Amazon Villagers (Yanomamo)

Environment and Climate:

They are a group of approximately 20,000 indigenous people who live in villages along the amazon rainforest on the border between Venezuela and Brazil. They depend much on the rain forest to grow bananas, gather fruit, and hunt animals and fish. The rainforest is what they rely on to continue in their element as they frequently move to avoid areas that become overused, a practice known as shifting cultivation when the soil becomes exhausted. The Yanomamo are known as hunters, fishers, and horticulturists. They have high heat temperature in weather due to living in tropical rainforest. I could not find an average temperature but after the wet part of the year has ended and severe rain is over, inland pools formed by flooding dry away from their sources. This is when Yanomamo woman easily gather stranded fish. A danger that they face with fish is the high mercury poisoning by fish that have metabolized mercury or plants that have absorbed mercury from the soil. They grow such things as bananas, sugarcane, mangoes, sweet potatoes, papaya, manioc, and other crops. Also due to high temperatures, they live in houses called shabono. They are open to the ground in the center and allows more ventilation into their homes. They are susceptible to heavy damage from rains, winds, and insect infestation. As a result, villagers build new shabonos every 1 to 2 years. When there are hot and horrific conditions, there are infestations of insects and animals. Their population setting is mostly their own people out in the open rainforest where there are no roads, airports, and the only way to get there is the amazon river. They are faced with a “slash-and-burn” horticulture. Large amounts of the rainforest are cut down to make way for power plants, gas plants, and phone polls to name a few. The main example of habitat loss is deforestation, among other environmental consequences are water pollution, air pollution, and global warming. They occupy an area of about 900 km along the Brazilian-Venezuelan border in which a large portion of that land is known for valuable deposits of gold and other precious minerals and timber reserves. For the past 30 years, the survival of the Yanomamo people has been jeopardized by illegal Brazilian gold miners, known as garimpeiros in Portuguese, and commercial loggers. This can eventually lead to a long term stress if they continue to tear down the rainforest which will affect the animals the Yanimamo hunt. The creation of power plants in this area would also affect the people directly with the pollution. This affects their health and way of life. A few ways to help lessen the affects of these problems is to move farther away from these constructions but still close enough to where the animals migrate to be able to hunt. Also to stay near the river to fish and keep hydrated. In my opinion, they should try mining some of the gold within that area to possibly be able to buy some of that land and not give others the option to take it from them to create some of these issues.

Language and Gender:

Their language is Yanomaman. It is a small language family of northwestern Brazil and southern Venezuela. They have many variations and dialects of the language, such that the people from different villages cannot always understand each other. The origins of the language are unknown. They have a written language in which they have a distinction between oral and nasal vowels. If a vowel is phonetically nasalized, then all vowels after it in the word are also nasalized.

The gender roles of the Yanomami people involve the woman cultivating plantains and cassava in gardens as their main crops. Men do the heavy work of clearing areas of forest for the gardens. The woman are responsible for the domestic duties and chores, excluding hunting and killing game for food. Although the woman do not hunt, they do work in gardens and gather small sources as food. Woman are expected to carry 70 to 80 pound loads of crops on their backs during harvesting. In the mornings while men are off hunting, the women and young children go off in search of termite nests and other grubs, which will later be roasted at the family hearths. While some women gather sources of food, other women go off and fish for several hours during the day. Women are expected to bear and raise many children, who are expected to help their mothers with domestic chores from a very young age, and mothers rely very much on help from their daughters. The women are not allowed to do certain things as the men such as involve them in many ceremonies that they prepare. The women make alcoholic beverages for men during these ceremonies. The use of hallucinogenic drugs are very common, however women are forbidden from involving themselves in this practice. The women do, however, participate in the practice of endocannibalism. In this practice, the Yanimami people consume the bones of a deceased kinsman.

