Intrigue Amongst the Nacirema
©
Leanne Anysia
Anthro
5: Magic, Witchcraft & Religion
February
1, 2001
I
am trapped in a complex maze of chaos. Furtive glances yield bizarre signs lit
blue and red, humanity as far as the eye can see disappearing into caves of
color and music. Everywhere there is noise- people chanting loudly into wiry
boxes attached to their heads, invisible speaklouders issuing forth a stream of
commands to the hapless people trapped inside this cavernous arena with me. I
hear elders arguing with their children, women gazing in envy at plastic ladies
behind boxes of steel and glass- an endless array of beeping and ringing,
pictures of imaginative people attached to all available wall space like a
huge, vibrant monopolii board.
And
the smells! One cannot say if it is a good feeling to sense all the humanity
packed into such a small space- to smell the sweet and the sour, the bubble gum
and the baby lotion, the musk and the makeup. I see temples to the Gods Tsaocnus
and Dnalcizuum and I see caves filled with food and cloth around every
freakishly vivid corner.
Many
would miss the smiles and the excitement and lost among the movement and energy
would be the sight of embarrassed elders quickly quenching the jubilation of
their children. “QUIET!,” They say, “We are on a mission. This is no time for
selfish needs.”
So, I am spent. My exhaustive voyage has brought me here to this rabid, gut quenching line of women who wait to pay homage to the God Nacirema Dradnats. I have noticed these practices of the Nacirema and am even more confused than I was when I walked into this particular stark porcelain and cold metal cave. I can only hope that further analyses of this tribe will yield the answers that I seek so desperately.