Rituals of the Nacirema

A - F

Abnormal Rodent Invasion

You can tell very easily that the Nacirema are superstitious and spread rumors about creatures they have only fantasized and made up in their mind. They live such boring lives that they feel that they need to bring gifts that charm children yet will also curse them.

The Nacirema get tortured once every year when an abnormally large rodent breaks into their home and hides hexes that are disguised as charms. These disguised hexes are supposed to trick the Nacirema into consuming these magical charms and torture their mouths. The Nacirema children arise out of their sleep on this traditional day to go track down and locate these magical charms that the enchanted rodent has laid and hidden from them.

By torturing their mouth, they ingest these spells making their teeth rot and fall out. Once their teeth fall out, another magical being breaks into their house and steals their teeth! The Nacirema have made up all these magical creatures in their heads but they have never actually seen these magical beings.

In conclusion, I have learned that the Nacirema are superstitious beings and love turning anything into rituals and force these practices onto young people in their tribe. This tradition that the Nacirema perform is quite unusual. It makes us wonder, are the Nacirema stable? Are they hallucinating?

~ Orly D.

Deathtrap for Sanity

The Nacirema live southwest of Greenland. They have many rituals that they practice semiannually but the one I find myself the most fascinated and appalled by is their expeditions. The Nacierema crave unpleasant and grueling expeditions in order to keep themselves from being driven to the brink of insanity.

The Journey

I spent the last week or so with a Nacirema family so I could learn about their Expeditions and how they worked. The first day of the Expedition we woke up before dawn and frantically packed many of our belongings into any available sack. The children seemed annoyed at waking up so early but oddly excited to evacuate their dwelling. After we departed their dwelling we took a long journey by a cart driven by the power of 200 horses, to a large barn, full of unfamiliar people. Once inside the barn we had our belongings ripped away from us and examined by strangers who the family I traveled with seemed nervous to interact with, especially the children. After they tore through our belongings they thoroughly inspected us. One of the people I expeditiond with pointed out a group of inspectors with a pack of highly trained carnivorous beasts attached to him only by a thin rope, ready to break free. He warned me that if the inspectors found something they didn’t like on us they would let the animals “inspect” us too.

Once through the inspection, we scrambled through many of the barn’s winding passageways until we reached a vessel that a particularly nervous part of my travel party called “a death trap”. Once we were trapped inside the deathtrap, it was slingshotted forwards at an upward angle, moving so fast that I could hear the wind pushing against the deathtrap’s fragile shell. While in the vessel, my ears were constantly bombarded by the noise of crying children and adults who seemed to think that the deathtrap was their own personal place to have very loud conversations with the people around them. Near the end of our torturous ride on the deathtrap that had miraculously stayed moving at high speeds this whole time, it started rapidly falling until it hit the ground. I was convinced whoever was driving this thing was trying to kill us. Somehow none of our fellow excursionists were the slightest bit scared and no one was injured. The driver even gave a short speech at the end of our journey while we frantically escaped the deathtrap.

The Expedition

After we escaped the deathtrap and the barn connected to it, the family said we had arrived in the “District of Sunshine,” which is famous for its beaches and “pleasure grounds”. For the rest of the week the family stayed at a dwelling that was unfamiliar and uncomfortable, only supplying the bare minimum. They spent the rest of their expedition at filthy beaches scattered with rotting carcasses and tormented by horrible weather. On the last day of the voyage the family took me to a pleasure grounds, which I can only describe as overcrowded and torturous. The children would climb onto large rickety structures and get into small boxes that would be launched off platforms and plummet to the ground, where they miraculously survived. They said it was fun and encouraged me to try it but I concluded this excitement was a result of some injury their brains had sustained due to the fall. After our time at the pleasure grounds we headed back to the family’s home on another deathtrap. Once we got to the barn we started our expedition at, we parted ways and I headed home.

Interviews

While I was in the District of Sunshine I interviewed a few of the Nacirema people on the subject of these expeditions and it helped me realize how miserable and overworked they really are. When asked why they go on expeditions one man said, “It's a break from the things I do to survive” and “to have adventures that I wouldn’t have in my everyday life.” This Nacirema man has such a boring, unrewarding life that he has to seek out fun and adventure in dangerous places to get a break from everything else. When asked what he worried would happen if he stopped expeditioning he stated, “I might get burned out and I wouldn’t enjoy life as much.” They are worried that if they stopped doing this ritual they would be driven to insanity from being overworked and become dissatisfied with their day to day life.