 “The Blessed Curse” is a touching story by R.K. Williamson in which she/he was born intersexed. She/he struggled through life confused on what to believe with their own thoughts and having to deal with the confusion given by others. The person that kept her/him sane was her grandmother with touching words,  “a great strength that girls never have, yet a gentle tenderness that boys never know” and

“too pretty and beautiful to be a boy only and too strong to be a girl only”. The Yanimami people would have difficulty accepting this same situation. They are very reliant on their gender rolls and how they proceed in their culture. The men seem to be more ruthless when it comes to their children as they don’t spend as much time with them as the women do. Williamson said “Native Americans believe that everything has a spirit and purpose” and that “none are superior”. These are words and guides that many cultures should follow and would allow more people to be themselves and not try and be what society expects them to be.

Economic System:

During the rainfall season the Yanomami men spend much of their time fishing in the large amazon river. Its as soon as that season is over when the Yanomami people have the best harvest in overall crops. They are able to grow bananas, sugarcane, mangoes, sweet potatoes, papaya, manioc, and other crops.  The men hunt for game like peccary, tapir, deer and monkey, and often use curare to poison their prey. Although hunting is only 10% of Yanomami food, amongst men it is considered the most prestigious of skills and meat is greatly valued by everyone. No hunter ever eats the meat that he has killed. Instead he shares it out among friends and family. In return, he will be given meat by another hunter. Woman tend the gardens where they grow around 60 crops which account for about 80% of their food. They also collect nuts, shellfish and insect larvae. Wild honey is highly prized and the Yanomami harvest 15 different kinds. The women commonly use plants such as manioc to turn into flat cakes, which they cook over a small pile of coals. The women cultivate these gardens until they are no longer fertile, and then move their plots. Plantains and grubs are common sources of food, and are staples in the Yanomami diet. The traditional Yanomami diet is very low in salt. Their blood pressure is characteristically among the lowest of any demographic group. For this reason, the Yanomami have been subject of studies seeking to link hypertension to sodium consumption. The Yanomami celebrate rituals in good harvest with a big feast to which nearby villages are invited. The Yanomami villagers gather huge amounts of food, which helps to maintain good relations with their neighbors. They also decorate their bodies with feathers and flowers. During the feast, the Yanomami eat a lot, and women dance and sing late into the night. The surplus the Yanomami people have are the harvest that they grow. During the dry season part of the year, they don’t normally have enough to trade away but still have enough to survive on. Their best way of currency as of late has been their land. The happen to settle on top of several gold mines in which they don’t seem to care much for. They don’t like to give up where they reside but often they don’t have a choice and they take what they can. They trade with many different local villages. This can be woven baskets, plants, meat that they hunted. Their trades are called “no mraiha”.

Cultures Marriage and Kinship:

In the Yanomami culture marriage ceremonies are almost non existent and are not celebrated in any way. They believe in Polygamous. It is not uncommon for a man to have more than one wife. Polygamy is commonly practiced and woman are expected to accept this. The elder wife in a marriage usually has precedence over the others and can act as a boss or a superior over the other wives. The husband is not suppose to show favorites, due to jealousy between wives. A girl can be promised to a man as young as age 5. But they cannot be married off until atleast her first menstrual period. After the first menstrual period, it is common for the girl to be handed off by her parents to one of the men, usually a relative. The most common marriages in their culture are cross cousin marriages. Most prefer to marry within the tribe to avoid any future violent breakouts between tribes. Violence and abuse between couples in their culture are very common. If a woman feels she is unable to bear to live with her husband, she may flee and live with her brothers. Women are not allowed to have any sexual relations with another women but men can with another. If a women is caught with another women or masturbating, they will be severely injured or even death. Polygamous families consist of a large patrifocal family unit based on one man, a smaller matrifocal subfamilies. Life in the village is centered around the small, matrilocal family unit, whereas the larger patrilocal unit has more political importance beyond the village. The Yanomami kinship is based on the Iroquis system of kinship terminology. The father and father’s brother are referred to by a single term, as are the mother and mother’s sister. However, the fathers sister and the mothers brother are given separate terms. Tracing ancestry through the male, the Yanomami consider males more important or valuable than women.  Leadership positions determine the village’s relationship with other villages and are largely the result of kinship and marriage patterns. The leaders, called “big men,” come from the largest kinship group within the village. They clear gardens, plant crops, collect wild foods and hunt. They are also peacemakers and warriors. Because peacemaking takes forcefulness, they are often referred to as “fierce”. They can inherit political position but as far as leadership or becoming chief, no. They do not inherit leadership, it is earned. 

