Politics and Violence

(1) Hushuwo, a word that can be translated as "anger verging on violence." Warfare and killing amongst divided groups of the Yanomamo is caused by the underlying motivation from revenge, for the individuals lost from previous killings. Essentially the punishment or consequence for killing in this culture is being targeted and killed as an act of retaliation. "Although there are customs and general rules about proper behavior, individuals violate them regularly when it seems in their interests to do so. When conflicts emerge each individual must rely on his own skills and coercive abilities and the support of his close kin" (Chagnon,pgs 1&2). The rules that regard such acts in Western culture are much more different and are firmly established in a civilized form with the addition of a criminal justice system. Most consequences for criminal acts include an ordered sentence followed by probation or limitations. The most common scenario that would involve the death penalty would be the criminal act of committing homicide. Such a decision must be discussed thoroughly whereas in Yanomamo culture this would not involve much second thinking.
(2) Revenge killings in Yanomamo populations are acts of vengeance for previous killings. A counteract like this would be considered advantageous. As a community, revenge killings and swift retaliation benefit a group, reducing the mortality rate and the number of attacks from neighboring groups.
(3) Men who have performed the unokaimou ceremony are referred to as unokai, a status that is known widely within the village but as well as their neighboring groups. This purifying ritual is meant to avert harm that they believe would come from the soul of the victim. It is found that most who have killed have unokaied once and that if an individual has killed that they will have close kin, such as the leaders who are unokaied as well. Benefits of having the status of unokais gives them a close genetic kin with members and a greater reproductive success, appearing attractive as mates over non-unokais. Because they to take part in these actions its believed that they have physically superior skills than the non-unokais. The unokais make up a large percent of the population of descent groups. There are several theorized variables as to why the unokai are presented as a stronger group and they mainly revolve around there actions in killings "that cultural success leads to biological success" (Chagnon, pg 6).
(4) In the Yanomamo culture, conflicts within villages can cause fighting an eventually into the village fissioning and develop differing principles within groups that lead to raids and killings amongst them. Each group is different and some hold a higher status because of their actions in revenge killings and retaliation, it makes them less vulnerable to attacks from their neighboring groups. There's a legitimacy of these violent actions and serve as a form of justice for their deceased kin and representation of a group's strength. All Yanomamo villages have a couple descent groups and members must find their spouses from a different patrilineal descent group. Depending on those groups, marriages can create a close relation among the people and develop into large kin groups which is the case. "If someone in the village is killed, the probability is very high that he or she will have many bereaved close kin, including the village leader or leaders who have more kin than others; the leaders are the very individuals who decide whether killings are revenged" (Chagnon, pg 4). " The higher the kinship density in a local community, the greater is the likelihood that a large number of mutually supportive individuals will take such life-threatening risks and that retaliation will occur if one of the members of the group is killed" (Chagnon, pg 5). As for reproduction its believed that men who take part in warfare or revenge killings have a greater chance of reproduction success.
(5) I believe laws against criminal acts are needed for the maintenance of social order and avoiding brutality that would become the main worry of our everyday lives if we did not have such laws.  The consequences of our actions can be avoided by learning from the punishments that we are given when we do make those unjust decisions. They help establish what we view as the rights and wrongs of life.

Language

(Pt1)

My partner in this experiment was my fiancé over skype video. This is a normal form of communication for us so it did not have an affect or alter the experiment. I found this first part of the experiment to be the most challenging. I do tend to use a lot of body language or hand gestures when I speak however not being able to talk at all made it difficult to communicate the "words" to my partner. At first I tried drawing objects in hopes of communicating better however I was questioning whether that'd be breaking the rules of the experiment. After that attempt it basically turned into a guessing game of charades with hand motions and facial expression which did take up a lot of time. Eventually we did give up in the sense that my partner would turn the conversation into yes and no questions so it was easier for me to respond. Initially and for most of this first part of the experiment, my partner's response to my limited communication made in him very unsure of the words or responses I was trying to communicate to him. He'd get frustrated several times because when he'd feel certain about something I was trying to say it'd turn out to be wrong and he'd have to try again with my new attempts of talking to him. Only until the end that we took what I'd say was the easy route did we feel more confident communicating back and forth with each other.

If the scenario were that we spoke two different languages, I assume that the speaking culture, my partner in this case, would have the upper hand in communicating complex ideas. I feel like the speaking culture would struggle more to understand what the other is trying to say or express. They'd have to put some effort and observe the other cultures' language to make better assumptions as to what they're saying.

Not only in our culture but internationally, individuals who have a difficult time communicating with spoken language are the hearing impaired. Incapable of hearing the annunciation of others let alone their own words, sign language is their form of communicating with the rest of us. Learning sign language and the help of a translator are common ways we, speaking culture, interact with them.

