During my travels as an anthropologist, I had the liberty of visiting a particularly interesting community by the name of Irmisosu. I was assigned to a family in this community that went by the name of Lai. The main subject of my research was the oldest child in the family, a 12 year old girl named Isabel. Though they may not seem especially unusual so far, I observed many strange quirks throughout my visit. Children in Irmisosu are ritually initiated into a strange repository at a young age. I also studied some of the habits of the youngest child. He was often found staring directly into a strong light source, burning out his retinas. However, no parental action was taken.
In the morning the child would ceremoniously force herself to listen to shrill, high pitched tones. Then at the crack of dawn, would arise from the box that she slept on. Once off of her hard, angular box, she would proceed to yank a wooden club bristling with spikes through her hair and squeeze a thick, brown paste onto a plastic stick to put in her mouth. The people of Irmisosu believe that, without this paste along with long strands of string that often cause bleeding in the gums, their health will decay dramatically. Then she will proceed to bind every individual strand of hair into a formation involving using a piece of stretchy-string to secure the strands.
After this ritual, Isabel proceeds to walk, only to board a clunky, tawny colored metal box-on-wheels that takes her to the repository. At the repository, she walks around aimlessly for 30 minutes before a screeching alarm alerts them to each division, or work group. These work groups are commanded by a high master, a person whom demands the utmost respect and obedience from children. Between each work group, children must ferry around sacks that weigh 20+ pounds while navigating crowded passageways within a time limit of five minutes. In some of these work groups she does various things like jabbing with memorized strokes at a slab of plastic or staring at inkblots and telling the high masters what she thinks the inkblot means. Or reviewing and identifying various shapes. Or observing and identifying rocks.
Upon the completion of her seven hours of service to the repository for the day, she is shuttled to her dwelling in the tawny box-on-wheels where she is forced to work for 3 or 4 more hours, most of which involve using a device that worsens her vision by flashing sharp lights into her face, which in turn is magnified into higher proportions by the pieces of molded and heated sand she must wear over her eyes. Using this device usually involves mindless, repeated tapping on its surface to create and shape the inkblots the high master requests. It is unknown what exactly the high masters do with the toil of hours of labor that the children create, however Isabel did say that a number was assigned to the project and then returned to the child.
When the work is all finished, Isabel and the rest of the family participate in a ritual that is performed by most Irmisosuans. It involves stepping into a scalding-hot barrage of a very dangerous chemical that if inhaled, will cause imminent death. When in the small, claustrophobic chamber, one must now slather oneself with many thick chemical gels. Extra gel is typically provided for the scalp. Then the individual must painfully scrape the scalp in repeated motions. The ritual is completed when you attack your hair with a high powered jet-blast of oven-like temperatures.
To complete the day, Isabel would again apply the sticky paste to her teeth and gums, wash her mouth ceremoniously and climb back into her box, and get ready for another day at the repository.
In conclusion, the Irmisosuan culture is extremely interesting and should deserve further study in the field of cultural anthropology. From what I have observed so far, the Irmisosu people are very durable, especially the children who get sent to the harsh repository. Isabel even seems to enjoy her work at the repository. I personally would enjoy coming back to Irmisosu to conduct a more detailed study, especially on family dwellings and their inner workings.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
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