Tapir Distribution

Tapir Distribution shows how meat is prepared, cooked and distributed in the Yanomamo village of Mishimishimabowei-teri. The choice meat goes to the important men in the village, the scraps and fat go to the women and the children and, finally, the dogs move in for the scant leftovers. The film was shot several days after filming of The Ax Fight, which documents a conflict that disrupted the political stability of the community, Moawa, the most prominent headman in the village, killed a tapir and presented it to his brothers-in-law who comprise an important political bloc in the village. The gift of the animal served to reinforce his now shaken alliance with them. Tapir Distribution can be paired with The Ax Fight to provide a dramatic example of how sharing meat in a gift exchange can help socially and politically to smooth over problems and re-unite groups.  

This film is part of the Yanomamö series, a collaborative project undertaken by filmmaker Timothy Asch and anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon between 1968 and 1971 to film the Yanomamö Indians of southern Venezuela and northern Brazil. 

This film is available on the Yanomamö Shorts compilation two-disc DVD set. 

Disc One: Arrow Game, Children's Magical Death, Climbing the Peach Palm, A Father Washes His Children, Firewood, A Man and His Wife Make a Hammock, Tapir Distribution,Tug-of-War and Weeding the Garden.

Disc Two (Slopticals): Dedeheiwä Rests in His Garden, Children Roasting Meat, A Woman Spins, Children Make a Toy Hammock, Sand Play, Playing in the Rain, Mouth Wrestling, and Young Shaman.