preview

Sonqo Tribe Natural Environment

Decent Essays

The Effect of the Natural Environment on the Native Tribes
Both the Yanomamo and the Sonqo are effected by the environment in which they have been placed, and they have adapted to where they live just as every other human has had to adapt to their natural environment. The effect that the natural environment has had on the two tribes can easily be seen in their religious beliefs, their warfare, and the differences in their culture for tribe to tribe within the same people.
The religious beliefs of the Sonqo have been shaped by the land in which they live in. In the mountainous terrain of the highland Andes, many of the beautiful sights are considered sacred to the Sonqo people, and many are traveled to as celebrations of the Gods and their gifts to the Runakuna. Chagnon talks about how the Yanomamo have many words for “sex” because it is very important to their culture, something similar can be said about the Sonqo and how many words they have for earth and natural formations.
The different formations can separate different provinces of the Runakuna people. For example, the ragged range of mountains separates the the gray-brown soil of Colquepata and the reddish soil of Calca. (Allen …show more content…

For example, the chicha alcohol, that is common in the Sonqo celebrations is made from corn. The corn grows much better in the valley communities, because of the elevation and therefor they have an excess of corn and make a higher quality chicha. Trago is another alcoholic drink that is made from cane, and is obtained in the provinces of Colquepata, P’isaq, and Cuzco. This means that in order for the Sonqo to obtain trago, they have to carry large tins back to their village. All this trading and drinking is effected by the weather around them. Similar to the Yanomamo, the dry season creates favorable conditions for trade and therefor is a time of heavier drinking. (Allen

Get Access