Social and Political Organizations:

The Yanomamo villages are a political entity, free to make war or peace with other villages. Coalitions between villages are important: nevertheless, such coalitions then to be fragile and ephemeral. The Yanomamo are egalitarian people, age, sex, and personal accomplishments are important in status differentiation. High status is acquired through valor in combat, accomplished oratory, and expertise in shamanism. Local descent groups play important roles in regulating marriages and settling disputes within the village. The village headman is the dominant political leader and comes from the largest local patrilineage. When a village is large or when two local descent groups are approximately equal in size, a village may have several headmen. Concerted action requires the consensus of adult males. An individual is free, however, to desert from collective action if it suits him. Conflicts typically arise from accusations of adultery, failure to deliver a betrothed woman, personal affronts, stinginess, or thefts of coveted garden crops. Primary vengeance is the lineage, but nonkin have some obligation to assist since coresidence with a feuding is seen as implicit support of the faction by the faction’s enemies. Warfare has a profound effect on politics and settlement size and location. This often affects trades and relationships and coalitions with other tribes. There are positives and negatives to their violence. Negative being that men usually initiate the violence and woman are often the victims physical abuse and anger. War also leads to rape for woman when other tribes raid. The violence is a positive when it comes to seperations and respect between tribes. Without war to test them, there would be no barriers between them.

Religion and Art:

They practice the religion of animism, which means they believe the plants and animals around them have animal spirits. These spirits are called xapiripe. In order to see them, one must use a hallucinogen called yopo. The Shaman are masters that enter the realm between the human spirit and animal worlds with the use of a powerful hallucinegic drug called ebene. Only men become Shamans and are called shabori or hekuri. According to their belief, there are four levels of reality. The Yanomami believe things tend to fall downward to a lower layer. The duku ka misi, or top layer, is thought to be most pristine and tender. They believe that many things originate in this layer. The next layer is hedu ka misi, is known as the sky layer. It has trees, gardens, villages, animals, plants, and most importantly, the souls of the deceased. Everything that exist on earth is said to have a counterpart on the third layer. The bottom surface of the layer is said to be what the Yanomami on earth actually see. They depend much on these layer to contribute to their daily lives. Their beliefs play a big roll in the previous topics including violence, marriage, and politics. A lot of the art that the Yanomamo people use is painted on their bodies or seen as body art. During rituals, the woman use body art, music (singing), and performance (dance). The men use art when in war by using it as signs in forms of their expressions.

 Conclusion:

The Yanomami people have been affected greatly by other cultures as I mentioned in the opening post. They often have to move their village due to certain segments of the rainforest being cut down. Not only does this cause them to move locations but also causes damage to their health with the pollution coming from power plants being built. I would consider their culture to be healthy overall. There doesn’t seem to be real danger in regards to them being extinct with warfare, health issues, or politics. They don’t seem to have a major impact in the modern world except for the goldmines that they are surrounded by and the giant rainforest that loggers are cutting down. They seem to mainly impact the surrounding countries around them.
Here is a list of some of the sources used for my blog:
http://shotgunchelle.hubpages.com/hub/Yanomamo
http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/yanomami.htm
http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/yanomami/wayoflife
http://www1.broward.edu/~hsorkin/Lib-Arts/Projects/Fall2002/Hottinger/culture.html

