The Yanomami are the Indigenous people traditionally associated with Yanomami territories in the northern Amazon.
Yanomami communities live in rainforest areas of northern Brazil and southern Venezuela. The name refers to a related group of Indigenous peoples whose languages and communities occupy a broad region near the Orinoco and Amazon watersheds.
Yanomami villages have traditionally included communal houses or large village structures, although settlement forms vary. Their lives are closely connected with forest hunting, fishing, gathering, and garden cultivation. Yanomami societies are not a single politically unified group; communities have their own local identities and relationships.
The Yanomami have faced serious pressures from outsiders, including disease, land invasion, illegal gold mining, pollution, and violence. Their territories and health have therefore become major subjects in discussions of Indigenous rights and rainforest protection. They should not be confused with every Indigenous community in the Amazon, which contains hundreds of distinct peoples and languages.