Nacirema

A.

1. Body: I chose this word because it plays a huge part in the Nacirema's traditions and values. They believe "that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease". As well, being a part of the body, the mouth is sacred to them; "The Nacirema have an almost pathological horror of and fascination with the mouth...They also believe that a strong relationship exists between oral and moral characteristics". Their mouths are so important to them that they have a "mouth-rite" ("...the ritual consists of inserting a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures."), as well as "holy mouth men", who preforms torturous like 'healing' by "...open(ing) the client's mouth and, using the above mentioned tools, enlarges any holes which decay may have created in the teeth. Magical materials are put into these holes. If there are no naturally occurring holes in the teeth, large sections of one or more teeth are gouged out so that the supernatural substance can be applied". I believe picking 'body' describes the Nacirema because it is the center of their beliefs are a culture.
2. Shrine: I chose the word shrine because it is a way for them to physically see and touch their beliefs. Shrines are extremely important to the rich as they are to the poor, so much so that "...the opulence of a house is often referred to in terms of the number of such ritual centers it possesses". The shrines are "walled with stone" in the homes of the rich and "Poorer families imitate the rich by applying pottery plaques to their shrine walls". The rituals and traditions associated with the shrine are kept secret and "...are normally only discussed with children..." "The focal point of the shrine is a box or chest which is built into the wall. In this chest are kept the many charms and magical potions without which no native believes he could live". Most of these charms and potions are bought from the medicine man, who is the most powerful. These charms are not thrown away after they fulfill their job, however, over time many of the charms and potions true purpose has been forgotten and to be safe they stop using them for fear of abusing the magic. "Beneath the charm-box is a small font. 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". I chose the word shrine because it is the only physical way the Nacirema may participate in their beliefs since most things are done by the "holy-mouth men", the "listeners", or just by the medicine or herbalist man.
3. Faith: I chose faith because the Nacirema go through grueling and painful circumstances because of their faith in their beliefs. " The fact that these temple ceremonies may not cure, and may even kill the neophyte, in no way decreases the people's faith inthe medicine men". Some examples include; the mouth-rite "Were it not for the rituals of the mouth, they believe that their teeth would fall out, their gums bleed, their jaws shrink, their friends desert them, and their lovers reject them.", the holy-mouth men "These practitioners have an impressive set of paraphernalia, consisting of a variety of augers, awls, probes, and prods. The use of these objects in the exorcism of the evils of the mouth involves almost unbelievable ritual torture of the client.", and the temples "The latipso ceremonies are so harsh that it is phenomenal that a fair proportion of the really sick natives who enter the temple ever recover. Small children whose indoctrination is still incomplete have been known to resist attempts to take them to the temple because 'that is where you go to die.'" The Nacirema go through hell for their beliefs and will gladly face death to be cured of their "illnesses" of their "ugly" body. Someone new just coming into these traditions, such as the children, will be extremely turned off and confused and to why anyone would do such things but with time and generations these "horrific" scenes become normal, tradition, and a way of life and faith grows stronger and stronger. Those with strong faith have been going through these rituals for many years, while those with weak faith are brand new to them.
4. Magic: I chose magic because the Nacirema rely heavily on it to cure and rid themselves of their illnesses. Going back to the shrine and the charm box, which "In this chest are kept the many charms and magical potions without which no native believes he could live". The people believe that certain herbs and 'potions' are indeed their cure for whatever they are in need simply because the "medicine man", "holy-mouth man", or "listener" tell them it is. They put all their faith into these people and rely on their 'magic' to cure and rid them of evils. They put these people in charge and call them "magical practitioners" and because they have the most magic or able to control the most magic, they are put in charge to direct and help the 'average' person who is not capable of this advanced magical skills that they have obtained. I believe magic is a word describing the Nacirema because the people they depend on all have something to do with magic, and they put all their faith into these people because they are magical.
5. Gift: I chose gift to represent the 'magical' people of the Nacirema because many of them will only help or offer advice if a gift is given to them and not because they know they need to help. For example, "The most powerful of these are the medicine men, whose assistance must be rewarded with substantial gifts", who does not give the clients the potions but write in a "secret language only (understood) by the medicine men and by the herbalists who, for another gift, provide the required charm". Another example is in the latipso temples where "No matter how ill the supplicant or how grave the emergency, the guardians of many temples will not admit a client if he cannot give a rich gift to the custodian. Even after one has gained and survived the ceremonies, the guardians will not permit the neophyte to leave until he makes still another gift". I believe the word gift is appropriate for the "magical practitioners" rather than the everyday Nacirema because, although they are the only people who can 'cure' their clients illness they instead choose to exploit their clients in a time of need and require a gift for their life saving services.

B.

1. As an American I believe the words I picked were unbiased and had nothing to do with where I am from or my past. I tried to pick the words that described the Nacirema the most instead of the most interesting, new, or surprising to me. I tried to not think of my past or where I am from to influence my decisions of the words I picked.
2. Again, I don't believe the words or what I said were of an ethnocentric perspective. I tried to think of it as, if I had to tell someone who had no one who or about the Nacirema and their customs, which five words would describe them the best? I tried to come from an unbiased point of view and simply state the most descriptive parts of the Nacirema. I believe I am unbiased because I used many quotes from the article and left out personal opinion and thoughts and simply stated who these people were and why they do what they do. I also did not put an input on whether what they are doing is right or wrong; I just stated the facts and left out the opinions.
3. No biased words from my point of view.
4. I believe it is extremely important to avoid culture bias (any bias) when describing people and their culture because you have no right to disapprove or even approve a culture you have never been a part of (especially, just read an article about). The observer and reporter must leave their opinions, past, and background behind in order to get a true view of the culture they are observing. For example, one someone asks an opinion of a book they are reading from someone who already read the book and that person tells them how terrible the book was for reasons x, y, z; most likely you will look for x, y, z instead of coming from a blank slate perspective and missing a lot of information. Especially in the world of anthropology where it is about understanding and not judging, we must always check our mindset and make sure the information we are picking up and gathering applies directly to the people instead of pertaining to you.