The Nacerima/Part I

 

The Nacerima

Private: I find that the  Nacerima are private in certain aspects of life, such as when it comes to parturition. The parturition is done without friends or relatives to around.

Superstitious: The Nacerima are also very superstitious. They have what is called the "listener." This is a  witch-doctor that “has the power to exorcise the devils that lodge in the heads of people who have been bewitched”. The Nacirema also believe that parents and particularly moms, bewitch their own children while teaching them the secret body rituals.

Iinteresting: I find that the Nacerima are very interesting. They believe that a few women are afflicted with almost inhuman hypermammary development. These women are idolized  and in fact they make a good living by going from village to village and collecting money from the natives just for looking at them.

UNIQUE: One of the unique things about the Nacerima is the ritual fasts that are done to make fat people thin. Then there are ceremonial feasts to make thin people fat. Also another unique fact about them is that they consider intercourse taboo and therefore they schedule it as an act.

Ritualistic: The Nacerima have many rituals and ceremonies. An example is the rites of the holy-mouth-men. This involves a lot of discomfort and torture. The latipso ceremonies are also rituals followed by the Nacerima. It is harsh and therefore a lot of the really sick natives who enter the temple never recover.