Caves

After going through some of the articles on this weeks assignment online which showed the tools that were used for artist to communicate their art is truly amazing. I found 3 paintings in which stood out to me most. Each has its own version and image to different ideas.
1. A- Panneau de la Licorne- First painting available was of one big animal which looks like a bull being attacked by several other animals. Can indicate some type of loneliness or vulnerability in which they felt attacked by others.
       - Panneau de l'Empreinte- Has a painting in which there is a line of animals or a type of herd in which changes in the light that also shows a type arrow that goes through all of them. I saw this as the herd symbolizing a type of family and with the arrow that goes through them all, as a way to show death and how it comes to us all. It also can be viewed of how that arrow can be used as link that ties them all together in unity.
    B- Animals seem to take the place of people. Also they were always being hunted and were a big source to life. It was also a way to communicate to others in certain symbols or secrets without enemies knowing what they all meant as certain paintings have different images when looking at them in a different light or angle.
    C- They were highly dependent on animals and the part they played in life. Also the artistic mind in which these painters had to contribute to these paintings with the lack of tools in which they possessed. By them placing this art in caves also seems to show that not all of them were meant to all be seen to the public. They can be viewed as codes.
    D- The difficulties can be the lack of tools used to create these painting and also the lack of light in caves. The surface in which is solid rock can also be described as difficult. Various shapes and colors of the surface.
    E- 1. Indication of what has occurred in that area.
         2. Warnings to intruders to avoid future confrontations with other tribes.
         3. Codes to others or maps to serve them as reminders that lead them to a certain location.
2. I feel that Lascaux Caves art can represent ideas and emotions to both early human and modern humans. Both early and modern humans use their art to express their feelings. Many of the Lascaux art showed death and anger in which modern humans can relate to.
3. This portion of the blog is suppose to be our favorite art but I will choose one in which I see everyday in various neighborhoods in graffiti. Its not something I like but something that has been around for a number of years and represents many of my previous statements. It can be viewed negatively as many do but others also use it as art to show pride in something they have. I have posted here an image of a gym that I go to that shows and represents pride as early humans did as well.

Others use graffiti to show codes to others and not everyone understands. They can be placed in certain areas to show warnings or indications to others. But all in all, graffiti and other forms of art all represent to artist what they all have in mind, which is to be remembered for their art.

Revenge?

As my blog is titled "revenge?", is due to the reason of how the Yanomamo tribes have grown and lived for several years. Although a large percentage of their males grow up with atleast one killing in their lifetime, several of them do think twice before doing so. It can often affect their tribe, family, or themselves. There are both negatives and positives. By killing, many of them do become acknowledge and empowered by others. As they said "individuals can achieve certain goals at the expense of other individuals". In many cases, that is the reality of our present culture. During elections and debates between candidates, they proceed in how they can affect the future for the better. And in doing so, they also point out the many defects in the ideas of their competitors and the position they stand for. Also the Yanomamo would have certain positions such as head hunter who after a few years were replaced by a younger and more efficient individual just as our government and political positions are changed every few years. Of course our situation is not as violent or gruesome but does have the same overall picture. In both cultures, one must compete or kill to get ahead and move up in either position or power.
Revenge killing is described as happening frequent in the past times and then settling down because of missionaries and other types of military help that help them acknowledge certain negatives that could later affect them. This was often caused by two reasons, material resources and reproductive resources. The main reason being reproductive (females). Once educated by other cultures, many of the males began to see how they might be best measured in terms of minimizing their losses rather than terms of maximizing their gains. This allowed them to realize more on how many lives were being lost within their own tribe and more importantly within their Kin.
Although most would agree on why revenge killing is more negative than positive, we must all look at unokais and compare that to certain situations we have in our current culture. Unokais males are labeled and given status through recruitment on self selective basis and are encouraged to be valiant and rewarded for showing aggressive tendencies. I look at this in our current militaries and in several athletes. In our militaries, troops are often rewarded by their hard work, aggressiveness, and ability to show their capable of handling the difficult atmosphere of combat. Athletes such as football players are often rewarded for the same characteristics and showing that they are an aggressive hard hitting individual. But many unokais males do not feel that they are cut out to grow up with these labels and are considered dropouts. These males "acquire a reputation for cowardice and often become the subject of frequent insult and ridicule, and their wives become targets of increased sexual attention from other men". This actually reminds me of middle school. I make this comparison because I remember most girls either being attracted to the athletic or the more violent kids. Meaning some girls want to feel protected by their man and feel secure that they are in good hands.
Our current culture can demonstrate how careful an entire nation must be with revenge killing in how the U.S. did not return and attack right away after the September 11 incident. It takes more than just violence and anger to react and retaliate. You must think of the consequences in how they can impact you as an individual and everyone around you (such as your tribe or nation). Surrounding countries or tribes can be impacted and can later combine with others to retaliate back. This can backfire and affect your kinship as well. Once this happens, it is that much more difficult in not retaliating. Kinship is most often the people closest to you in being family and can fuel an everlasting war such as present gangs. When kinship is affected, this can cause more offspring and can create a much larger kinship to retaliate as well. If the female of the kinship were to be decease, it would allow the male to move onto another female and begin another chapter or bracket to the kinship.
We must have laws towards these actions because although "most" people would consider this a negative act on another, there are still others who would differ. Not only can this be one life taken, but depending on how big the idea it can also be implemented on others just as the article used the Nazi's as an example with the jews. It can escalate into something much bigger and as we've been learning throughout this course, different cultures means different ideas.

