Politics and Violence

1. Since the Yanomamo have no formal laws, the rules regarding killing and the consequences for it are not explicitly laid out as they are in Western cultures. Instead they have customs and general rules about proper behavior. Conflicts emerge when these customs are broken but unlike Western cultures, the Yanomamo people must take action on their own, without any governmental assistance. They, along with their close kin, must fight for themselves. 
2. Most fights amongst the Yanomamo begin over sexual issues. Once the fight begins the village splits into two new groups. Each group lead by two prestigious men of opposing sides. This occurs because the Yanomamo population seek revenge for previous killings. Thus, it is a continuing cycle of revenge killing amongst the Yanomamo population. 
3. By obtaining the status of unakais, men earn prestige and are not seen as easy targets for future raids. By earning that title, their close kin are also safer, namely his wife. Non-unokais would benefit by never killing someone who was once part of their kin. A man would choose to become an unokais so that he wouldn't be seen as weak. Also, the more aggressive you are, the less kin you will lose in the end. Since you will have reputation for fast retaliation which will scare off future attacks. 
4. A) Political Structure - For the Yanomamo, revenge killings are their form of political structure. Though they have no written laws for breaking their customs, all the Yanomamo population knows that once they break the customs they are in danger of encountering revenge killings. B) Social Status/Social Organization - Groups within the Yanomamo culture that retaliate fast and effectively during revenge killings earn good reputations. Other groups within the culture will not attack them as easily, knowing that the group will retaliate with precision. Therefore, a group can earn high social statuses through effective revenge killings. C) Kinship - Because revenge killings continuously splits the village into separate groups, eventually the men begin fighting other men who were  once their kin. D) Marriage and Reproduction - Men with the title of unokais are likely to have more women and thus more children. Also, a man who has a good reputation will have less problems with other men trying to seduce or hurt his women. 
5. Although most people are against killing, they also agree that killing in certain circumstances is permissible. That is why it is important to have laws against killing. For example, in the Yanomamo culture revenge killings are permissible and they never end because there is no law putting an end to the killings. If there were laws and a justice system similar to ours, at least in theory, the killers would be sent to prison and end the continuous cycle of revenge killings. Without laws, people could find excuses to do something that most people should not want to do.