Cultural Descriptions
Shrines - Most of the higher-ranking members
of the Nacirema tribe had constructed sacred shrines in their homes that
only the family discussed with their children. No outsiders. I picked this word
because it is special when I think of a Shrine that is kept so tight-lipped or
kept secret among only its people. I selected this word because of its descriptive
tone. Shrines or cherished things are not taken for granted within this tribe, and
I believe we have lost touch with this concept in today's age.
Magical- In the same passage as the shrine box,
Magical stood out to me for a few reasons. However, it seems so
exciting to think you can go to a shaman or medicine man to have certain magical
potions that could cure your ailments. I landed on this word because it is
fair to say that "going to see a medicine man" sounds much more interesting
than "Going to the doctor."
Lacerating- The Nacirema Tribe have special rites performed
on their tribe members that involve cutting the face as a rite of passage. Furthermore,
women BAKE their heads in ovens ?! sounds crazy, but it is not too far off from
what we do here in America with tattoos or piercings. The only difference is that
we get them in a tattoo parlor and post the results on social media. I picked
this word because of its similarities to what we usually do here…besides the
head baking in the oven, although I am sure we are not too far from it here in
the States. In all seriousness, though, I believe these rites are more of a sacred
event for the Nacirema Tribe and a community event for everyone to participate
collectively as a Tribe. In our Tribe in America, we judge and look down
sometimes on those with tattoos or piercings.
Mouth- This Nacirema tribe fears the mouth and
believes that if they do not do this ritual to bless their mouths, they will
lose teeth, their gums will bleed, their jaws will shrink, and their friends
will desert them. This routine is very fascinating to me when reading about it.
I have never heard of a ritual to bless our teeth. It is interesting to learn
about this because it is fascinating to understand how this culture seeks to
preserve the simplest things we take for granted daily. They connect that their
lover left them because they did not perform the ritual. We do the same each
morning by brushing our teeth. I wish I could bless my wash instead of
brushing. That would be nice.
Listener- I landed on this
name due to its nature of being somewhat of a psychologist for the Nacirema Tribe.
I am majoring in Psychology at College of the Canyons, and I believe it is an underestimated
profession and needs more psychologists in modern times. Like the Nacirema
tribe, they believe this "Listener" is somewhat of a mental healer
and a witch doctor. Even though some of these claims of being possessed by devils
may be crazy to believe, they still have safeguards to counter these devils. Being
mentally healthy and sound is essential for a community to stay strong, and
this listener is just that.
Part B
Part B: "I KNEW IT!"
I knew that maybe this culture was mirroring our culture,
which is fantastic. However, I had an inkling that their cultural differences
were not that far off from what we do here in America, which is excellent, in
any case. When cultures influence other cultures, it becomes an excellent
blending pot of ideas. Words I picked because maybe I understood them. In
a sense, with what we do here in America? It made sense to me. I understood
these rituals and practices. I think "Listener" is a biased word on
my end due to my interest in psychology. I picked it because it felt normal to
me. The way I compare the need for America's need for psychologists, having
other types of psychologists felt like a no-brainer for me. An alternate word
for Listener could be Healer. I see now that it is essential to focus on other
cultures' practices and routines that are unique to them, not what may seem
similar to us. In doing this part, we are growing and adapting as a
civilization. If we do not go in with a non-bias mindset, we may miss out on
the actual differences of other cultures that stray from our customs and
traditions. Overall, this was an exciting read, and it was exciting to learn
that this made-up culture was based on American culture.
I've reviewed your Part A submission and assigned credit. I will post a longer comment after the Part B submission on Thursday.
ReplyDeleteIt is always interesting to read student responses to this article after the "secret" is revealed. As the years go by, the chances of recognition decrease as this is from the 1950's. Students of today are less likely to recognize the American culture of that time!
ReplyDeleteSo there were four distinct questions laid out in the Part B guidelines. What you have presented here is your response for each compressed into one paragraph, and it makes it very difficult for me to parse out your answers and assign credit. It's a good practice to format your assignment to mirror the guidelines. Not only does it make it easier for me to review/grade your work, it makes it easier for all of your visitors to read and appreciate.
Let me start by listing the words you chose:
Shrines
Magical
Lacerating
Mouth (noun, not an adjective)
Listener (can be a name but also describes)
1. I appreciate your self-reflection in this first section. It's good to explore the sense of bias in terms of a negative or positive lean to your word choice but bias also comes in when you mislead a person as to the subject matter. For example, you use the word "shrines" (which has religious) connotation) and "magic". But Miner is describing dental, health and personal hygiene practices. Do those words really apply? If an anthropologist asked you to describe these practices, are these the words you would have picked?
2. I actually liked "listener" and it describes one aspect of medical care, i.e., mental health care, in a neutral fashion. "Shrines" and "magic" seem further off base.
Remember that you chose these words based upon Minor's intentionally biased and rather judgmental article about the "Nacerima". If your choice is based upon biased information, should we be surprised that our descriptions are also biased?
3. Again, I'm fine with "listener". I sympathize with the difficulty in locating unbiased, descriptive words... but that is part of the lesson here. Should anthropologists be just describing cultures with words that have specific meanings in a different culture? Or perhaps should we be explaining practices through their function and purpose in a culture, using facts and supportable evidence? How we write about a culture matters and we need to be aware of the language we use.
4. I appreciate your response here but you miss a key question: Is it even possible for anthropologists to avoid bias completely?
We can never fully escape our biases. They are part of us. We are human, after all. While Anthropologists can strive to avoid bias and practice this skill, I suggest it is just as important to be aware that our biases are deeply ingrained in our psyche and are likely impossible to avoid completely. Better to be aware of this and be receptive to those who point it out when it happens. This is one of the reasons anthropologists collaborate with others... so that they can watch out for each other's bias seeping into their work.
Hello, good post! I enjoyed reading it and seeing your perspective on the reading. Just like yourself I also had an “ah ha” moment when I learned the people we were reading about were actually Americans. Your comments about the “lacerating” section stood out to me though, I agree that Americans do have strange beautification habits, but don’t most societies? The ancient Mayan people used to flatten their foreheads to get them to look like corn because they believed all human life came from maize so beauty standards are ever evolving I suppose.
ReplyDelete