There are leaders, but their role is usually to make 'suggestions' about fairly minor matters of daily life. They cannot hold power over anyone. Often the 'head' of a village is the man with the greatest number of sisters and daughters, as men will be keen to gain his favour in order to win their brides. But he must be generous in return and worthy of respect. The influence of his suggestions will depend on his intelligence, imagination, and eloquence, and his respect for the history of the village.
Women are important in maintaining agreements within villages.
To maintain good neighbourly relations, whole villages meet with one another and sometimes exchange generous feasts. Festivities often last for several days. They chat and joke about hunting and feasts. The visit ends with exchanges of objects. For the Yanomami the world of everyday life is part of a larger spirit-world which they treat in the same way as they do one another.