The Nacirema are worried that if they stopped doing this ritual of expeditioning their quality of life would significantly decrease and that they would lack happiness and feel more like they were merely surviving not thriving. Somehow the Nacirema have convinced themselves to believe that the only way to be happy, fulfilled, and keep their sanity is to go on grueling and nightmarish journeys. It’s a miracle to me that they can still function as a society without changing their ways.

~ Olivia C.

The Horrors of Llabyellov

The Nacirema are fearful of becoming chunky and unentertained. The Nacirema believe in a ritual that involves an orb. The Nacirema think that the orb is powerful and without smashing the orb into oblivion, they will become chunky and unentertained.

The Nacirema are a tribe that are located west of France that have a supernatural ritual that involves a powerful orb that they smash into oblivion. The Nacirema tribe try to stay fit with this ritual, I have talked to three members of the Nacirema tribe and they have told me why they do this ritual. According to one member of the tribe the Nacirema start doing this ritual at the age of ten or eleven if they play on their torture house team. The members of the Nacirema I talked to told me that they do this ritual because it’s fun and active. They also told me what would happen if they stopped doing the ritual. They told me that they would become chunky . The Nacirema are also worried about being unentertained because they worry that they will never have fun ever again because that ritual was the only entertainment they get. The Nacirema are fearful of becoming chunky, because they think that their lovers, if they have any, will leave them for a prettier or more handsome person.

I watched the Nacirema do this ritual and I can tell you that it is horrifying. The room becomes as loud as an elephant running, the screaming and shouting, the smashing of the orb with their hands. The Nacirema let me in this ritual that I found out is called llabyellov. After I joined the Nacirema in their ritual I can now understand why they enjoy it. The Nacirema during breaks in the ritual told me that if they neglect this ritual that the God of Minnonet will track them down and steal all of their Minnonet garments and treasures. The Nacirema fear the God of Minnonet for they love llabyellov. llabyellovt is loved by the Nacirema even when they neglect the ritual.

The Nacirema is a confusing culture. It is a wonder how labyellov is loved by so many and just observed by more than who plays. The Nacirema are horrified of being neglected by their lovers, that they will torture themselves with more exersize then they can mange, it is a wonder how the Nacirema have survived this long with the torture they put themsleves through.

~ Lilly A.

Sacred Scratching

The Nacirema, a community who live many miles north of Colombia, have some strange practices. I observed many on my visit, but one of them caught my eye.. The Nacirema believe that the practice of creating strange symbols on flat blank sheets will bring them creativity, but failing to do so will bring the world crashing down around them.

The Nacirema are highly creative people. They seem to express this creativity through different practices, but one in particular piqued my interest. On my visit to the Nacirema homeland, I observed a peculiar thing. Many of the Nacirema were using a sharp, pointy stick to carve shapes and lines into thin pressed tree matter. This was very interesting to me, so I went cautiously towards the Nacirema people, wary of their sharp sticks, and asked them some questions. I asked one of them, “Why do you do this practice?” It took them a long while to form an answer, but eventually they told me that it was like a symbol of who they were on the inside, a way of expression. Another I asked, “What do you worry might happen if you stop this practice?” and they immediately said that their mother would dispose of them, for their “Picasso drawings” were very important. I think this practice reveals that the Nacirema are very creative people

On my visit, I observed the Nacirema during their strange practice of creative creation. I also learned how important it is to them, and how if they stop doing this important practice they may lose their home. I wonder, how have the Nacirema survived so long like this?

~ Anna B.

The Nacirema War Zone

In the middle of two seas lyes the land home to the Nacirema. One of the most interesting parts about their culture is how they wage war against neighboring tribes to determine who is victorious.

After many countless days I've managed to record and break down their routine.

In the Nacirema tribe, they wage war by playing a game with orbs, players, and a huge divider separating 2 teams.

There is always a judge overlooking the players because there are strict rules on how to fight based on the game. There are also two judges positioned on the rim of the war ground. Their goal is to gain intel on the war and report it to the judge.

Oftentimes each member of the army has a certain role to help defeat the opponents.

Their competitors have to carefully observe them and run around the battleground to impact the orb. The orb under no circumstance should meet the floor.

Their mentors are always watching them ready to exchange the army members for each other depending on their ability to support the group.

If they shale loss they will be kicked out of the sires and be forced to return empty handed to their tribe’s people.

After my nearly four years spent exploring this bizarre ritual the Nacirema do, it has compelled me to ask myself so many questions. In my opinion the one that stands out the most has got to be how they manage to survive after all these years.

~ Abigail C.

