Villages Yurok Villages (ʼoʼloolekw - "village") were composed of individual families that lived in separate, single-family homes. The house was owned by the eldest male and in each lived several generations of men related on their father's side of the family as well as their wives, children, daughters' husbands, unmarried relatives, and adopted kin. Yurok villages also consisted of
sweat houses and
menstrual huts. Sweat houses were designated for men of an extended
patrilineal family as a place to gather.
Social organization Yurok society had no chiefs, but in each village, a wealthy man known as a
peyerk acted as leader, who was trained by elders. The
peyerks training would include a
vision quest in which he would communicate with the
natural environment and the spirit world.
Peyerk from many villages came together to settle tribal disputes and also hosted tribal ceremonies. At these times, the
peyerk would supply food and shelter for the Yurok people and special clothing for the dancers.
Peyerk lived in homes at higher elevation, wore finer clothing, and sometimes spoke foreign languages. Yurok
medicine people were usually women. Women would become shamans after dreaming of being told to do so. Another shaman would then assist her in a ritual dance. Shamans would use plants, prayer, and rituals to heal people and also performed ceremonies to ensure successful hunting, fishing, and gathering. Every year the Yurok came together for what was known as the
World Renewal Ceremony, where songs and dances which had been passed on through many generations would be performed. Dancers would wear elaborate clothing for the occasion. Some sources refer to it Yurok society as
socially stratified because communities were divided between
syahhlew ("rich"),
waʼsʼoyowokʼ / waʼsoyowokʼ("poor"), and
kaʼaal ("slaves"). The
syahhlew were the only group allowed to perform religious duties. Furthermore, they had homes at higher elevations, wore nicer clothing, and spoke in a distinctive manner. The primary reason men became slaves was because they owed money to certain families. Nonetheless, slavery was not considered to be a significant institution. Overall, the higher a man's social ranking was, the more valuable his life was considered.
Marriage ) in her wedding dressWhen daughters got married, Yurok families would receive a payment from her husband. For the most part, girls were highly valued in the family. The amount of money paid by a man determined the social status of the couple. A wealthy man, who could afford to pay a large sum, increased the couple and their children's rank within the community. When married, both spouses held onto their personal properties but the bride lived with the groom's family and took his last name. Men who were unable to pay the full sum of money could pay half the cost for the bride. In doing so, the couple was considered "half-married." Half-married couples lived with the bride's family and the groom would then become a slave for them. Furthermore, their children would take on the mother's last name. In cases of
divorce, either spouse could initiate their split. The most frequent reason for divorce was if the wife was
infertile. If the woman wanted a divorce and to take the children with her, her family had to refund the husband for his initial payment. ==Demographics==