ANT 101 Nacirema Essay - coursework PDF

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ISH info Nacirema Article The origin of the Nacirema is unknown but the tradition states that the culture migrated from the east but not all from the same location and not all at the same time. The geography of the land of the Nacirema is very mixed. There are large areas of cold, snowy terrain as well as locations that seem to get rain daily. A desert inhabits part of the territory and a large river serves as a geographical landmark. Strangely, the people of Nacirema have not settled all of their territories equally and instead choose to live very close together in organized villages called Seitic. The Nacirema culture is characterized by a highly developed economy that has produced extreme wealth. The Nacirema are weirdly possessed with a demon that drives them to spend most of their time and efforts to collect certain material goods. Even though most of the people's time is dedicated to the economic hunts, a large part of the labors and a significant portion of the day are spent in ceremonial activity. The main focus of this activity is the human body, the appearance and health of which appears as a major concern in the character of the people. By worshipping their deities, many of the Nacirema confront and may even cause large social problems throughout the civilization. Nacirema culture is unique in that it has many different forms of worship and though these forms are all accepted by most, the moral problems caused by the support of the deities has caused a great deal of hatred and even some violence throughout Nacirema society. Rituals of food-eating are as disgusting and strange as their body rituals. They eat at prearranged times each day and eat using oddly shaped metal utensils. Their food is mounded on an item known as Setalp. At each eating-time every person eats what would typically be given to two or three people in other societies. As a result of their disturbing eating rituals, many of Nacirema suffer from illnesses and physical deformities. The Nacirema are carnivorous and eat a great variety of native animals and cook all of their to the point that the meat is tough and burnt. Little of their food is pure or clean from its natural environment. Basically everything they eat is smothered with some type of sauce

If I had the opportunity to help the Nacirema overcome their problems, I would teach them how to be more social outside of the economic part. I would also help them overcome their eating rituals. For example I would show them an American dinner with vegetables to make them more healthy and also show them how to clean the food so it isn’t so polluted....