Work

The Yequana don't have a word for work, except for a word to describe the kind of work they do for hire.

I don't know that they regard work and play as being the same thing, however. I think there are a couple of big differences between the way we approach work and the way the Yequana do.

First of all, I would say that in Yequana culture work is SURVIVAL. If you don't do it, you aren't to going to eat. It really isn't about someone else forcing you to do it.

Secondly, they don't require each other to do any kind of work.

Thirdly, they stop working whenever they feel like it.

In our culture we have a lot of made-up nonsense work. Either work that we have to do because we've created the conditions that make it necessary (tidying up toys) or work that is just something we do because we think it is something that "should" be done, but it has no actual relevance in the world, for the most part...like filing paper.

The Yequana don't sweep or vacuum, wipe down cobwebs, scrub the toilet, mow the lawn, tidy up the toys, organize the videos or pursue any of about 20,000 activities that we seem to think are necessary.

After looking at lots and lots of pictures of tribal peoples I would say that tidying up isn't really part of the human continuum. Which makes sense to me. When was the last time you saw a squirrel pick up all the bits of nut shell and cart them off to a garbage spot?

In my experience, children will be very resistent to doing made up work. If you make up a chore just so they have something to do in an effort to require them to be "responsible" it isn't going to work. They're not stupid.

As a single mom I genuinely need my kids' help to get things done and there are quite a few things that they will do. Not everything, but quite a lot. They are least likely to complain or resist when I truly need their help. I think this is due, in part, to that fact that they are aware I need their help, and due, in part, to the fact that refusing isn't really an option.

Last week we bought cat food and litter (another made up chore, unfortunately) and I needed to carry the 30 pound bucket of litter. Though I've been weight lifting for several months, carrying the 10 pound bag of cat food was a little more than I could manage on top. So dd carried it. She did comment that it was heavy and I responded that she seemed to be strong enough to manage and we went off to the car. She also carried it into the house. The reality was that I had no more hands for carrying cat food so I truly needed her help.

She doesn't have anything like the same attitude towards putting her dirty clothes in the hamper. Apparently, she can't see any real difference between dropping her clothes where she stands and dropping them in the hamper. It is an arbitrary distinction.

Real and necessary work will get done. Frivolous "work" won't.

TCCMaven

Work