BRAN
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Located between Brazil and Venezuela, the Yanomami territory is covered with a thick forest, crossed by innumerable waterways, the main river of which is the Orinoco.
The name Yanomami was created by anthropologists who studied the group in Venezuela. In the Western Yanomami language tëpë, it means "human beings" which is opposed to yaropë (game), yai thëpë (non-human = shamanic spirits, ghosts) and napëpë (stranger, enemy)
The Yanomami Indians are one of the most numerous and most preserved indigenous peoples in South America.
They constitute a linguistic and cultural whole divided into 4 subgroups speaking mutually intelligible languages. The communities maintain a vast social network throughout their territory, which was definitively demarcated on 25/05/1992 after a battle lasting several decades.
The population is between 27,000 and 29,000 individuals depending on the source. They are unaware of writing but have a very rich vocabulary of around 4000 words. They use sign language during forest hunts to make themselves understood in silence.
The game is taken in the forest only by bow hunters, with respect, and they thank in recognition "the spirit of the forest". The result of the hunt is always exchanged between neighbors and families, the one who killed does not keep the result of his hunt. This is supplemented by the collection of edible plants (fruits, tubers, mushrooms) but also caterpillars and insects and wild honey.
The women use thin rods which they cross their nose, lower lip and corners of the lips and which swing with each movement. They often attach wild lilies to the ends.
In 1970, the mining potential of the Yanomami territory was discovered and a gradual invasion of gold miners took place and continues today.
The meeting between the Yanomami and the "garimpeiros" (miners) was a real shock. Some gold diggers have links with drug trafficking networks, they arrive with helicopters, excavators, generators, receiving satellites, alcohol and narcotics. They have also widely spread malaria, tuberculosis, and more recently Covid-19 to these people whose immunity is weak.
According to Yanomami chiefs, some 20,000 illegal gold diggers have invaded their territory, killing men, sexually abusing women and teenage girls, and contaminating rivers with the mercury that separates gold from sediment.
The bust I just finished is from Scientific Models and is 7cm tall. It depicts a young Yanomami who has tamed a green-cheeked amazon, which easily becomes good pets because of its gentleness.
I wanted by this painting, to highlight this peaceful people, threatened by the lure of gold, a bit like the Amerindians were during the conquest of the west, hoping that the end would be different. ....
The name Yanomami was created by anthropologists who studied the group in Venezuela. In the Western Yanomami language tëpë, it means "human beings" which is opposed to yaropë (game), yai thëpë (non-human = shamanic spirits, ghosts) and napëpë (stranger, enemy)
The Yanomami Indians are one of the most numerous and most preserved indigenous peoples in South America.
They constitute a linguistic and cultural whole divided into 4 subgroups speaking mutually intelligible languages. The communities maintain a vast social network throughout their territory, which was definitively demarcated on 25/05/1992 after a battle lasting several decades.
The population is between 27,000 and 29,000 individuals depending on the source. They are unaware of writing but have a very rich vocabulary of around 4000 words. They use sign language during forest hunts to make themselves understood in silence.
The game is taken in the forest only by bow hunters, with respect, and they thank in recognition "the spirit of the forest". The result of the hunt is always exchanged between neighbors and families, the one who killed does not keep the result of his hunt. This is supplemented by the collection of edible plants (fruits, tubers, mushrooms) but also caterpillars and insects and wild honey.
The women use thin rods which they cross their nose, lower lip and corners of the lips and which swing with each movement. They often attach wild lilies to the ends.
In 1970, the mining potential of the Yanomami territory was discovered and a gradual invasion of gold miners took place and continues today.
The meeting between the Yanomami and the "garimpeiros" (miners) was a real shock. Some gold diggers have links with drug trafficking networks, they arrive with helicopters, excavators, generators, receiving satellites, alcohol and narcotics. They have also widely spread malaria, tuberculosis, and more recently Covid-19 to these people whose immunity is weak.
According to Yanomami chiefs, some 20,000 illegal gold diggers have invaded their territory, killing men, sexually abusing women and teenage girls, and contaminating rivers with the mercury that separates gold from sediment.
The bust I just finished is from Scientific Models and is 7cm tall. It depicts a young Yanomami who has tamed a green-cheeked amazon, which easily becomes good pets because of its gentleness.
I wanted by this painting, to highlight this peaceful people, threatened by the lure of gold, a bit like the Amerindians were during the conquest of the west, hoping that the end would be different. ....










