Daniel Everett on the Pirahã and Happiness Without God

The Pirahã: 

People Who Define Happiness Without God

by Daniel Everett

 

Above anthropologist Daniel Everett discusses the Pirahã at the 32nd Annual Freedom From Religion Foundation National Convention in Seattle, Washington. (November 7th, 2009)

The Pirahã people (pronounced piɾaˈhã) are an indigenous hunter-gatherer tribe of Amazon natives who mainly live on the banks of the Maici River in Brazil's Amazonas state. As of 2010, they number 420 individuals. The Pirahã people do not call themselves Pirahã but instead the Hi'aiti'ihi, roughly translated as "the straight ones".

Their culture and language have a number of unusual features, however they far from being "primitive". As Daniel Everett points out,

"The Pirahã are supremely gifted in all the ways necessary to ensure their continued survival in the jungle: they know the usefulness and location of all important plants in their area; they understand the behavior of local animals and how to catch and avoid them; and they can walk into the jungle naked, with no tools or weapons, and walk out three days later with baskets of fruit, nuts, and small game."

Members of the Pirahã can whistle their language, which is how the tribe's men communicate when hunting in the jungle.

See Also: Life and Language with the Pirahã