Family Kin

      My interviewee is non other than my own mother. She is the Ego in my chart and luckily she is still here with me. Her name is Maria and she was born and raised in El Salvador until the age of 19 when she along with many of her siblings migrated here to Los Angeles, California where she's been living ever since. They migrated here in the early 1980's during the civil war that took place in El Salvador. She was conceived by her mother Emma and father Jose. She is a sister to 5 other siblings, including 3 brothers and 2 sisters(Mario, Socorro, Luis, Miguel, and Rosy). She is the second youngest of all 6.

      My mom was the quietest of the 6 siblings and was typically helping her mother when she wasn't helping or playing with her older sister Socorro. That was her closest member of the family and the person she would socialize with most. On the other hand; the one least socialized with was the youngest of the family, her younger sister Rosy. She was the more active of them all and the one that got into the most trouble. Overall they were and are still to this day very close. My mom says that although they did not have much to give during the holidays, they were very close and humble with one another. My mom recalls everyone having the most love towards their mom (Emma). She was the nicest lady any of them have ever known to this day. My mom cant recall one event where her mom raised her voice to any of them. She was very calm and passive and everyone in the town knew who she was and admired her for her kindness. Although Socorro is the person my mom socialized with most, her mom is the person she trusted and confided in most. That is why is hurt her most when her mother past away 15 years ago. She described her mothers passing hurting more than any other pain she's ever been through, including child birth. (We had to stop our interview for a while during this subject). She still has her father who she cares dearly for but is nowhere compared to the relationship she had with her mom. Her aunt; sister of her father, is still alive as well. She is also very calm and patient which is not the same description as my moms father. My mom describes him as hardworking and caring towards his family but never showed his love towards any of them. Now that he is the only one living in El Salvador he sees how important family is to him. My mom went late last year and said the day she was leaving his house to go to the airport was only the second time in her life other than her mothers passing, that she seen tears in his eyes. 

      To this day, my mom, her bothers, and sisters are still close. They still unite with one another for the holidays and family birthdays. There was a few years where one of her brothers (Miguel) was involved with narcotics and was nowhere to be seen. He was the missing piece to the family for about 7 years. My mom and her sister Socorro were able to get in contact with him early last year and were able to help him and he is doing much better now. Her family is very open with one another. Her brother Miguel has a hard time opening up but my mom says that as long as he continues to stay healthy, no one really cares because they know hes been through a lot. They all still live here in the Los Angeles area. The only member to have moved out of the area and out of state is Socorro's son Pablo who now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. By all of them living within a 45 minute drive continues to help unite them even more. 

