A little north of Mexico, there is a group of people called Nacirema. One of their main beliefs is that their personalities are boring and that hoarding more items will make them appear more interesting and appealing.

Most weekends mostly female children a little younger then marrying age would go with their parents to a holy temple of ritual garments and other sacred items. This temple contains many rooms. In each one there is a different item for trade. The Nacirema families would come in and carefully start picking garments and bangles and other Holy items, always keeping in mind what their fellow tribe members would think. Each item would then be carefully examined and given back to the priest if it did not pass the examination. The Nacirema would then proceed to look at every other item in the temple.

When the Nacirema had finished. They would take their heaps of artifacts, various objects and robes to one of the priests. The priest would then reexamine the objects and put them into a basket especially made for this particular purpose. Then the minister would Ask the parent to either trade the items for special pieces of paper and small silver coins or to perform the sacred dance.

The dance consists of two parts. First the parent has to take out a small rectangular piece of sacred flexible material with holy engragravings. They must take the rectangular object and begin to dance from one foot to another while inserting the object into a hole specifically made for that purpose. A few seconds later they take it out and continuing to bob up from each leg they take a small pointed stick and draw a sacred design with it (Each tribe member has their own). After they finish they pick up their articles and other items and they leave the temple. After all of this the child will probably leave these garments in their hut and keep them there for a very long time without wearing it.

The Nacirema would showcase these items to the people or person they would like to impress and after that job is done they leave that artifact and don’t see it again. The Nacirema would repeat this process over and over because they are afraid that if they stop they will become boring and unappealing. With such big insecurities it is a miracle that the Nacirema have managed survived through all this time

~ Emilia S.

The Nacirema have many values and the most interesting - and adorable - of these values is their ownership of domesticated wolves. The Nacirema put in tons of effort to please and take care of their wolves and use them for the tiniest bit of emotional reassurance. Some Nacirema also own domesticated felines, but wolves are the most popular. About 44% of Nacirema own a domesticated wolf, although the Nacirema leader himself doesn’t have a domesticated wolf, a first in a long time for any leader of the Nacirema. In the Nacirema culture, owning a wolf enriches their lives and makes them feel safe and purposeful.

Currently, the Nacirema are one of the few communities still dealing with COVID-19. After all, the Nacirema are infamous for being quite selfish. Most don’t believe in science and only are out there for themselves. This has resulted in the natives needing to stay in their block-shaped huts with their wolf companions, while the skilled medicine-men rush to find a cure for this dangerous virus. The Nacirema believe that their domesticated wolves will protect them from negative spirits and will bring them happiness, which is much-needed in these dark times for the Nacirema.

I have observed many Nacirema households, and there are a few specific patterns I have noticed the Nacirema repeating during rituals with their wolf. The Nacirema often speak to the wolves in a high-pitched voice, questioning “how good they are” and “how they got so cute.” This usually excites and amuses the wolf, and in response to this, the wolf either rolls onto its back, shakes its tail, or curls itself into a ball, appearing harmless. Following this, the Nacirema usually rub the wolf, pleasing it. The wolf may or may not return the affection. I’ve also observed the Nacirema pouring sacred grains into a small basin for the wolf to consume and, depending on the age of the wolf, the Nacirema may offer the wolf a gift to destroy. Some gifts squeak, and some are discs or miniature orbs for throwing and catching. All of these are valued and sacred rituals to the Nacirema and are a sign of respect towards the domesticated wolves.

I have interviewed a few Nacirema citizens and translated their response from their native language. The Nacirema explained that they own and take care of their wolves because it brings them joy to play with them, and their wolves give their lives value. In the Nacirema culture, it is their responsibility and duty to take care of their wolf companion. The Nacirema worry that if they stop this routine, their wolf will retaliate against them by being loud and howling the wolf language or emptying their waste in unpleasant places. This has brought me to the conclusion that despite their cuteness, wolves can be feisty, manipulative animals. Multiple times I have observed a wolf making a loud, yapping noise when upset or making a low, growling noise when anxious. Once, I even observed a wolf performing a skill that only the domesticated wolves can do. They stare at their care-takers while they are consuming nutrients with wide eyes, a manipulative way of begging. Some care-takers give in, but this often results in illness for the wolves.

The Nacirema care a lot about their wolves’ appearances. Many species of wolves are actually unhealthily bred with flat faces, short legs, and bulgy eyes, making them appear disfigured. The Nacirema surprisingly love this though. The more dysfunctional and distorted their wolves are, the more status it brings them in their society. Often, when discussing their wolves, they beam with pride, but when they are informed about an issue involving their wolf by herbalists and medicine men specifically for wolves and animals, they are often offended because they believe their wolf is flawless. Sometimes, I’ve even observed Nacirema dressing up their wolves in religious garments when it is cold, despite the fact that they already have natural fur to keep them warm. In addition to the religious garments, the wolves must always wear sacred necklaces for identification that I have noticed often say either, “Bella” or “Buddy”. This may seem cruel, but as I have mentioned before, the Nacirema are very selfish.