(Pt2)

Although I did catch myself on several occasion using body language in the conversation, I did find this part of the experiment to be a lot easier than the first. Like I said in the first section, I do tend to use hand gestures or body language when I talk but it was easier to stop myself when I noticed that I'd start using that form of communication. The only thing that was probably the most difficult was avoiding the use of expression with my eyebrows. My fiancé's reaction this time was very entertaining to watch as I tried to keep a straight face. We're both very comedic, expressive people so to see one of us talking in a monotonous form was very odd. At several points in the conversation he'd start laughing, he admitted it was hard to take me seriously when I was "speaking like a robot".

The use of "signs" or some form of symbolic language is important when we communicate with one another, it's almost like second nature. I think of way people learn and some learn best with the use of pictures and symbols. I believe that could relate with how we speak, using hand gestures or symbols could make it easier for someone to grasp the whole idea and clearly understand what the other is communicating to them as they speak. I also believe that there are people who have difficulty with understanding body language. In a normal conversation amongst a group or just between two people, the use of symbolic language is very helpful. A scenario I think there'd be no benefit of body language would be on a tour like in a museum for instance. The tour guide would be providing information about each artifact, painting, or sculpture and even the smallest gesture wouldn't make a difference to the attention that the tour group already has towards their observance of whatever object it is.

Environmental Adaptations

Zulu

The Zulu people, " the people of the heavens", are a large population located in mainly KwaZulu-Natal, southeastern Africa. "Zululand" is found within the northeastern part of KwaZulu-Natal and consists of a subtropical climate that is sunny almost all year round. The summer months' temperature can reach almost 32 degrees Celsius (89-90 F) and the winters range around from 16 to 25 degrees Celsius (60 to 77 F). The Midlands have a mild climate with fairly warm, humid summers that average around 30 degrees Celsius (86 F) and dry, sunny winters.

  

Originating from the Nguni clans, some living nomadic a life with consistent exposure to the sun presents a main physical adaption that the Zulu obtained. Having a historic exposure to the sun's rays has made it possible for them to withstand the damaging effects of UV radiation with the higher eumelanin content in their skin and hair. The clothing that is worn by the Zulu holds certain meanings in their culture. For the men, the amaShoba, a cows tail worn on the upper arms and below the knees, is simply meant to give the appearance of greater bulk to the body. The iBeshu, rear apron made of calf skin, are worn by the men involved in active pursuits. Younger men will wear them to knee length while those worn by older men have them down to their ankles. Leopard skin however is exclusive for those who are held at a higher position. Lastly, only married men wear headbands. Clothing for the women consists of short grass skirts for single maidens and covered chests with grown out hair for engaged women. Married women have to wear treated cowhide that completely covers their body and an embellished covering over her breasts.

I'd describe the Zulu as African Americans for the reason that aside from them being spread throughout large areas, they've had both cultural and historic importance in southern Africa. Their language for example originating from the Nguni has helped unify other groups or clans in the region.

http://www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/kwazulu-natal/travel-guide/kwazulu-natal-weather-climate
http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/zulu
http://www.zulu-culture.co.za/zulu_clothing.php#.WUKOdoWcFPY

Cultural Descriptions

(A)
Body Ritual of Nacerima

The five words I'd use to describe this population of the Nacerima would be masochistic, misconceived, peculiar, self conscious, and servile.

Hearing how painful and humiliating most of these practices are was frightful, but as further description was given for each ritual I was struggling to grasp how the people were willingly accepting of these practices. That's why I'd describe them as masochistic. I'm sure that whatever pain that is endured isn't enjoyable but according to their beliefs I can see  that it's more of a pleasurable feeling for them mentally, knowing that they are becoming cleansed version of themselves. Not only are they accepting but participation is desired despite the extent they'd go with peculiar beliefs such as those requiring the help of the "holy-mouth-men". Additionally I'd describe them as servile for that same reason, the oddest aspects of their culture are the ones they're most devoted to. Unfortunately, I'd view the Nacerima as self-conscious. "The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease "(Miner). I believe what makes them a misconceived group is not just how odd or morally wrong some of these rituals may seem to us but particularly because of the little that is known of their origin.

(B) 
 Nacirema - American

1. What an unexpected plot twist to the assignment. Now that I look back at the words I used to described what is actually the culture of Americans, the only one I'd change is masochistic because I believe that it doesn't convey a proper description of Americans overall. To replace that I'd use the word propagandized, especially now with the power social media has. Aside from that I feel like the other four words still suit American culture.
2. The only word I believe that exhibits ethnocentrism on my part would be servile. I viewed the Nacerima as extremely loyal to their beliefs because I was also making the assumption that maybe they weren't too knowledgeable about cultures outside of their own. So basically I was viewing them as a minor group. I believe that the rest of the words are free of bias because I was choosing them directly from only the information provided, trying to understand and simply give my first impressions.
3. I'd replace servile for deferential, simply as them being a respectful group towards their own culture.
4. While I believe that its impossible ethnocentrism could be avoided, it's important to free our minds of as much judgment or personal preferences as possible of any commentary we make of other cultures. Especially as a cultural anthropologist you want to understand properly whatever foreign characteristics you'll most likely come across and provide the most genuine, reliable information so that too the reader or student can understand such cultures.