The Importance Of The Nacirema Culture

The Nacirema people that developed in the geographic region between land occupied by the Canadian Cree and the Yaqui of Mexico is one of the most widely known and studied civilizations in the present. However, despite all the attention given to the Nacirema culture, especially within higher academic circles, several aspects of their ethos have remained elusive and enigmatic. Of particular interest are the mysterious rituals undertaken by the Nacirema which often reveal the inner workings of their society as a whole. One such ritual is the daily attendance of a building known as a myg. Prior to firsthand study of myg buildings and those who attended them, practically nothing was known of the importance or use of the myg. As a result of these …show more content…
It is rare to encounter a village without at least one, and often a village will have at least three, if not more. Typically, the number of myg buildings corresponds positively to the density of the local population. The physical buildings themselves vary widely. Some can hold hundreds of attendees at once while smaller venues might only house twenty comfortably. Although size may normally be a telling indicator of importance and value within Nacirema culture, many inhabitants prefer smaller, less crowded mygs. Most myg-goers stagger their planned visits in order to minimize contact with others, which appears to be consistent across other Nacirema rituals. As for the attendees themselves, it appears that only a select proportion of the population are chosen to regularly make pilgrimage to a myg. Young men make up the primary percentage of people within a myg, though it is not uncommon to see women and occasionally elders, as well. Similarly, most participants appear to be the most physically suited for labor, although less pertinent partakers are not an abnormality. The number of myg buildings within a typical municipality points toward their significance to Nacirema culture while the small attending body hints at the exclusiveness of the …show more content…
One common fixture is a special type of shelf or rack which contains several indentations. Within these indentations sit several pairs of what appear to be totems or idols with markings indicating numbers on either end. An idol, or lebmud, typically weighs anywhere between five and fifty pounds, though larger mygs may have lebmud weighing more. A normal ritual performed by most myg-goers involves choosing a pair of lebmud and lifting them overhead several times before placing them back onto the shelf. Presumably, this ritual is intended to bring man closer to the realization of godhood, as symbolized in both the existence of the idols and the acts of lifting performed with them. Lebmud are often treated with utmost respect, as accidentally dropping them tends to bring both injury and bad luck. It is also frowned upon to take the lebmud and fail to replace them onto the shelf where they belong. The Nacirema’s use of lebmud within the myg indicates a fascination with not only spirits, but of self-betterment and eventually