Week 1 Blog Post: Part A Cultural Descriptions
After reading the article by Horace Miner and the people of Nacirema, I have found a few things worth describing and noting about their culture:
Hierarchal: Miner has made a distinct observation about the structure of the citizens of Nacirema. He notes that the rich have numerous shrines in their homes to perform a certain rite and ritual, while the poor have at lest one. He even mentions how the poor will try to imitate the rich by making their living quarters look similar to their rich counterparts.
Vain: Miner makes a case that having a good appearance and health is of importance to the Nacirema people. They have many potions and remedies in the hopes of them obtaining good dental hygiene, even if they may not know its function. It is observed that is believed that "that a strong relationship exists between oral and moral characteristics" and one would be ostracized from their peer groups and potential lovers if their oral health wasn't satisfactory
Superstitious: The author makes note of how the Nacirema people will go to a latipso for any illness or ailments they may be having with the hopes of a medicine man can heal them. Children are reluctant to go the latispo because "that is where is you go to die", giving the idea that the place should be avoided by any mean necessary. Through rituals and tools, the sick patient is hopeful that a witch-doctor (or "listener" to be more exact) "has the power to exorcise the devils that lodge in the heads of people who have been bewitched. The Nacirema believe that parents bewitch their own children. Mothers are particularly suspected of putting a curse on children while teaching them the secret body rituals."
Ritualistic: The Nacirema people are known to be ritualistic with their hygiene. Miner notes "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." Young children are taught this from an early age until they are able to perform the acts on their own. The Nacirema people also makes visits to "holy-mouth-men" multiple times a year in the hopes of them preventing or curing any issues they may be having.
Wavering: One thing I found interesting about the Nacirema culture is their wavering views of the woman's body. Miner has made note of the female body and how "A few women afflicted with almost inhuman hypermammary development are so idolized that they make a handsome living by simply going from village to village and permitting the natives to stare at them for a fee." Yet when it comes to things like pregnancy, her says "When pregnant, women dress so as to hide their condition." It is interesting to read that the female body can be celebrated in certain circumstances and yet can be ignored/overlooked in certain instances, even if it warrants recognition and celebrated.
Part B:
#1: I think most of the words I used were fairly accurate. The two I would put in question the most is calling the Nacirema people superstitious and ritualistic. These two words would not be the best describers for these peoples behaviors or beliefs.
#2: I do think there is an ethnocentric bias to the words I used to describe the Nacirema people. The one in particular is superstitious. American society does have some superstitions, such as breaking a mirror or stepping under a ladder will bring bad luck. Even though there are people who may believe these things to be true, I do think that Americans in large part think these things are irrational and untrue. So to me, a part of being superstitious is to attribute a cause and effect that has no correlation. And for the Nacirema people, going to a latipso and having a "listener" attend to your ailments isn't so much a superstition but rather an experience and process in the attempt to figure out and cure the issue at hand.
#3 Instead of referring to the Nacirema people as superstitious, I would think of them as more trusting. If they have an issue or concern with their health, they go a facility and people who may have the know-how in addressing and possibly curing
#4: I think Cultural Anthropologists walk a fine line when studying a culture. How they frame their wording when explaining/describing can make a culture seem more "primitive" for a lack of a better term when in reality it may not be that different from the one we live in currently. Being able to describe a culture can be hindered from ethnocentric bias because there can be initial shocks from visual observations or other senses like smelling that can leave a first impression that can be negative. But as an anthropologist is more engaged and learning about their culture of study, then more understanding is can be obtained and the ethnocentric/cultural bias starts to diminish. To me, being a Cultural Anthropologist takes patience to try to get the full picture of what a culture is about and I would think a lot of mentoring from other anthropologists to ensure that any biases may be put in check so that the best job can possibly be done.
Part A Review:
ReplyDeleteI am only scoring this part of the assignment for completion. I will post another comment on Friday after you submit Part B with feedback.
Five descriptive words recorded. (20/20)
Hello Aaron I enjoyed reading your blog about the Nacirema, I think the words you chose were good and had a lot of value in describing the culture. The fact that it was about American culture all along fascinates me since they described it in such an interesting way. It is interesting the way you described the culture but its more interesting once you think of it as the mirror in our bathroom as the shrine and the mouth medicine men are dentists. I really like the correction you did for superstitious because the word 'trusting' really fits in American culture. We have laws that state that if you kill you will go to jail and this is enough for everyone to go on about there day trusting everyone around them even though they are complete strangers. This varies between different people because in poor areas you would likely be less trusting. A big part of American culture would be trust since we are all very different but still live together.
ReplyDeletePart B Review:
ReplyDelete1. Interesting that you mark "ritualistic" as possibly one with bias. All cultures have their own rituals and practices, so I suggest the problem with this term is not bias but perhaps that it is too generalized and applies to ALL cultures, not just the Nacerima.
Before I go onto other works, I just want to take us back to the point that what Miner is actually describing is not the American culture in general, but hygiene and healthcare practices, like brushing our teeth, seeing the dentist, or going to the hospital for medical care. How do the rest of your words "fit" in describing these specific practices?
I agree that "superstitious" carries bias (and serious inaccuracies) in describing these practices.
watch is the word "vain". That has the connotation of practices arising out of vanity... but is that why we brush our teeth and visit the dentist and the doctor? Or do we do these things to stay healthy, or possibly out of fear of getting sick, or even to avoid having to pay higher medical bills if we don't take care of ourselves. There is bias in assuming that vanity drives this behavior instead of other logical, reason-driven reasons.
2. "And for the Nacirema people, going to a latipso and having a "listener" attend to your ailments isn't so much a superstition but rather an experience and process in the attempt to figure out and cure the issue at hand."
I generally agree, but remember that we are talking about "Americans" going to the "hospital" to have a "doctor" attend to our ailments. That isn't superstitious, is it?
The primary concern here with regard to bias would be the word "vain". See my discussion for this above.
"Wavering" is interesting and I had to think about this option. Given the rather hypocritical view the American culture has to the female body (e.g., breasts are great but heaven forbid we see a baby nursing), I think this might be a valuable description to consider. Do we see this contrary thinking in the medical profession itself?
3. Again, let's recognize that the "Nacerima" are Americans. I do see your point on "trusting" but that seems to be the opposite of "superstitious".
What about "vain". Do you have an alternative for that?
4. Good final section. Great discussion. The issue of the word "primitive" is a good point, and cultural anthropologists avoid that word like the plague these days, though it was common 100 years ago. Cultures are different, not "primitive", though that statement itself is effectively a truism and not very useful. Of course they are different. The trick is to understand why those differences exist in terms of their value to those practicing the culture. You can't do that as an outsider. You need to get that from the culture itself.