The Nacirema are a group of people who live in the territory north of the Tarahumara people of Mexico. One of their main beliefs is that if you don’t practice certain chants your body will decrease in size and you will lose all hope and love inside you.

Every night the Nacirema take a long run to the top of a mountain. At the very top there is a huge glass building. They call it the “ moon room “. We waited 13 days to get into the moon room. Every night each member of the family enters the moon room and gives very generous gifts to big burly men known as “ the keepers of the keys”. The Nacirema are even willing to give up their home to be able to practice these chants. I was able to witness this in action, the keepers were especially timid to let me in. They take these practices very seriously. When we finally got in I interviewed some of the Nacirema and they each said that if it wasn't for the moon room they would lose all hope, happiness, and love inside them. While they practice their chants candles flicker to make an eerie or light mood depending on which chants they are doing, which is another main part of this process. 

One of the most important parts of the moon room is the art they have displayed throughout the room. They love art and they say it helps them with their practices. There is a person chosen every night to stand on wooden planks in the middle of the moon room, they recite the chants while others follow. Some recite these chants in a secret language only others can understand. Color is everywhere. The Nacirema always wear bright colors whenever doing these chants. They say it helps them become more connected to the spirits and gives them more of an opportunity to express themselves. I interviewed some more Nacirema and they said they really value connection and bringing people together. They also said that these chants are an escape and it is a way for them to feel joy at any moment. 

Some of these chants, though, have become not appropriate for them to recite. Some of these chants have a very different meaning than what some people in the tribe think is okay which leads them into getting into fights and arguments. This is also a very risky event. After every night there are at least half the group that go to the moon room come back terribly ill.However, no matter how ill they are they still, every night , run up to the moon room. They believe that even when you are unwell you need to practice these chants. If you don't, it is a sign of weakness and disrespect to what they believe in. When this practice is done the Nacirema have a burning feeling which is another part of this process, they say that the angels are sending them more love and joy through their body.

After what I have observed about the Nacirema they truly seem to be a fascinating group of people who cannot seem to thrive without love, hope, and happiness. It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist for so long under the burdens they have imposed upon themselves.

~ Charlotte V.

The Nacirema believe that yelling into a metal pole will make people happy but in return to the person that yells at the sticks, they torture themselves by hitting themselves. They also cry occasionally because they hurt themselves because they hit themselves. They also make secret and goofy hand motions to show a sign of respect to the almighty person who yells at big long sticks.

The Nacirema are a very religious and mystical tribe that has ancient and magical beliefs. I spent 10 years researching them and observing their everyday activities and I picked one of my favorites.

The Nacirema believe that yelling into a metal pole will make people happy but in return, they torture themselves by hitting themselves. They also cry occasionally. They because they hurt themselves because they hit themselves. They also make secret and goofy hand motions to show a sign of respect to the almighty person who yells at big long sticks.

This man is so respected that he can’t even walk outside of his house without getting jumped by a group of people. And one day sadly the man who yells at big long sticks died. I witnessed it happen, his name was J-Rod, and in my time there I had grown to like the man who yells at big long sticks. I also noticed that all of the stadiums for this feat were huge and sometimes it was even a battle on who could yell at the big long stick better. Some of my favorite big long stick yellers were named Soft and Safe, Night, In My House, Hello, and my favorite is Fat Sunny. 

The Nacirema always love to listen to the man that yells at big long sticks. You haven’t lived until you have listened to Arepo it is insane.

~ Luke L.

The Nacirema are an ancient tribe that lives just north of the Nacixem tribe and are pretty powerful. I was able to interview some higher up officials from the Nacirema tribe about their ancient rituals dating back farther than you can remember. After I interviewed them I found that they believe that they have to be better than everyone else and that they don’t like to put a lot of effort into things.

When I went on my way to interview the Nacirema tribe I had no idea what to expect. I first interviewed a patriarch of a powerful family, and what I learned from my first interview was very interesting. They said that the main reason they performed this ancient ritual was because they like to be competitive with other people and also that they like to feel like they are better than everyone else. After the interview I stood back and watched them perform this ancient ritual. They put on some sort of thing over their head that made them able to communicate with other spirits in the Nacixem tribe. As the ancient ritual went on I noticed that they started to get mad and started making primal sounds and speaking in a language I couldn’t recognise, probably a language shared with the Nacixem tribe. At that point I backed out of there because I feared that they might take their anger out on me.

This time the second person I interviewed was the son of a lower class family to see if the ritual would be any different. They said something that was also very intriguing. They said that they do this ancient ritual because they don’t like to put a lot of effort into their lives and also that they like to be distracted.

I found this very intriguing because those two answers seem like they contradict each other. They want to be better than everyone else, but they don’t like to put a lot of effort into things. I think that maybe people want to feel like they are on top of the world so they perform this ancient ritual to make them feel distracted and think better of themselves.

Before I interviewed those two people of the Nacirema tribe I thought I would come out satisfied with what I would have learned, but in reality I came out confused. How have the Nacirema people survived this long? They want to be the best but they don’t want to work for it, I will never, and I mean never, know how the Nacirema have survived this long.

~ Scott N.