The Nacerima Tribe, Part A-B

Cultural Description, Part A:

1.Spiritual/Mystical   
             When reading about the Nacerima tribe, it is almost impossible to realize that these people are very spiritual. According to Miner, the structure of the Nacerima tribe is based on the belief that, "the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease. Incarcerated in such a body, man's only hope is to avert these characteristics through the use of ritual and ceremony." Because of this belief, the Nacerima people undergo many rituals to cleanse their bodies. The Nacerima people are under the impression that the human body needs constant cleansing in order to be able to survive.  To perform these cleansing rituals, the Nacerima people go to temples, called latipso, and at other sacred dwellings within their homes. These characteristics are very similar to those of ancient civilizations such as the mayans and the aztecs, who were also very spiritual.

2.Reliant:
            Going back to the spirituality of the Nacerima tribe, the people of this tribe seem to be very dependent of the men in power. In this society, the "medicine men", "holy-mouth men", the "listeners", and other "magical practitioners"(as described by Miner) are held on a pedestal due to their mystical powers. These practitioners cure the people of the diseases or illnesses which the Nacerima people believe every body contains. Throughout the article, it is evident that the Nacerima people are very reliant on the help of these practitioners.

3.Hierarchical:
            As already mentioned, the people of the Nacerima tribe are very reliant on the men who can cure their illnesses and diseases. The Nacerima society is structured in a hierarchical manner where these people are placed in high positions. For example, the "holy-mouth men" can conduct whatever ritual they deem necessary to cleanse a persons mouth/morals. The people of this society do whatever these practitioners say in order to cleanse their bodies. Essentially, the Nacerima people let the medicine men, holy-mouth men, and etcetera take over their bodies when performing these rituals.

4.Capitalist:
           To a certain extent, the Nacerima people also seem to have "capitalistic" characteristics in the way that society is run. In order to receive special treatment from the medicine men and other practitioners, the people must give them plenty gifts. No matter what the situation may be, the practitioners must receive gifts in order to conduct any services. For that matter, not everyone in this society can receive such treatments. In order to be cleansed, these people must be able to afford the services provided by the practitioners. For instance, Miner says "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." Similar to the healthcare system in the United States, if you cannot afford it, you wont receive any treatment whatsoever.

5.Sadistic:
          From an outside perspective, anyone could easily claim that the people of this society seem to be sadistic. To many of us, their lifestyle may seem completely atrocious. However, we must understand that the people of that society seem to accept and enjoy their lifestyles, as understood by Miner's article. Furthermore, I believe that the people of this society enjoy going through these unusual and brutal rituals. To them, it is a way to live a healthy life. According to Miner, "sick adults are not only willing but eager to undergo the protracted ritual purification, if they can afford to do so," the Nacerima people voluntarily subject themselves into these treatments. The people of the Nacerima tribe are not forced into undergoing these rituals, but voluntarily and eagerly participate.

Ethnocentrism, Part B:

   1.Although I am shocked to find out that Miner was actually talking about the American culture, I would still use the same words to describe our culture. For the most part, I do feel that each of the 5 words I chose apply to our culture, some more than others. Many people know that America is considered to be one of the most religious nations in the world. Religion plays a big role in the way that our society is structured and how our government works. For instance, a presidential candidate who is not Christian or not religious would have a hard time winning the election. Although there is supposed to be a separation between church and state in the U.S, I believe the church is still very much involved in government. For example, the phrase "in God we trust" on our currency and when taking oath in court, one must swear by the bible. With regards to reliant, many Americans feel dependent on the government for financial support, due to high unemployment. In the US, there is also a type of hierarchy where the "elite", a small percent of the population, hold most of the country's wealth. In my opinion, the United States is a very capitalistic country. Everything in the United States revolves around money, and without it, it is nearly impossible to survive. Lastly, I would also consider Americans to be somewhat sadistic. Though we are considered the top nation of the world, we have many issues such as unemployment, lack of proper healthcare system, and a poorly funded education system. If we consider ourselves the top nation of the world, we shouldn't allow to have such flaws in our country.

    2.Out of the words I chose, I think that sadistic is the most biased. However, I still feel that this word can apply to the American culture. Now that I know what the article is really about, I realize that the word sadistic is judgmental. 

   3.If I had to choose, I think the most biased out of the words I chose would probably be sadistic. I think the word I would choose to replace "sadistic" would be committed. I would say committed because these people were committed to their lifestyle and their culture. I feel that the word sadistic might make it sound like their lifestyle is somewhat barbaric or inhumane. By changing it to "committed," I feel that it shows that I am not judging the Nacerima people, but trying to show how involved they are in their culture.

   4.I think that it is important to keep all biases away when describing another culture. First of all, we must not assume that our culture and lifestyle are the only acceptable ones. I think that we must understand how big the world is and how many people are outside of our own country. With so many people around the world, we are bound to come across many lifestyles that differ from our own. However, instead of judging them, we must be more tolerant and accept each other with or without differences. Also, if trying to study another culture as an anthropologist, I think you must have an open mind. Although it would be nice to be completely unbiased, I think that it can be impossible to a certain extent. I believe that ethnocentrism is part of human nature, however, we can still be tolerant and accepting.