VS

Humans develop ways of doing things that are compatible with the resources they have available to them within the various habitats in which they live.

-A world wide transition from an economy based on manual labor and draft animals toward one based on machines was set by the industrial revolution, which they transformed manufacturing, agriculture, mining, and transportation. These changes led to large scale social organizations but not necessarily improving overall conditions. Two negatives are the of a machine technology energized by fossil fuel burning that leads to environmental pollution and global warming. Adaptations is the process organisms undergo to achieve a beneficial adjustment to a particular environment. The process of adaptation establishes balance between the needs of population and the potential of its environment. Before domestication of food plants and animals, all people supported themselves through food foraging 9hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plant foods). Food foragers had the earth to themselves they had their pick of the best environments. Farming along with some industrial areas began to interfere with their cultures. Foragers were then edged out of traditional habitats with these expanding groups.

-Hunters and butchering are almost a universal occupation. Its more masculine while females tend to take on more of the roles of foraging societies and focus more on processing plant foods, as well as other domestic chores. Foragers have it no easier than the hunters. Some walk 12 miles a days two or three times a week.

-At first I would've said that the hunters might seem healthier for both looking more active and because of the progress they have made through the years when it comes to the development they have made. But foragers have also made a strong case by showing that their jobs are just as difficult. They have also made progress with both growing and plant food and animals. A big negative would be certain chemicals now used to help grow them faster. Both show progress and development, even if they are not always positive. 

-Our capacity to adapt makes out species unique.

Communication

Non verbal- The first part of this assignment was to communicate without anything verbal. I thought it would be more fun and challenging if I waited to try it out today. I had a few friends over today to watch the NFL draft and decided to try this out with them. I only told 2 of them. I started this as soon as the draft started and it made it very difficult on me seeing everyone communicate with each other and not being able to verbally join in the conversations. They would ask me certain questions about what player I felt was going to be picked and was unable to answer and would just shrug my shoulders. I must admit it was a bit frustrating at times. I found myself laughing a lot and making a lot of hand jesters. I think more than anything, the hardest part to me was just knowing that I couldn't say anything and that being in mind made me more frustrated. Other than that, I think my friends who were unaware of what I was doing found it frustrating when they would talk to me and I wouldn't answer them verbally. Once I told them they found it amusing. I found it somewhat difficult. I think it would've been more difficult if I were to have tried this experiment on a 1 on 1 basis with a single individual. If this were two cultures meeting for the first time, I feel that it would be extremely difficult when first introduced. Once they get a feel for one another, I feel that the communication would be much easier. The reason I say this is because when my 5 year old son met my little cousin of the same age met for the first time late last year, my son spoke only english while my cousin spoke strictly spanish. After an hour together they knew what games to play with each other and got along very well. I was very surprised in how well they understood each other. I felt that was the perfect example for this situation.

No physical establishment- I found this part of the assignment extremely difficult. At first I felt it was going to be very easy by laying down on the couch and keeping my hand by my side so that I was unable to make any hand jesters. Instead I found myself wanting to use my shoulders and head at times. What I found the most difficult was actually moving my eyebrows at times when talking. I knew I couldn't move anything else but caught myself twice moving my eyebrows. My friends found this part easier because I could tell them anything but made it more frustrating on me just concentrating on not making any physical movements. It made me feel very stiff and uncomfortable. It says a lot in the comfort we are when communicating. I would say that this would be more difficult for the cultures for the individual that is speaking rather than the person listening. I do feel there are some people that would have difficulties reading body language. Some might have to do with different facial expressions and different jesters certain cultures have. An advantage when it comes to not being able to reading body language would be when someone is multi tasking. It would allow the individual who is multi tasking work and take care of his tasks without allowing the other individual feeling like his not getting all the attention.

