Description : A Yanomami family resting around the open air patio of their shabono, a thatched hut..The Yanomami are an ancient indigenous people living along the Brazilian-Venezuelan border in the fertile lands of the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers. They are semi nomadic and heavily dependant on nature both for hunting and agriculture. But today, the physical and cultural survival of the Yanomami people have been threatened by gold mining, deforestation, and disease. High Orinoco State, Venezuela. July 23, 2007. Part of the photo story, 'Yanomamis: The Spirit of Amazonia', by Diego Martinez.