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Discovering Koobecaf : Kate Whelchel
In 1956 Horace Minor uncovered the culture of the Nacirema. In his report Minor described the strange herbs, odd shrine room rituals, and hailed witch doctors that the Nacirema could not live without. When his report was published people thought that some of the methods used by the Nacirema seemed strange, although their methods are closer to our modern American culture then one may realize. Since Minors discovery of the Nacirema, the culture has been studied closely by anthropologists who have uncovered a new aspect to the culture – Koobecaf. Koobecaf was created by the great priest Grebrekcuz, who started it as something to do between learning rituals at Dravrah. Almost by accident Koobecaf gained many followers and now is a much practiced ritual within the culture. Koobecaf has gained so much popularity that it has now molded into the culture and changed some of the traditional methods used by the Nacirema such as, creating a new medium to communicate through, redefining what they consider a dneirf, and challenging their value of privacy.
The first aspect Koobecaf is changing within the Nacirema culture is the new medium it has created for people to communicate through. Nacirema depend on the modern technology that allows them to be in constant communication with each other. They have various ways of getting a hold of each other including Liam-e, Llec Senohp, and Gnitxet. With the introduction of Koobecaf it is now possible for them to “Koobecaf” each other. For example: If they want to send a little blurb to their friend they can simply make a post on their Llaw, or send them an Egassem using Koobecaf, which has become a verb known as “Koobecafing.” Using this venue of technology is viewed as more personal than Liam-e, but less personal than Gnitxet. Being able to Koobecaf someone lets Naciremans share little things that are going on in their life that they normally would not have time to talk amongst themselves about. Koobecaf has allowed people feel closer to each other across long distances, and be less personal about it. They can now Koobecaf someone and let them read it on their own time, rather than Gnitxet them and taking time out of their day.
Another way Koobecaf has altered the Naciremas culture is by adding a new aspect to the word dneirf. Before Koobecaf a dneirf to the Naciremas was someone they held in high personal regard, or had affectionate feelings towards. With the entrance of Koobecaf a dneirf could be a learning ritual mate they threw sacred stones at when they were young, the boy or girl they danced with at a festival two moons ago, or the visiting anthropologist in their village. While they may have enjoyed the company of all these people, they had little time to know them enough to hold them in high personal regard. Koobecaf has made it so that these acquaintances can now be defined as dneirfs, allowing the Nacirema to widen their social networks. They can now reach out to “dneirfs” they know, or just met, and stay in touch with them even if they live many villages away. Lastly, Koobecaf has altered the Nacirema culture by challenging their view on privacy.
The Nacirema are a very social and outspoken culture, but they also like to have a certain level of privacy. On Koobecaf they are allowed to put out as much information about themselves as they want. They can write out their favorite Eivoms, Koobs, Etouqs, their learning ritual schedule, if they are courting, and how many moons they have seen. They can learn more about someone by seeking them out on Koobecaf then they can by courtship. Koobecaf also allows the Nacirema to upload an unlimited number of Otohps. They are allowed to create Mublas showing everyone what they did last weekend, their new beta fish Wally, or injuries sustained while playing the Wii. While Koobecaf allows them to display so much information, it also allows them the opportunity to create themselves. They can only put up what they want other Naciremas to see. They can also make things up about themselves that may not exactly be true. Privacy is a primary value for the Nacirema, but Koobecaf has created a contradiction to that by allowing them to put so much of their private lives into this sacred ritual.
While Koobecaf has changed some of the traditional methods used by the Nacirema such as, creating a new medium to communicate through, redefining what they consider a dneirf, and challenging their value of privacy it has overall been a good addition to their culture. As they evolve over many moons, it will be interesting to see where Koobecaf and the entire realm of technology will take them.
The first aspect Koobecaf is changing within the Nacirema culture is the new medium it has created for people to communicate through. Nacirema depend on the modern technology that allows them to be in constant communication with each other. They have various ways of getting a hold of each other including Liam-e, Llec Senohp, and Gnitxet. With the introduction of Koobecaf it is now possible for them to “Koobecaf” each other. For example: If they want to send a little blurb to their friend they can simply make a post on their Llaw, or send them an Egassem using Koobecaf, which has become a verb known as “Koobecafing.” Using this venue of technology is viewed as more personal than Liam-e, but less personal than Gnitxet. Being able to Koobecaf someone lets Naciremans share little things that are going on in their life that they normally would not have time to talk amongst themselves about. Koobecaf has allowed people feel closer to each other across long distances, and be less personal about it. They can now Koobecaf someone and let them read it on their own time, rather than Gnitxet them and taking time out of their day.
Another way Koobecaf has altered the Naciremas culture is by adding a new aspect to the word dneirf. Before Koobecaf a dneirf to the Naciremas was someone they held in high personal regard, or had affectionate feelings towards. With the entrance of Koobecaf a dneirf could be a learning ritual mate they threw sacred stones at when they were young, the boy or girl they danced with at a festival two moons ago, or the visiting anthropologist in their village. While they may have enjoyed the company of all these people, they had little time to know them enough to hold them in high personal regard. Koobecaf has made it so that these acquaintances can now be defined as dneirfs, allowing the Nacirema to widen their social networks. They can now reach out to “dneirfs” they know, or just met, and stay in touch with them even if they live many villages away. Lastly, Koobecaf has altered the Nacirema culture by challenging their view on privacy.
The Nacirema are a very social and outspoken culture, but they also like to have a certain level of privacy. On Koobecaf they are allowed to put out as much information about themselves as they want. They can write out their favorite Eivoms, Koobs, Etouqs, their learning ritual schedule, if they are courting, and how many moons they have seen. They can learn more about someone by seeking them out on Koobecaf then they can by courtship. Koobecaf also allows the Nacirema to upload an unlimited number of Otohps. They are allowed to create Mublas showing everyone what they did last weekend, their new beta fish Wally, or injuries sustained while playing the Wii. While Koobecaf allows them to display so much information, it also allows them the opportunity to create themselves. They can only put up what they want other Naciremas to see. They can also make things up about themselves that may not exactly be true. Privacy is a primary value for the Nacirema, but Koobecaf has created a contradiction to that by allowing them to put so much of their private lives into this sacred ritual.
While Koobecaf has changed some of the traditional methods used by the Nacirema such as, creating a new medium to communicate through, redefining what they consider a dneirf, and challenging their value of privacy it has overall been a good addition to their culture. As they evolve over many moons, it will be interesting to see where Koobecaf and the entire realm of technology will take them.
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Latest page update: made by leschia
, Sep 28 2008, 11:19 PM EDT
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Moved from: Koobecaf Ethnography Instructions
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