Glossary of Yąnomamö Terms
I put together a list of terms and definitions while writing my novel about an anthropologist studying the Yąnomamö. Good for students or researchers, or anyone else looking to learn some basic terms of the language. These definitions are mostly my own paraphrasing of Napoleon Chagnon’s.
...tari
suffix signaling the name of a collection of villages, like Shamatari
…-teri
suffix signaling the name of a village, like Bisaasi-teri
a brahawä shoawä
expression that means "It's still a long way off."
abawä
older brother
aîwä
also older brother
amoamo
a ritual to ensure success in the hunt, dances performed by women and girls while the men seek game
awei
yes
babracot
platform made of sticks 3 feet over a campfire for cooking/smoking meat
bädao
without cause, as in "killing without cause."
bareto
biting gnats
barröwo
to lead the way on a trail
basho
spider monkey
beshi
to be horny (something seldom admitted openly)
bisaasi
palm leaf
bore
malevolent wandering spirit with glowing eyes
boshe
small white-lipped peccary
browähäwä
politically important man
buhii
spirit or soul--particularly the will
date (dah-tay)
sweet, boiled plantain soup
dehiaö
to eat a bite of meat, then a bite of vegetables, and chew them together
duku kä misi
uppermost of four layers to the cosmos
ebene
hallucinogenic green powder shot through a tube into shaman's nostrils
habe
father
habo
come over here
he borara
term used to describe a village (shabono) that has fissioned into two, with the newer one staying close by for protection from enemy raiders
hedu kä misi
the sky layer, the underside of which we see when we look up, on top of which the dead and no badabö live
hei kä misi
the earth layer in the Yąnomamö cosmos
hei tä bebi
lowermost layer of the cosmos, the one beneath the earth we occupy
hekamaya
son-in-law or nephew (sister's son)
hekura
spirits who travel down hammock strings from the sky layer to commune with shamans (tiny light beings seen after taking ebene)
heniyomou
hunting trip
himo
shorter, but deadlier club with sharpened edges, used when nabrushi fight has escalated
hisiomö
seeds used to make ebene
hori
poor; literally, to be without tobacco
horeö
to crawl or creep, as when learning to walk
howashi
capuchin monkey
hushuwo
sad and volatile; emotional state common at reahu (funeral)
huya
young bachelor looking for adventure (and often looking for trouble)
ihiru (formal ihirubö)
infant or either sex
iro
howler monkey
iwä
caiman
kawa amou
shouted, often poetic monologue given by a man at night after most villagers are settled in their hammocks
ma
no
madohe
manufactured goods like machetes, axes, fishhooks and line, etc. brought in for trade
mashi
blood relations (as opposed to shori, in-laws), reckoned through patrilineal descent
middi
darkness
mohode
caught unawares
moko dude
a recently post-pubescent female who has never had a child
moyawe
alert, suspicious, wary
nabä
foreigner; non-Yąnomamö
nabrushi
long clubs used for duels
nara
red paint applied to the body
no badabö
"those who are now dead"; "the original humans"; mythical precursors to Yąnomamö, some of whom travel from the hedu layer to earth as hekura
no mraiha
the giving of a gift with the expectation that it will be reciprocated at some later date instead of on the spot
no owa
effigy representing a man from enemy village, used as a dummy for practice raids
nomohori
"dirty trick"; a deception, often an invitation to a feast, that can result in an ambush and several members of the visiting village killed
noreshi
animal alter ego
obo
armadillo
ohodemu
work
oka
harmful magic from a particular plant that is blown toward the enemy; suspicions of the use of this magic are the cause of many killings
öra
jaguar
oshe
a young child of either sex
owa
little brother
pajui
wild turkey
pata
"big one"; headman
patayoma
an old woman
rahaka
lanceolate arrow tip used for killing humans, often dipped in curare poison
rahara
river serpents; dragons
rasha
palm fruit
riyahäwä
beautiful
rohode
an old man; old person
shabono
the circular or ovular structure formed by joined yahis into a large communal dwelling with an open courtyard
shabori
shaman; man who communes with the hekura
shaki or shakiwä
pesky bee; name given to Shackely
shama
tapir
shoabe
father-in-law or mother's brother
shori (formal shoriwä)
brother-in-law; term used to address strangers; in-laws as opposed to patrilineal relatives (mashi)
shuwahi
woman who flees her village in search of a husband who will treat her better
sina
adjective used to describe a man who's a poor marksman with his bow and arrows
sioha
a man from another village doing bride service for his wife's family
siohamou
bride service--period of work done for in-laws' family as part of a marriage exchange
suaböya
mother's brother's daughter; cross-cousin; or wife (same term)
suhebä ukaö
a girl whose nipples are beginning to get hard
suwa härö
a female who is about the age of puberty; also, the magical charms such a female may use
suwa pata
a mature woman
tora
baboo quiver tied to hunters back
unokai
man who has killed another man (or several)
unokaimou
ritural cleansing and quarantining undertaken by a man after killing another man
urihi
jungle; nature
urihi ä rimö
having to do with beasts and animal things as opposed to humans and human things (yahi tä rimö)
Wa bei kä he shami
"Your forehead is filthy," one of the worst insults
wabu
fruit from which originated women in Yąnomamö myth
waiteri
fierce; aggressive in defending one's honor; also noun, a man who's waiteri
waiyamou
marathon competitive chanting
waiyumö
long camping trip that can last days or weeks
wara
large-collared peccary
waro pata
a mature man
wayu huu
raid
wayu itou
ritual lineup of warriors in preparation for a raid, usually performed during reahu mortuary ceremony
wayu käbä
raider
weshi
to have lots of pubic hair (a turn-on for men)
yai
"true"
yahediba
electric eels
yahi
portion of a shabono for individual nuclear families; house
yahi tä rimö
having to do with humans and human things as opposed to beasts and animal things (urihi ä rimö)
yano
small hunting tent
yaöya
mother's sister's daughter; parallel cousin; or sister (same term)
yawaremou
incest
yawäwä
a young boy who has started tying his penis to his waist string
yaya
mother-in-law
yiwä
an adolescent male whose muscles are getting hard