The Nacirema believe that they treat their wolves well, but this is not always the case. After learning about the Nacirema’s interactions with the domesticated wolves, I have realized that they don’t always treat wolves kindly. A large number of domesticated wolves owned by the Nacirema are abused and treated with cruelty. For example, when the wolf is leading the Nacirema by a rope, a form of exercise, the ignorant Nacirema don’t understand that when it’s hot, the pavement may painfully burn the wolves’ paws. Or, a more extreme example, they cut the wolves’ ears and tails for their satisfaction.

When a wolf passes away, the Nacirema have a specific ritual they perform. If the wolf is not buried in sacred grounds, the care-takers of the wolf pay a specialist best translated to “special-wolf-burning-person” to burn the wolf’s dead body to ashes in a hearth. The care-takers then have the ashes put into an urn and display it in a room, turning it into a shrine for mourning. Through all of the sadness during the mourning period, the Nacirema believe and hope that they will be reunited with their wolf companions in the afterlife.

My research shows that the Nacirema are caring and loving people towards their wolves - but sometimes for all the wrong reasons. The Nacirema respect their wolves, but as we have learned, some natives can mistreat their precious wolves, despite the fact that the ownership of wolves is such an important aspect of their culture and their lives. Personally, I still wonder how these sacred animals have survived with cruelty and disfigured bodies, and even, I wonder about the Nacirema. How have they managed to continue this tradition, with all the work, emotions, and hardship that comes with taking care of a domesticated wolf? I suppose we will never know.

~ Allie E.

The Nacirema are a tribe just above mexico. The Nacirema believe they should befriend and take care of most exzotic creatures.

The Nacirema people love to care for exzotic wild creatures. How they do this is they go to a wooden and cement temple with many exzotic creatures and take the one they think speaks to them most. This process normally takes a week of coming to the ritual room and feeding the animals exzotic fibers and potions to decide which animal will be your loyal companion for the next few years. When they get their animal home they feed it more exzotic fibers and potions to get it used to its new location.

The animals then learn exzotic dances and skills to make them more “appealing” and “fun.” The animals get used to this after a while.

As I said before these people love to care for these creatures. In conclusion the Nacirema people have tried to restore companionship to the world.

~ Hannah P.

The Nacirema has a few interesting ways to tell stories but this one is the most enjoyable.

The Nacirema enjoy telling stories but they believe the only exciting way to tell them is to perform as the characters, add in spiritual dances and chants, wear colorful clothing and ritual face paint.

Many people of the Nacirema tribe are very fond of storytelling and sometimes choose it as their lifelong passion but others choose it as an enjoyable activity.

To become a storyteller, villagers must perform a spiritual song and dance for a group of people, who call themselves a name, that is best translated as the “artistic creators.” The artistic creators are a group that chooses people to perform in the story. Once the storytellers are chosen and have spent many moons learning the tale, the ritual chants and exotic dances; villagers trade in coins to watch them perform.

The storytellers present on a raised platform while the viewers sit on woven mats around the room. The storytellers are dressed in colorful clothing such as ritual garments and flower crowns. The face artists travel to the temple bringing wondrous colors of paint, made from blended berries and leaves to place on the faces of the storytellers.

In front of the platform, is a large hole where the viewers can hear melodies being played from wooden or iron objects; some of them strung with exotic fibers. I was told that minstrels descend into the dark cavernous hole and play music during the performance which then echoes throughout the temple. These melodies provide the storytellers with a beat and rhythm to help them engage the viewers.

When one of the characters has a thought, feeling, or idea they start chanting loudly while their entourage comes up from behind and performs a spiritual dance. This process happens many times during the performance.

Were it not for telling stories in this way, the Nacirema storytellers believe villagers would continue their ordinary lives without any excitement and imagination from the performances.

Our review of the Nacirema storytellers has definitely proven they really enjoy telling stories in creative ways along with listening to them. It’s hard to believe they are still telling stories this way.

~ Laurel W.

The Nacirema are exotic wild people who are quite interesting and I have gotten a chance to look at some interesting activities they do and I got the chance to learn about them.

Some of the activities are where they knock around a pinecone in winter and call it ice blocking where they make baskets and face them sideways and try to get a pinecone in with long sticks in a large ice arena they also have ice fights which is a war of ice and snow. Later in the warmer weather they have festivals such as hot months which hold tons of running activities and other things. Then the water temple nuns bring out lemon water and crushed berry juice to all the viewers as refreshers

After learning about all the interesting activities they did i finished my research on the nacirema, and the main mystery is how do they not get tired out of all these festivities and also how they have come up with such activities as well and all the rules to go with them

~ Aliette L.