Feathers are a very important custom for most of the Indians in the rainforests. Feathers may be worn on the head, on the upper arm, or in the earlobes. The feathers are used to express the relationship between man and animal, social status, or just personality of the individual. For the Yanomani, all things contain life. The earth, ground, water, trees, animals, and humans are all equal.
Feathers mean change, so when a person dies, they are usually used in the funeral.
When a person is covered in feathers, it means a release from the world. If a feather is covered in blood, the feather will lose it's power. The Indians use broad tipped area to knock the bird down, take the feather, then the bird is free to fly off again. In the Yanomani tribe, parrots are caught and made tame, so that they can use the tail feathers from the birds. The Yanomani pass their information on orally, not by writings.