Nacerima Description
1. Superstitious
I believe that the Nacerima people could be described as superstitious due to their customs and practices involving magic. There is a clear dependency on these rituals and extraordinary acts. As stated within the article, without the "many charms and magical potions" no "native believes he could live". This superstitious way of living is deeply ingrained within their culture, and supports the very foundations of their tribe.
2. Compulsive
The Nacerima people are clearly beholden to their "daily ceremonies", "ritual fasts", and "routinized" functions. Their actions appear to be obsessive, seeming as though they cannot behave outside of their strict, magic-instilled routine. "Each day, every member of the family, in succession, enters the shrine room, bows his head before the charm-box, mingles different sorts of holy water in the font, and proceeds with a brief rite of ablution." These types of periodic, rigid behaviors mirror what I would describe as compulsions.
3. Devoted
This Nacerima tribe is entirely loyal to their beliefs, and to the "medicine men" and "holy-mouth-men" who perform the manifestations of their beliefs. They truly have faith in their ceremonies and rituals, despite the pain that often accompanies them. As said by Miner, "the fact that these temple ceremonies may not cure, and may even kill the neophyte, in no way decreases the people's faith in the medicine men." These people are firm in their faith, and this faith subjects to them to the sometimes disturbing actions of their superiors.
4. Masochistic
As stated by Miner himself, "most of the population shows definite masochistic tendencies." Due to the torturous nature of their rituals and ceremonies, it makes sense that this people group are ones that find pleasure in pain. The Nacerima people experience large amounts of suffering through their cultural practices, yet have bound themselves to these agonizing practices. Furthermore, the specialists within this culture appear to be sadists who act on the people's willingness to be harmed.
5. Troubled
"The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease." The driving force behind all the severe rituals is a concern that revolves around their bodies, specifically the shortcomings of their bodies. The Nacerima people are distinctly troubled by the hopelessness of being within such a body.
Part B:
1. Upon discovering that the words I chose are defining my culture, I would disagree with my own description. After re-reading the article with the awareness that Miner is analyzing Americans, I immediately justified it - "That's not weird, it's just a doctors appointment", and so on. As an "insider" to the culture I would definitely say that our customs and social normalities make sense from our perspective, but when I viewed it from a different perspective, that cast a negative connotation on it, it appeared strange. Some of the observations, such as the concern with the human body, and the desire to change a person's appearance, are such regular parts of our culture that it did not appear as distressing until I read the article.
2. I would say troubled and masochistic are two words that pass a strong judgement on the "Nacerima" culture. These words are biased as they have an inherent negative tone to them that demotes the actions of these people as "bad". I would say that devoted and compulsive were not necessarily biased as they more so mirrored what the article described, and do not have a necessarily negative tone. Superstitious would also be biased, as the rituals performed might not have superstition involved. Originally, when reading the article, I presumed that the belief in "charms" and "magical potions" must be anchored in superstition, however, it may just be rooted in fact and science. However, the bias present in my word choice was a mirror of the descriptions present in the article.
3. I would maybe replace troubled with concerned. Masochistic becomes obedient, as our submission to pain is in response to authority like doctors and dentists. Superstitious might be trusting, as we trust that our medicines and tools work for their intended purpose.
4. It is definitely important to do your best to avoid cultural bias when describing other cultures. A cultural anthropologist's job is not to impart judgement nor critique a culture, but rather it is to study it. By allowing your own life experiences and your own definition of "normal" determine how you view a culture, you are impeding your ability to understand it fairly. However, I do not feel that it is possible to completely avoid personal cultural bias. Your experiences, beliefs, and values definitely impact how you perceive the world, even if it is unconscious.
Hello Kate,
ReplyDeleteI agree that our own cultural biases can stop us from fairly examining a culture. I also thought that the charms and potions were superstitious, not realizing that they probably have a functional use in "Nacerima" culture. Our life experiences definitely do affect how we view the world and we have to work to minimize ethnocentric tendencies.
For some reason, my initial comment on Part A is missing. I'll add it back in. I've reviewed your Part A submission and updated your score. See further feedback below after your Part B submission.
ReplyDeletePart B:
Let me start by listing the words you chose:
Superstitious
Compulsive
Devoted
Masochistic
Troubled
1. "That's not weird, it's just a doctors appointment"
I *loved* your thought process here and how you walked your reader through your mental exercises as you worked it out. This article puts reader in the weird situation of being simultaneously in the role of insider AND outsider. It's like looking at those weird images where sometimes it looks like a duck and others it looks like a rabbit. It never looks like both at the same time, so your brain is bouncing back and forth. It is a great way to see both sides of the situation and feel empathy for both sides, empathy for the culture being judged by the outsider and the outsider trying to describe behaviors foreign to them.
2. Good discussion here. 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. 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. Good final discussion. 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.
Hey Kate, I loved reading your in depth responses. I think you did a great job of elaborating and using evidence to defend your choice of words. I also noticed that your reflection did a great job of answering some of my previous concerns with the choice of using the word masochistic because of the negative connotation attached. I did want to note that I think your explanation of the words compulsive was great in describing the rituals preformed by the Nacirema in a new light then what I've seen before. Great post!
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