Growing Up Yanomamo

Mike Dawson, a friend from Venezuela, recently sent me a copy of his book, "Growing up Yanomamo". The book is his story of growing up in the jungle of Venezuela among the Yanomamo tribe where his parents ministered as missionaries. He was born in the village and is the fifth of ten children in the family. He was raised among them and he is now and adult but continues his ministry among the Yanomamo tribe.

This book is full of great stories and adventure, many from the view point of child and later as an adult. If you have young boys or teens in your family, I know they would love this book! His book shares the good times as well as the bad. He lost his first wife to malaria and he shares that experience. I never met his first wife, but I have seen her grave as she is buried in Coshaloateli in a small plot with a white picket fence. His present wife was once my neighbor.

I will share just a bit of one of his stories...

By then I was getting my own reputation as a storyteller. I remember telling them of man walking on the moon. We happened to be outside and there was a beautiful full moon. The tropical moon is huge and seems to hang above the jungle.

"Right now", I told a group of guys with me, "right now, some of my fathers people are up there walking around on the moon. They are up there. It took them three days of travel to get there. One guy is flying around the moon to be able to get them back home. The other two are up there,walking around, right now." I said.

Everyone looked up in awe! I listened as they all clicked their tongues in amazement at what a feat this was.

"Yes," I told them, "they are up there right now walking around on the face of the moon."

One old guy looked up, and then looked back at me. I could tell he was having a problem.

"What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked him.

"You have told some big stories before, " he said, "but this is the worst you have ever told! I can see, you can see, everyone can see that the moon is not big enough for two men to even stand on let alone walk around on!"

My explanation of distance fell on deaf ears. Finally I gave up.

'Growing up Yanomamo' is available for purchase HERE!