Magical Contraptions

The Nacirema people believe in the weirdest rituals. One being that the Naciremabelieve that health, well being, and lower stress come from wind, SCREAMING voices, Blasting music, and heavy lung expansion

The Nacirema ways are a beautiful culture and I was lucky enough to study them in person. The Nacirema begin this ritual by locking their feet into these metal and plastic objects to a big wheel with bars to support them. They then use their fingers to touch the mystic mirror and choose an extreme exercise to pursue. After they do that their ears expand and loud sounds and music begin playing in their ears. I was lucky enough to interview one of the Nacirema people and they said this was a way to disconnect from their long days. The Nacirema begins to sweat and make loud grunting noises. Another response they said was that they love doing this because it helps them get “great exertion for the day.” Around 30 minutes later they are finished and they have made themselves calm and relaxed.

The Nacirema’s believe that health, well being, and lower stress come from wind, screaming, voices, blasting music, and heavy lung expansion. This is just one of the many rituals that the Naciremabelieve in. That gets me wondering how the Nacirema have managed so long with this ritual.

So long!

~ Jett A.

Child Rituals

The Nacirema tribe, who live north west of Algeria. They believe that kids need to be taught and watched at all times. So they like to train their younglings in many ways, I was able to see their most rigorous.

The Nacirema start this by getting up early and setting out to the community tempel. When they arrive there they go to their first lesson. These lessons are led by priests and priestesses, as they believe that these sessions are so important that some people are not even allowed to go to the bathroom. Several times a year these children do evaluations where the priest and priestess check it to see their worthiness. Children's parents can trade with the temple to give their children food to survive the day. Though despite the valuables that are traded the food that is given is very low quality, oftentimes being slimy and burnt. Many of the children and people of the Nacirema think that without this practice they would be dumb and not be able to funtion in their society.

In conclusion, I have discovered that the Nacirema like to train their kids in many ways. I wonder how they have survived this long without a mutiny from their children.

~ Pixley F.

Dangerous But Sweet

The Nacirema have many different rituals, and one of those involves many dangerous tools. The Nacirema are very enthused about this activity, and make many new creations for the Nacirema to consume.

While I was studying the Nacirema lifestyle, I learned that this magical thing helps feed those in the Nacirema. To feed those in the Nacirema, they use sharp metal tools to torture liquids and powders so the final product can be consumed by the Nacirema.The powders and liquids somehow turn into an edible dish after they are tortured.

When I was asking the Nacirema why they like this activity, since it can be very dangerous. One of the replies I got was, “I think it is a fun thing to have my time on”, this shows how fun the Nacirema think this activity is. Although, even though it is fun, if they consume too much of the dishes, the Nacirema will have to be tortured by the Holy-Mouth Man. I have seen and been at the Holy Mouth Mans office,and it is not a pleasant place to be. But yet the Nacirema still use this activity to keep them occupied throughout their life, even though it comes at a cause. This activity is very well known to the Nacirema people, and they share their knowledge of the activity to their young.

The Nacirema love doing many different rituals, and this is only one of them that they all know and love. Even though it can be dangerous, the Nacirema see it as fun, and they use their creative minds to come up with different treats to give to the rest of the Nacirema.

~ Bianca C.

The White Hairy Jumper

The Nacirema are very public about their love for getting their kids to start eating the insides of child cages, getting gifts every year from a white hairy jumper, and using smelly color pastels on child cages.

The Nacirema do this ritual every April of each year. They love it, and they call it easter. A white hairy jumper jumps over fences to deliver child cages with edibles inside of it for the children, and then parents sit there and watch. If they don't, they will get the White Hairy Jumper upset and make their children mad too. The nacirema love to get on “Magic Metal Light ''s and make interdimensional voicings to the white hairy jumper, and give it to their children. The fun out of eating the inside of child cages isn't enough for the nacirema, they keep them for days, and give it to their kids. They sometimes summon a dark cocoa hairy jumper, talk to it, then eat it.

The nacirema love the joy of “retsae” and are very open about their love for eating child cages, and talking to dark coca hairy jumpers. But they have many other ritual days that can be discovered.

~ Gavin D.

Metal Symbol of Reward

The Nacirema are a tribe that lives north of the Tarahumara people of Mexico, and have many interesting beliefs and rituals. One of their beliefs is that they use the base or heel of their hand to hit a spherical orb over a bundle of fibers in a lengthy shape tied down to the ground.

The Nacirema do this ritual because they believe that doing this “sport” as they call it, will give them the metal symbol of reward. During this activity, they make grunting noises when hitting or passing the spherical orb. When they hit the orb with their hand, it goes over the fibers and hits the ground. They have a rectangular shaped place to stand on and there are six positions on each side of the fiber. Each time the orb hits the floor on the other side of the fibers, the other side gets the orb and rotates so that the people in the front, now there are some in the back and some in the front. The person in the back right corner hits the ball with so much force that from the back of the rectangle, the ball goes over the fibers and in the middle of the second square, within the rectangle. They say that you cannotCross a certain line, and if the orb goes out of the line, then the other team gets the point.