Part 3- I think written language would definitely would've helped in the non verbal part of this assignment. Especially in the type of society we live in today where we depend a lot on text messaging and emails. Its an easy and effective way to communicate. As long as the language in the writing is the same, its very easy to understand. And in todays technology we are easily able to convert any type of writing into other languages. Morse code was an international way to communicate years ago but now we can convert almost any language into the one we can understand with our technology.

Adaptation of Zulu and Andean Indians

1. Zulu Nation: They are believed to be descendants of a chief from the Congo area who migrated south picking up various traditions and customs and inhabited the South Africa area. The Zulu people believe in a creator and god but this god does not interact with humans and does not care for everyday life. They interact with the spirits and feel that all misfortune is a result of evil sorcery or offended spirits. They feel that nothing happens for natural causes. The most famous Zulu warrior is Shaka Zulu, who after the death of his father conquered many nations under his reign and created a large Zulu nation.
www.africancraftsmarket.com/Zuu_people.htm
The temperature in South Africa is projected to increase between 1 and 3 degrees and the country's rainfall is projected to decrease by 5-10%. This is an important fact especially to the males in the Zulu tribe considering they are the ones that are responsible caring for cattle, manufacturing and maintaining weapons and farm implements, and building dwellings. The average temperature is  in summer and autumn in the western part of South Africa are likely to increase and making it difficult at times with little rainfall at times. The east part of South Africa is normally projected to be wetter. In recent years there have been several studies of certain illnesses leading to the water supply that has been causing cholera epidemic. An example can be noted here http://www.dwaf.gov.za/iwqs/microbio/NMMP2004/SaidM_Cholera_KZN.pdf
http://www.sealthedeal2009.org/climate-change-south-africa.html
The heat and strong sun has an impact on the civilians but have yet to find many indications that it makes it more difficult in their health to where it affects their daily lives. They do have a darker complexion and produce a large amount of melanin but I have not come across anything serious other than dehydration and not enough food intake to where their bodies are not able to handle their daily labor. Many of them have become gold and copper miners which involves several hours of difficult and heavy labor. I found it an interesting fact that Zulu workers organized some of the first black labor unions in the country. http://www.photius.com/countries/south_africa/society/south_africa_society_zulu.html

Andean Indians: They are a tribe that takes place in Central America and the northern coast of South America. What separates this region is the Orinoco River and the West Indies. The area is within the tropics and the seasons are marked more by precipitation than in temperature. Most of the lowlands tend to be higher in temperature while the higher parts of the islands near the mountain ranges that run through Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela have higher elevation, temper with their weather climate. Some areas deal with more heavy rainfall which support many of the surrounding forrests while the dryer parts support little more than sparse grass. The Andean Indians are some of the few tribes in Latin America to have survived after the arrival of the Europeans.

A variety of crops such as maize, sweet potato, bean, and others are commonly grown in various regions. The climate doesn't seem to affect their production in produce. Numerous other vegetables and tropical fruits are also grown. Their overland transportation is mainly by foot. Often when going from island to island, their source of transportation will be by canoe in the river. 

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/102247/Central-American-and-northern-Andean-Indian

Transportation can often be difficult going up and down or between the mountains. Sometimes animals such as llamas are needed. Some consider the Andes mountain climate to be the most interesting in the world because of how drastically it changes throughout the region. In Ecuador there are tropical rain forests just a couple of miles away from a frozen peek. Ecuador normally remains pretty dry while their neighbors on the other side of the mountains; Colombia, is normally pretty wet with much rain. Ecuador has an average temperature of 68 degrees as Columbia has an average of 64 degrees. The temperature is considered pretty good weather for living conditions considering the lifestyle and culture they have there where they can grow crop and make a living. The elevation and altitude is what seems to be more of a challenge at times. It is something their bodies get use to but does make traveling for them difficult at times which can put a wear on their bodies. The Andean Indians are considered to have strong cardiac muscles due to the constant high elevation they have dealt with for a number of years and is something their people develop over a long period of time in that climate.

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes_climate.htm