, have prepared to attack Mohesiwä's house. Yoinakuwä's wife Sinabimi
was beaten by Mohesiwä. But Keböwä, her husband's brother, charges out first, wielding
his ax.
173640
Yoinakuwä
runs from of his house with a machete, following his brother
Keböwä.
180120
Keböwä
attacks the
woman, probably Huuhuumi.
Mohesiwä
fends off Keböwä with his bow stave and the woman escapes to the rear. Another woman
breaks into a run across the plaza as
Yoinakuwä
approaches Mohesiwä's group with his machete. [For a still-frame sequence of Keböwä's
attack, see:
FR180120]
182440
Mohesiwä
and
Keböwä
struggle over the ax.
Borowama
and
Husiheami,
Mohesiwä's wife, back off when
Yoinakuwä
arrives and threatens them.
184000
Yoinakuwä
sneaks behind
Mohesiwä
to outflank him.
Ruwamowä
walks casually past, paying little attention to the violence.
194360
Törawä
raises his machete to threaten
Keböwä. Keböwä finally wrests his ax from
Mohesiwä.
Husiheami
faces
Yoinakuwä
on one side of the confrontation, while
Nakahedami
stamps her feet and shouts on the other side. The men separate in a standoff.
198280
Keböwä
continues to strike
Mohesiwä, undeterred by the fact that
Törawä
threatens him with a raised machete.
Yoinakuwä
watches
Törawä. A
woman, possibly Yaukuima, the sister of Keböwä and Yoinakuwä, runs across the plaza with a himo
club over her shoulder.
204880
Nanokawä, leader of the visiting group, strides aggressively but unarmed into the throng.
Iyaböwä
and
Yoinakuwä
hang back from the action with their machetes. A
woman, possibly Yaukuima, arrives with a himo
club which she offers to Yoinakuwä in exchange for his machete.
Moramanama
sprints toward the fight, passing a woman who runs away with a baby.
207400
Törawä
escalates the conflict by preparing to strike with the sharp edge of his ax. Before
he can strike, however, an unidentified man in the crowd prevents him from using
the blade. As Törawä gathers for the blow, he is spun around, shoved down, and pushed
bodily away. Törawä crashes into
Yoinakuwä
and their momentum carries them to where
Nakahedami
stands on the sidelines.
324240 Long shot.
Räaiyowä
stands in front of Yoinakuwä's house. He holds his distinctive club. Zoom in to
Dimöma
who has apparently remained crying in her hammock since the first moments of the
film. Slow zoom out.
Card 63: Yoroshianawä
A:
209120
211240
212240
212760
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Captions:
PH005 Yoroshianawä joins his brother Wadoshewä in deciding how to distribute smoked
tapir meat to other people in the village.
PH178 Yoroshianawä is still high on the hallucinogenic snuff powder, ebene, after
participating in a curing ceremony.
Main Text:
209120
Yoroshianawä
steps into view at the location where
Törawä
was prevented from striking with his ax.
211240
Törawä
moves toward
Mohesiwä
and
Keböwä, who struggle over possession of the ax. He is blocked again, this time by
Yoroshianawä, his classificatory father. [Yoroshianawä's action is notable in view of the expectation
that classificatory fathers support their 'sons' in a fight.]
212240 For a second time
Törawä
escalates the fight by turning the sharp edge of his ax upward, preparing to strike
Keböwä.
Yoroshianawä
watches closely.
212760 Again,
Yoroshianawä
prevents
Törawä
from attacking
Keböwä. Yoroshianawä shoves his nephew, who staggers back a step. Keböwä's sister,
Yaukuima, watches from behind
.
216480
Yoroshianawä, unaware of
Keböwä's attack, strides away from
Törawä.
Visible over the heads of the crowd, Keböwä launches a powerful overhead blow with
his ax, the dull end forward. The rest of the action is not visible. [Chagnon, who
was near Törawä, says that the ax hit him squarely between the shoulder blades.]
FR685867
