How much is that Rac on the roadside?

Napoleon Chagnon lived with and studied the Yąnomamö Indians who live in southern Venezuela and part of Brazil for nineteen months. The Yąnomamö people were described by Chagnon as “the fierce people.” Chagnon was astounded by the importance of aggression in the Yąnomamö culture. As soon as Chagnon started his work in the field, he experienced major “culture shock.” He arrived in a small, aluminum rowboat with a large motor. This part of the journey was two and a half days.

 

Chagnon was surprised when they finally arrived in the village. A dozen naked, dirty men greeted them while looking down the shafts of their drawn arrows. There were wads of green tobacco between their lower teeth and lips. Dripping from their noses were strands of dark-green slime. This is a side effect of a hallucinogenic drug the men blow up their noses; the green powder saturates the mucus in their noses. Chagnon was also greeted by an overpowering stench of decaying vegetation. After some time, Chagnon became accustomed to the Yąnomamö ways. He eventually discovered that maintaining personal hygiene was too much of a hassle.

 

Everything was different than America. It took Chagnon much longer to fix meals. By the time he would be done making breakfast, it was almost lunch time. To prepare oatmeal, Chagnon had to take two trips to the river and then haul the water back to his hut. He then had to juggle getting the stove started up and mixing powdered milk to put in coffee. Most of the time, the alcohol would burn off before he could get the kerosene flowing, causing him to have to start all over. Once he got everything set up and running, he had to boil the oatmeal and then once it was finished, pick out all of the bugs that had gotten in. Another change was laundry. Chagnon limited his clothing changes to once a week to try and solve the laundry issue. The Yąnomamö people obviously don’t value personal hygiene as much as Americans do.

 

Another value of the Yąnomamö people is sharing ones food. When you share your food with another, you are displaying friendship to them. They did not understand that Chagnon did not bring enough food to share with all of them. They also didn’t understand the concept of privacy; a major American value. The Yąnomamö would enter his hut and steal from him. They would pester him with demands such as “If you don’t take me with you on your next trip to Widokaiya-terik I’ll chop a hole in your canoe!” To counteract this, Chagnon realized he had to start acting like the Yąnomamö: sly, aggressive, and intimidating.

 

In class we read an article about the “Nacirema” culture and the Asu culture. The Nacirema culture is obsessed with their teeth. They have a whole ritual surrounding their mouths. They take a stick with hog hairs on the end and put it in their mouth with magical powders on the bristles. They then move the bundle around in a series of gestures. The Nacirema men scrape their faces with a sharp tool everyday; and the women cook their heads in small ovens for an hour four times during each lunar month. The Asu culture has a sacred Rac. To have more than one Rac means that you are in good social standing. The Rac requires a lot of up keep. Their path must be relatively straight. Houses are demolished to ensure this.

Okay, show of hands, who thought that these were actual cultures? It’s ok if you did. Now watch me as I shoot your thoughts down. These cultures, my friends, are an analogy for America. That’s right, you heard me; America. A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N backwards is N-A-C-I-R-E-M-A. A-S-U is U-S-A backwards. The “crazy antics” of these cultures are code for what we do. We spend thousands of dollars on braces and retainers and various other remedies to out oral issues. We hunt the perfect toothbrush down at the local Jewel Osco. Girls spend hours a week blow-drying and straightening their hair. Rac? Try CAR.

Americans spend thousands and thousands of dollars on their cars. Their cars are their “babies.”

 

Recently, I have realized just how much I value my car. It’s my transportation everywhere. I depend on it every single day to get me to school and back. I am super protective of it, partly because if the airbag gets deployed the car will be considered totaled due to the 273,000+ miles on it. Recently I had my car parked on the side of the road at my friend’s house. A snow plow had to pass by my car and the cars of my friends. Without really thinking I exclaimed, “Please don’t hit my car!” My friends then said, “Our cars are out there too you know.” I was only thinking of my car; my baby; my ride home at the end of the night.