In conclusion, the Nacirema do this activity to get a reward. The Nacierma seem to love their medal rewards, some are bigger than others. What I have learned by watching the Nacirema do this activity, is that they have many of these “sports” in their tribes. Many love the sport, but some don’t. If I were to ask one of the Nacirema a question on their activity, I would ask them what place on the square do you like to play the most?

~ Madison B.

A Cure for Boredom?

Nacirema people who got bored, wanted to have a source of entertainment for all and entertainment that is viable for the human body. So, they created a game using spheres and wood and a big field.

Sphere observer walks to the diamond and gets behind it, and the batter walks to the side in a ready stance with the wooden bat. Sphere thrower walks up to the mound, and all outfielders and base players go to their positions. The pitcher looks at the catcher, and the catcher gives him hand signals for the type of pitch. Once they agree to a pitch, the pitcher lifts his right/left leg up, winds up his arm, and flings the ball from his arm at the fastest speed he could throw.

The ball zooms right into the pitcher’s mitt, and the batter swings and misses the ball for a strike. The pitcher does this multiple times until the batter gets a hit or a home run, or the pitcher gets him out by striking him out, or having the outfielders or base players get the ball and tag the base the batter is going to. They play it because it is fun, and you can learn things from it. They worry that if they stopped, they wouldn’t feel the same and they would be bad at it. This game is llabesab.

The Nacirema believed that people got bored, so to cure this, they created a game involving bats, spheres, and a big field. They would have 2 teams of people, and would have an entertaining game against each other that is capable of doing it for the human body, if the game is practiced enough. I wonder how the Nacirema have done this for so long, but my guess would be that they created the game a very long time ago, and it still goes on today.

~ Max C.

Brave Men's Lives on the Line

Have you ever of the Nacirema tribe off of mexico who like to hurl a ball and hope not to get pancaked?

The llabtoof tribe is a group of people with a strange belief. That if they watch into the magic black box of mestorys.if they did this they would be entertained by brave men putting their lives on the line performing the act of llabtoof. They all go on a line they taws it back the throwing man. which then throws the ball down the plain of grass towards a player hoping not to be bet up on to his back.if he does not then he runs with the ball until he does get tackled. If you make it to a certain point on the plain of grass you get 6 points after which you can kick the ball between two posts to get 1 point.

I wonder how The llabtoof tribe survived off of this richusal so long this act would have a bunch of people die with the act but they have a special coat they wear. Maybe that's how this tribe survived so long. What do you think?

~ David A.

Worshipping Mirrors

The people of Nacirema who live south of Canada,have a belief they must pay tribute to the mirror squares.

What would happen if these mirrors somehow disappeared, forever, what would the cities and towns look like? What if the mirrors never existed?

It seems like the citizens stare into a glowing mirror and it looks like people are putting in words in these bubbles, and someone apparently is also putting words into these bubbles.

I have also seen the mirrors have these weird numbers that go more and up and up and up.

From what I have observed, people need them to talk into something you put yourself .It looks like people use them for entertainment. If people didn’t have these mirrors, how would they use a mouth near the mirror with their family members? What if someone had kidnapped a citizen, how would they get a hold of any family members

It could be very crucial for people to not carry these exotic mirrors. It could put these people in life or death situations.

I think these mirrors are more important than what I orginaility thought.

It turns out, the people that use these mirrors really need them, they're dependent on them.

When I first saw these mirrors I thought that the citizens were being brainwashed by these mirrors. Now that I think about it people can’t live without these devices.

~ Armaan B.

The Mixture of Potions

I recently went on a trip to visit the nacirema and I wanted to tell you about some rituals they perform.The Nacirema think that people like to have a sweet treat once in a while. And people love making these things out of potions and decorating then eating them.

The Nacirema start this ritual by getting their magical potions book and they pick out a recipe. Next they get all their ingredients for the potions and they make sure they are very precise and follow the directions exactly the same from the book. If they don’t follow the same thing it will not work. Next they plug in the mixer which mixes all of the ingredients together. Next they put all of the ingredients in an oval pan and before they do they put a magical spray or a different ingredient to put on the oval pan so it doesn't get stuck. Next they get their oval pan with the magical potions in it and put it in this heat box that cooks potions together. Lastly they let it sit in the heating box for a little and when they take it out, then something crazy happens and when it comes out it is expanded in size on the top and it smells amazing.

