...Body Ritual among the Nacirema by Horace Miner emphasizes on the role of culture and how it affects our idea of stereotypes and prejudices. Miner attempts to make familiar things seem strange and he does so successfully. He describes the peculiar rituals performed by a very dubious category of people called Nacirema. The “magical”beliefs and practices of the Nacirema comes off as bizarre and ancient and the primary belief of the Nacirema culture is that “the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease” (P1) and thus the reason for the rituals; to enhance and improve the conditions of the body. Miner explains that within the homes of the Nacirema are shrines devoted to sacred rituals and ceremonies. The Naciremas...
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...Summary In the article, Body Ritual among the Nacirema, written by Horace Miner, talks a lot about a North American group called the Nacirema which was first brought up by Professor Linton twenty years ago. He talks about the Nacirema having a daily ritual activity that focuses on the human body. To the Nacirema, they believe that, “the human body is ugly”, and they use what they call a shrine to help avert these characteristics. In these shrines are kept many charms and magical potions that are used daily for when the ritual activity takes place. There are practitioners called the ‘medicine men’ who write down ingredients for the magical potions and then given to the herbalists who then provide the potion for the Nacirema to use and store in their shrine for safe...
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...The article Body Ritual Among the Nacirema by Horace Miner describes the rituals and society of the Nacirema, a North American group. The Nacirema group are described by Professor Linton as orthodox followers of their rituals and very superficial in their view of the human body. The article starts by illustrating to us how the houses of the Nacirema have a shrine dedicated for performing the rituals, with the powerful people having multiple shrines. The shrines contain various charms and magical potions; the items are important to the Nacirema as the article describes them as “without which no native believes he could live.” (Miner, 1956, Pg. 20) Furthermore, a ritual described as “involves scraping and lacerating the surface of the face” (Miner, 1956, Pg. 21) is performed by mostly men of the society. In addition, the article describes that people cleanse themselves with holy water from the “Water Temple.” (Miner, 1956, Pg. 20) The article continues by describing the roles of the “holy-mouth-men” (Miner, 1956, Pg. 20) who are responsible for rituals concerning the mouth and the...
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...Nacirema Rituals and its influences on society In the article Body Ritual among the Nacirema, by Horace Miner, the author vividly describes the elements and rituals incorporated into the Nacirema society. The rituals practiced by the Nacirema have an unique underlying fundamental belief as does all rituals in other cultures. The Nacirema believed the human body to be flawed, ugly, and has a “natural tendency to disease.” Therefore, daily rituals including the rite of ablution were conducted in order to purify the body using holy water (washing of hands). The holy water was kept in the community “Water Temple” for the public to use. In addition, every household has a “shrine” which includes a chest as the focal point (bathroom cabinet)....
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...Trevor Gilliam Dr. Jim Merryman ANT 101 Nacirema Essay 7 June 2012 The origin of the Nacirema is unknown but the tradition states that the culture migrated from the east but not all from the same location and not all at the same time. The geography of the land of the Nacirema is very mixed. There are large areas of cold, snowy terrain as well as locations that seem to get rain daily. A desert inhabits part of the territory and a large river serves as a geographical landmark. Strangely, the people of Nacirema have not settled all of their territories equally and instead choose to live very close together in organized villages called Seitic. The Nacirema culture is characterized by a highly developed economy that has produced extreme wealth. The Nacirema are weirdly possessed with a demon that drives them to spend most of their time and efforts to collect certain material goods. Even though most of the people's time is dedicated to the economic hunts, a large part of the labors and a significant portion of the day are spent in ceremonial activity. The main focus of this activity is the human body, the appearance and health of which appears as a major concern in the character of the people. By worshipping their deities, many of the Nacirema confront and may even cause large social problems throughout the civilization. Nacirema culture is unique in that it has many different forms of worship and though these forms are all accepted by most, the moral problems...
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...The article “Body Rituals of the Nacirema” by Horace Miner was interesting and different, because there’s a question before the first paragraph in the article asking if they were more like us. By “us” I would assume he is talking about the American people and if you could find similarities in our culture and practices with theres’. I am also raised in a Filipino household, which will probably make me interpret a few things differently, but it won’t greatly affect how I answer the question. The Nacirema are a North American group living between Canada and Mexico, and that they came from the east. Miner further writes about the Nacirema “mythology” stating that their nation was founded by a culture hero named Notgnihsaw. After reading that statement, I noticed how...
