GRADUATE SCHOOL

Masters of Arts in Education, Major in Social Sciences

Social and Cultural Anthropology

___________________________________________________________
Lemmy Constantino Dulnuan
ID No: 15-02248
1. Discuss the different methodologies used by Chagnon and Lee. What are some
similarities and differences between the methods they used? How do they differ from
quantitative research methodologies?

- In order for us to understand the culture of another is to observe. A certain group in

the Amazon rainforest on the border between Venezuela and Brazil called The Yanomami,
also spelled Yąnomamö or Yanomama have their culture and traditions being practiced
until now. In anthropology, Napoleon Chagnon is a renowned anthropologist who is most
widely recognized for his study of the Yanomamo tribes in the Amazon and who is also a
professor of anthropology at the University of Missouri. He used an evolutionary approach
to understand social behavior in terms of genetic relatedness. His work centered on the
analysis of violence among tribal peoples, and, using socio-biological analyses, he advanced
the argument that violence among the Yanomami is fueled by an evolutionary process in
which successful warriors have more offspring. In “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari”
Richard Borshay Lee introduces us to some ethnographic techniques he used. He decides to
take part in the Christmas ox custom, which is participant observation – “direct, firsthand
observation of behavior”. The similarities of the two anthropologists, they both used direct,
firsthand observation of behaviour which is the participant observation. Napoleon Chagnon
spent 60 months working with the Yąnomamö while Richard Lee spent 17 months with the
Bushmen. This type of research differ from quantitative research because for it is
multimethod in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter.
This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to
make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them
though it also have its limitations.

2. Describe the challenges and difficulties that both researchers encountered.

- The challenges and difficulties that both researchers encountered are the following: Lack of
knowledge of their culture, inability to speak and understand their language , personal
disorientation as they experienced an unfamiliar way of life due to movement between social
environments, or simply transition to another type of life. (Culture shock as anthropologists
say). Chagnon had trouble collecting genealogies of the Yanomamo because of their name
taboos, and that the people made up false names for everyone. Names of deceased friends
and relatives and those of prominent living people were never spoken, and were referred to by
made-up names.

3. What are some unique beliefs or/and practices of the two tribes which the researchers
unraveled? Discuss those unique practices and beliefs.
- With Richard Lee’s “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari”. As he decided to participate in the
Christmas “custom of slaughtering an ox”, he observed that the Bushmen one by one started
to complain, once they saw “the ox” to be celebrated. They called it a bag of bones not worth
eating. Through conversation with cultural consultants, Lee uses the emic approach of
looking at how people think and discovers the “native viewpoint”. In the !Kung Bushmen
society, your hard work is appreciated but behind closed doors and is not easily shown
to you. Their control mechanism and belief is, that even though a job is well done, it will do
a person more harm than good to praise them for it. Praise will boost his ego and “for
someday his pride will make him to kill somebody”. The groups’ survival was based on
their awareness of their environment and evaluations of how individuals think and act in a
society.
“In order to keep everyone in the culture in check, they make sure no one gets too big
an ego.”
On the otherhand, the Yanomami tribe,the largest unacculturated aboriginal group on
earth, believe strongly in equality, and they do not have chiefs or leaders. The men hunt
animals such as peccary, tapir, and deer. Women usually grow crops and collect nuts,
 shellfish, and insects. They have no writing, but they have a rich and complex language.
Their clothing is more decorative than protective. As on Chagnon’s description, well-
dressed men sport nothing more than afew cotton strings around their wrists, ankles, and
waists. They tie the foreskins of their penises to the waist string. Women dress about the
same. Yąnomamö people don't have marriage ceremonies. A man can be with as many
wives have he wants. They don't believe in marriage. A girl can be promised to a boy as young
as 5 or 6. They aren't strict on marriage. This occurs because they aren't educated in the
same way as we are. Because there is no school they aren't taught about marriage. They also
have chants that they sing or say to be blessed. They say these so that the outsiders don't
ruin their home. Everyone in the tribe believes they are important and they do protect them
for danger like the illegal gold miners and diseases.

4. Use a theoretical frame to understand the culture of the Yanomamo and the! Kung
Bushmen.

Ethnography

Purpose:
Describing cultural
characteristics of a
group of people

Disciplinary
origin
Anthropology

Data Collection
and Analysis
Extended fieldwork on
particpant observations,
interviews , documents analysis
during study Research
report
description of the physical
and social settings aimed at
holistic undersatnding