Week 1 Blog Post: Part A

• Choose five (5) descriptive words you would use to describe the population Miner discusses.
• For each of your chosen words, write a short paragraph explaining why you chose this word and provide examples from the text that back up your choice of this word.

Superstitious - "In this chest are kept the many charms and magical potions without which no native believes he could live."
This statement outlines the train of though of the people, the sole fact that the focal point is to have many charms/potions to the point of overflowing speaks vastly about the superstitious beliefs. Beyond that, the belief that without these things the natives believe they would meet their demise demonstrates that its not a simple casual belief, rather its something that is needed equally as much as nutrition and air is needed to continue living.

Ritualistic - "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."
The definition provided by Merriam-Weber Dictionary pertaining to the word ritual "A religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order."Nails what the Necirema do on a daily basis. The fact that as a whole the Necirema culture have continued practicing the same ritual over many years on a daily basis encompassing the whole population dictates that its more than a simple fluke or coincidence, rather it is a ritual that is passed down from the elders to a new generation.

Sadist/Masochist - "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. "
The fact that the culture as a whole is involved in either the receiving or inflicting portion of pain and that its become something that you must do, something that you teach that must be done for the better of yourself embraces the idea of sadism and masochism. This is further backed up by the fact that these practices are done constantly by the whole population.

Reserved - "In everyday life the Nacirema avoids exposure of his body and its natural functions.....Psychological shock results from the fact that body secrecy is suddenly lost upon entry into the latipso"
In a present culture where many "bear it all" it is unique to see that the Nacirema are reserved people, even to their own spouses. It is no surprise that having this vast amount of "privacy" creates a shock. Interesting enough that the Nacirema would conceal themselves to their spouses, whereas it is common in many other cultures to share a certain intimacy reserved to that individual.

Puzzling - "Conception is actually very infrequent. When pregnant, women dress so as to hide their condition. Parturition takes place in secret, without friends or relatives to assist, and the majority of women do not nurse their infants."
It is strange knowing that in many cultures life is celebrated, that a child is a badge of honor that many women display proudly, the Nacirema would attempt to prevent it.  Their involvement of magical material and limited intercourse to prevent conception is baffling given the fact that without the conception of a new generation the Nacirema would cease to exist.

WEEK 1 BLOG POST: PART B

• As an American, how do you feel about your choice of descriptive words in Part A? (If you are from another country, you can still comment on your choices based upon your first hand experience with American culture but include the fact that you are from another culture.
• Do any of your choices exhibit ethnocentrism on your part? In other words, do any of your descriptive words reveal a judgment of the Nacerima rooted in your own cultural bias? Are any of your words free of bias? Identify the words you feel are biased and unbiased and explain your reasoning.
• For any of the words that are biased, can you provide alternate words that are free of bias but communicate the same explanatory information and intent of your original word?
• From this experience, reflect on the importance of avoiding ethnocentric judgments when describing other cultures. Why is it important to describe another culture in a manner as free from personal cultural bias as possible? Do you think it is possible to completely avoid personal cultural bias as a Cultural Anthropologist?

In regards to the 5 words that i chose, i believe that a few of the words are descriptive of Americans. It is very amusing to me that as i was choosing the descriptive words i couldnt help but smirk at the thought that Ive partook in ritualistic tendencies. That the words were ringing loud an clear on the amazing similarities that were shared between Americans and the Nacirema. Its so interesting to me that the words that were published 50+ years ago still hold true in present day, that regardless of the leaps in technology and our understanding of other cultures and of ourselves that we still carry these traits around fearing to let them go.

I believe that all 5 words that were selected demonstrate a judgment of the Nacerima, none of them free of bias. I was quick to choose words like "Ritualistic" and "Puzzling" yet I partake in daily rituals that are comparable to the Nacerima. I wake up, go to the gym for an hour, get ready for work, i eat lunch and go for a jog, come back to work, go home and eat dinner, spend time with loved ones and then sleep.... The same routine day after day. I was quick to choose puzzling yet Ive been part of the crowd that shakes their head at an unplanned pregnancies yet my statement follows stating that in most cultures life is celebrated and that women boast about the pregnancies like a badge of honor. I don't think that a single word was free of bias because I used what culture I know the best and compared the Nacirema to it, unconsciously holding my beliefs as absolutes.

I would change my choice of word "Superstitious" into "Supernatural", this would give it a more solemn undertone. Superstition is something that we take lightly, we carry rabbits foots on key-chains, we toss salt over our shoulder, we make jokes about breaking mirrors. Yet we will blindly without questioning will accept a "supernatural" explanation, the definition itself has us believing that its something more than the natural (more than the physical) without the childish undertones that superstition carries.

I don't believe that its possible to completely avoid personal cultural bias' as an Anthropologist. What we can help to do is minimize our bias by going thru the motions and hope that one day our vast knowledge and experience will outweigh the years of indoctrination that we've had before even consciously considering the possibility that we are bias. Furthermore, i believe that we should avoid an ethnocentric mentality at all cost. A closed off mentality is the first of many traits that failed governments and cultures share. One can never hope to create bonds that will stimulate growth if your not willing to consider that your way is not the only way. That regretfully the age old saying "My way or the highway" maybe be an ingredient in a recipe that leads to ones pitfall.