A couple of weeks ago in my regular Saturday high school "writing seminar" course, I intreoduced the students to Horace Miner's classic socio-anthropoligcal essay, "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema." Holding back giggles and beaming broadly at another grand success of the celebrated literary ruse, I watched the students' faces shift gradually from boredom to intrigue to questioning to disgust -- ultimately, to some confused interest in this strange people they'd never heard of before. One by one, we examined each ritual and figuredout what it might be. Of course, it never occurred to them to look at the name of the culture in reverse until I suggested it specifically.
And then, this class -- this class that for whatever reason cannot find it in themselves to relax and be expressive -- was awash in awareness and good humor, chattering and chuckling and realizing how strange anything can look from a different perspective.
And, naturally, their assignment for that week was to construct an observation of a culture they were themselves intimately familiar with -- ideally in the style of Miner's piece -- the Esenapaj, and/or any of its sub-groups.
By and large, they did not disappoint.
What follows is a collection of excerpts from ten particularly well-written essays, compiled into an ordered cultural examination. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I did this
Culture Report on the Esenapaj
Esenapaj culture is
known as polite all over the world. When they sit down on the floor, they sit
with their legs bent. When they meet their acquaintances, they will always bend
their bodies forward by 45 degrees without fail.
At one time, they
were called “do-naga tansoku,” which
means “people who have a long torso and short legs.” Nowadays, Esenapaj bodies
have developed further, so their torsos have become shorter and their legs
longer.
Interestingly, Esenapaj women tend to shave
their body hair, as do some men. They think it looks good.
Most Esenapaj
people are shy, quiet and rarely speak their minds. For them, it is important
to purge their bodies in their daily lives. They have a small pool and shower
room, which is a strange and holy place in their homes. How can they purge
themselves in this place?
In
general, at first, they rub their bodies with a rough cloth, put on a sacred
liquid and soak their hair with a magical soap while outside of the small pool.
Next, they soak in the hot water. Sometimes they mix a medicinal powder which
has various colors, such as green, red, pink, yellow and blue.
Esenapaj
tradition says that if they neglect this sacred ritual for even a day, they
will be encompassed by bad things. Therefore, they cannot neglect this action
out of fear.
The Esenapaj rite
of passage is severe. Espanaj people have to clear hard trials before they can
become adults.
Most Esenapaj
children will be packed into a square room and instilled with wisdom. At that
time, everyone must wear the same clothes. They look like caged prisoners. They
may not make any complaints. But they will acquire various types of knowledge
and common sense.
Of all of these
severe trials, the most difficult is the “egelloc
noitanimaxe.” This trial attaches great importance to a piece of paper
called the “troper loohcs,” which
mentions each person’s individual performance, including grades, manners and
achievements up to now. Their lives are decided by the contents of this paper,
so it is very important.
People then crowd
into a room and have to solve difficult questions. If they can endure the
ordeal and produce a good result, they can escape hell. They will be given
freedom while also growing their brains and spirit.
When Esenapaj become
adults, the lessons learned from this hardship will become useful. This rite of
passage is called “noitacude,” and
the Esenapaj continue it to this day.
The Esenapaj have
interesting literature, and their short songs are famous. Esenapaj can express
their feelings by singing short songs. These songs can also be slogans for
things such as human rights and traffic safety. Ancient Esenapaj used to send
such songs to people in order to express how much they loved them.
The Esenapaj love
rituals. This is one such ritual that is loved by certain people.
Every spring, the
people start preparing for this ritual very carefully. First, they build
stairs. Next, a really tiny and blunt couple climbs to the top and sits down.
Many other people follow them and settle too. All of them wear luxurious and
colorful clothes, and some people have musical instruments. However, they’ve
never played it somehow.
The Esenapaj people
gaze along with their children and sing their song. They also eat light and
colorful marbles.
After the day is
over, these tiny people hastily go back home and never appear until the day
comes again the next year. If they don’t hurry, Esenapaj children seem to get
behind with their marriage.
Esenapaj have a
special celebration on November 15. This is the day little girls and boys of
ages seven, five and three dress up in kimono or suits and walk around an area.
The celebration reminds everyone how fast babies turn into boys and girls, and
this festival marks the day they enter real life.
On
this day, people go to shrines to see the children make their traditional
visits to gain good fortune in their lives. It is a cheery day for everyone.
There is a
prefecture in Napaj called Atio. People in this area eat mysterious food.
First, they soak chicken in eggs and wheat. Second, they throw it in a pond of
oil. It seems to be delicious. They also eat thin dumplings as a sweet. It is
covered in a magic powder.
The Dance
The Esenapaj are
famous for long life expectancy. We can think of many reasons, such as their
diet, their daily life, or the climate of their land. I think another good
reason is The Dance.
The
party of this dance is held every Sunday morning on TV or on almost vacant land
that will become an empire of little adults. The adults bring a machine which
can control sounds, put it down and turn it on. Then, the machine plays the
song of the dance, and people begin dancing. The length of this song is about
two or three minutes. When the song finishes, the dance party also finishes.
In summer, which is
the golden age of the little adults’ empire, the people of this country have a
duty to attend this party every morning. So all Esenapaj people know this
dance.
The Thing Which
Esenapaj Love
Do
you know anything about him? He has
existed regularly to the Esenapaj for a long time and he is loved by everyone.
But he seldom appears in front of the people. He appears only for a short time
in a special season. In modern times, the news foretells of his coming. The
Esenapaj people who like him very much wait in expectation and respect the
season when he comes to them.
His
personality is calm and self-possessed, but he is gorgeous, and he fascinates
the people surrounding him. People gather to him and hold a banquet, sing songs
and make merry from morning to night. Indeed, the Esenapaj value the
irreplaceable time they can spend with him. He blooms in full petals every
spring, and falls away soon. Esenapaj people still love the pink which gives
them the impression of a lifetime in an instant bloom.
Many Boxes For
Esenapaj
Most
Esenapaj visit a big box a least once a year. When they get there, they go
through a wooden gate, then go up and swing a rope in a box. They throw metals
or papers in another small box and bow, hoping for want they want to be.
Beans
are the most popular food eaten by Esenapaj people. They eat them every day.
They normally make brown soup with them. They also make a white block with
beans and put it into the brown soup. Beans are thought to be a useful food in
Esenapaj culture.
Some
people make big boxes with round pieces of rubber. They make circular plastic
things and flat things out of fabric, and sheath all of these parts inside the
big boxes. The round pieces of rubber are connected to the outside of these
boxes. People normally get in the box and go everywhere.
Many
Esenapaj people like to create reflections of themselves on paper. In order to
do that, they use a square apparatus to find the person that wants to be
reflected. They want others to look well upon them, so they normally hold up
their forefinger and middle finger and make a crescent on their mouth.
It
seems like Esenapaj like boxes. They need a lot of boxes to live their lives. It seems strange, but it is true that the Esenapaj still exist today.