Nobody wonders about this magical thing but people love to give it to their relatives or a gift to forgive or thank and even sometimes they just eat it because it is yummy and it makes you happy. If people stop doing this they can start to be sad and people won’t get any gifts and people will think that they didn’t have enough to make them something good.

In conclusion the Nacirema believe in mixing all these positions is a sign of respect to others that you give to. They think it is a fun thing to do and a nice thing to give to people in return. I wonder how they started and how they have been doing it for so long.

~ Ella B.

Staring at a Block

The Nacirema are a group of people East of Japan who have many weird and interesting rituals. One of these rituals is watching other people dance and talk through their mysterious blocks. I observed the Nacirema while performing these rituals. They are able to see many other people and what they are doing. Often these people are doing weird dances and rituals with odd music in the background. I asked Nacierma why they do these things and some of them said they like to “interact with the world without going outside.” Some others said they do this because they're bored and this is something that entertains them. I also asked the Naicerma what they fear might happen if they stop performing this ritual. Some said they were worried of “losing contact with the world and being forgotten.” Others said that this was a good way to see what their friends and fellow Nacierma were doing. In conclusion the Nacirema are a strange group of people based on these rituals. It makes me wonder how they’ve been able to maintain this ritual for so long.

~ Zach A.

Riding the Snow

The Nacirema are a group of people South of Canada, who love to engage in strange, various different rituals for fun. One of those rituals is a dangerous thrill, where you go down a hill at high speeds for exercise and fun. This group of Nacirema believes it is so fun to take something that seems dangerous and crazy, and turn it into an experience that is special to them.

One very weird part about this strange ritual is when you strap big long planks to your feet as you hold two long sticks, and zip down a large hill covered in snow. Another crazy thing about this hobby, is you can only do it at a certain time of year, when the snow falls from the sky. And that's not all! These people create massive buildings with exotic food items and big fire boxes to warm them up and take a break after a long day of performing this ritual.

A pattern the Nacirema seem to repeat while performing this ritual is going up the hill in big chairs suspended in the air, being pulled on big ropes. Then after being pulled up the hill, they are dropped off at the top, and they take groomed paths through the trees and hills, as they ride these strange planks strapped to their feet. Then after the long path, they end up being back at the bottom of the hill again!

When I talked to the Nacirema they were all claiming that they like to do this activity because it's very fun. One of them said, “[I do this] Because it's very fun and it's a great exercise!” Another of them even said “[I do this] Because it's fun!!” Some more of the Nacirema said that it is a good exercise and it helps them get in shape. “I would miss this ritual if I didn't do it because I wouldn't be as healthy because I wouldn't get in shape for the activity.”

I think that the things that multiple Nacirema told me, prove that the Nacirema love to take something that may have a risk, and seem dangerous and turn it into something fun. And even better, this activity is something that everyone can go and enjoy to stay in shape, or just for something to do in the cold, snowy time of year!

~ Julie B.

A Sudden Supernatural Shift

One thing the Nacirema made clear to me throughout my time with them was that most had outgrown a belief in the supernatural. They insisted that rituals involving gods had been replaced with supposedly rational thought. Yet one very strange and surprising ritual proved that this is false.

I first witnessed it as I was participating in an intense interview of about ten Nacirema under the shade of a native tree. As one high-ranking leader in the community was offering a complex explanation of their evening rituals, suddenly another member of the group began gasping for air — slowly at first, then frantically, culminating in a burst of energy emanating from his nose and mouth that I can describe only as a cosmic explosion of saliva, mucus, and carbon. Instantaneously, the leader halted her sentence midway through, and she and everyone else turned to face the poor soul, whose head had turned bright red. This, however, was not the strangest part: Immediately everyone in attendance began chanting a single prayer, in unison, begging their god to keep their comrade alive and bestow him with blessings, lest he should perish from the Earth. Just as I was about to ask what had happened, however, they all turned back to the leader, who resumed her explanation of the evening ritual as if nothing of interest had just occurred. The moment for me to inquire had passed as quickly as it had begun.

One thing is for certain, though: The Nacirema believe in an all-powerful deity with the authority to grant life and take it away as punishment for polluting their precious air with more carbon than humans typically emit. Perhaps the Nacirema have yet to abandon their old ways — or perhaps they understand how serious the problem of global climate change is and are desperate to save themselves through prayer. I cannot imagine what they must go through, living in constant fear that one day, if caught spewing carbon without another human there to bless them, their god will simply let them die, right there under the shade of that native tree.

~ Mr. Fishback

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