Disturbing- The tribe described has practices myself, and many of my culture's people would find disturbing i'm sure. The part in the article describing how they drill holes in teeth and fill them with "magical" substance is very odd to me. It is said that these holes must be filled or the tribesman would be rejected by all those around him. Women have their heads cooked for an hour in a ritual called latipso. Women are also conservative of their bodies when pregnant.
Judgmental- What caused me to choose this word for description is the significance of physical appearance they have. It is said that women with small breasts have them enlarged in order to be normal. Likewise, women with large breasts have them reduced. What is in a sense prostitution, some women with naturally beautiful bodies make a living roaming town to town collecting fees from people just to observe them. It is far more severe than any kind of judging i've seen in America.
Superstitious- My reasoning for choosing the word "superstitious" is similar to choosing "disturbing". The shrines that the tribesmen keep in their homes represent ancestry, and require daily attention. They perform harsh rituals like the holes in the teeth one, in what they think protects them. The tribe believes the human body is ugly, and enforce brutal changes to meet acceptable physical appearances. The tribe performs many rituals and ceremonies to fulfill self prophecies.
Ritual- This tribe believes that they are a bunch of ugly people. Their answer to their self implemented problem is the practice of rituals and ceremonies. Like the breast manipulation and teeth drilling that goes on, each home has a shrine attached to a wall. Members of the family visit the shrine every day and pay respects and carry on a ritual. In most cases, the more shrines and "holy" things in your house, the higher your status is.
Medicine-The so called "medicine-men" provide improvised medicinal practices to the tribesmen. They think up and write down ingredients they think should apply a cure to the supposably ugly people. This recipe is written down in their language and applied to patients. The used ingredients are then saved so that if need be, the medicine can be applied again based on observing what was done the first time. The "medicine-men" tend to be herbalists, though from how I interpreted their practices, they can do more harm than good.
Part B
1. After learning that the Nacirema were actually just Americans, I was undoubtably suprised. Looking back on the 5 words I chose, there aren't any changes I would make when looking at Americans. I feel that Americans carry out traditions, and act in a way that only makes these 5 terms more relevant.
2. I evaluated the Nacirema with a bias now that I look back. I found their ways of life very strange because I would never follow rituals in my day and age. I was most definitely judgmental in my evaluation, as I found many of their methods unnecessary and odd. The word I used that is bias was "Disturbing". Their practices may be completely normal to them, and might even think my practices are the disturbing ones. The rest of my words chosen were unbiased, and I chose them based on the factual information rather than my own personal opinion.
3. In replacement of the word "Disturbing" I would go with the word "Secure". I say this based on their practices regarding the drilling of the teeth. I found this disturbing, but it ultimately was to be secure with their personal lives. I suppose other cultures may find it odd that many Americans have guard dogs and alarm systems in their homes.
4. As an anthropologist, you must refrain from forcing your own culture on the one you are studying. Otherwise, you will find yourself discriminating cultures because they are different, and making them out to be something they are not. For all we know, other cultures find Americans to be the bizarre ones. Using unbiased words, anthropologists can do their intended job, and shed light on other cultures. I think it is possible to complete an unbiased report, as long as all the information used is backed by fact.
"Disturbing" was indeed biased, though very honest. But even "judgmental" and "superstitious" have negative connotations to them. You may feel that your four of your words were based upon "facts", but that doesn't mean that your particular choice of words were not biased, regardless of their (culturally specific) accuracy. For example, I can call the practice of eating dogs and puppies in some cultures as inhumane. That is accurate for our culture... but it is still biased.
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot more confidence than I do that bias can be eliminated. Mathematicians deal in facts. Anthropologists deal in observations, stories, feelings, emotions, artistic impressions, and biased historical records. Cold, hard facts are often rare. :-) Such is the life of working with that quirky species, homo sapiens.
I agree with you, because i found myself quite surprise. I was very bias towards to Nacirema also. I like the words that you chose because it didn't seem as bias to me but you had a very well explanation on why you did choose what you chose. Great wording choice.
ReplyDelete-Ariele Reeves