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...Body Ritual Among the Nacirema The observation of the Nacirema society as presented by Horace Miner was enlightening in its reflection of our own societal norms. At first I did feel a sense of culture shock upon reading the essay. After further contemplation, I felt that the cultural relationships and practices were not all that different from my own. I found it very interesting that the social and economic structure of the Nacirema society is the same as that in which we live in. As with our culture, goods and services are the pinnacle of the economy and each person has their place or purpose within the society. The cultural universals of the Nacirema seem to parallel those of our own culture. The shrine that is the location for private rituals to take place is what our society considers the bathroom. The socialization of the Nacirema children to these rituals can be equated to potty training and personal hygiene in our culture. The daily body rituals that the Nacirema men perform may be viewed as a masochistic but in our society that is the same as shaving. It is not uncommon for a culture to view the natural body as ugly and seek to modify it to be esthetically pleasing. Even though the language used to describe the body rituals preformed in these shrines may sound unusual or even barbaric, the rituals described are the same as in our culture. The obsession with the mouth and visits to the “holy-mouth-men” are folkways that our culture participates in as well. We may...
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...Miner constructed an article named “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”. The intention of this article was to examine the ideals and way of life in the culture of the “Nacirema”. Miner tells of this culture which readers imagine to be extremely out there and different. This culture’s way of life is deemed as extreme paranoia and the extreme measures this culture takes when it comes to health, beauty, and death. However, readers are thrown in for a twist when they eventually realize that Miner is mocking their own culture, and that all of these strange practices and ideals are part of their very own everyday life. Because of the way Miner constructs this article he allows for readers to experience ethnocentrism and sociological imagination by tricking readers into thinking they are reading about another culture. Readers are able to detach themselves from their very own culture and view it from the outside looking in. Next they are able to examine their judgments and how quickly they may jump to conclusions when indulging into another type of culture, but then are able to examine their own when they begin reading it as unbiased and then become biased on the matter. It allows room for examination from the outside, and most importantly, examination of one’s own self. “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner is an ironic and sardonic article that takes its readers for a journey. First, Miner mocks the tribe “Nacirema” making readers feel the urge to judge along with him. Next...
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... Ritual Among The Nacirema Running head: THE NACIREMA Body Ritual Among The Nacirema Body Ritual Among The Nacirema Running head: THE NACIREMA BODY RITUAL AMONG THE NACIREMA The Body Ritual Among the Nacirema was written by Horace Miner in which he describes the culture of a tribe a people that would make most Americans think that the Nacirema people are barbaric and mysterious when in fact we are more common than one may think. The Nacirema people are much like modern society Americans but uphold ancient traditions and language. Myself being of Native American culture I could relate with some of the descriptions given in the article written by Mr. Miner. Most people have the misconception that Native Americans believe in magical...
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...Horace Miner from the University Of Michigan wrote of the Body Rituals among the Nacirema, in which he described the customs of the Nacirema people. The culture of the Nacirema people has been brought to the attention of anthropologist as their rituals and habits concerning the body are uniquely distinct. Their culture is depicted as strange and centered on the human body; appearance and health are prioritized, and modification is widely used. The Nacirema people have a peculiar habits in which their appearance is altered. One of which involves “scraping and lacerating the surface of the face with a sharp instrument”. This ritual consist of an uncanny description of a practice that Americans preform on the daily. Shaving is an act that everyone...
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...Sonny Not So Different At All In Nacirema, stuffing a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth along with specific powders of magic is done to prevent from: losing teeth, any bleeding of the gums, shrinking of the jaws, losing friends and lovers. Traditions that are practiced within certain communities are everyday normal daily activities but to those outside of the community within, see them to be strange or abnormal, but in reality, they actually share a lot in common with each other. People of Kroy Wen have their own traditions and ways of life that they are accustomed to just like the people of Nacirema. Horace Miner with the influence of Professor Linton explores into the world of the very secretive Nacirema people. They are seen living in between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui, Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles and are believed to be originally from the East. The Nacirema people are known to possess great self-discipline and it is without a doubt that they all share the same patriotism towards their community in keeping their world private to any strangers that may come wandering around their homes. In American tradition, one would be sitting back with their mouths wide open alongside a metallic tray holding shiny sterilized instruments waiting for the dentist to fix his/her toothache. In Nacirema, the patient would instead move a bundle of hog hairs in combination with certain magical powders in their mouth...
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...HRM582 The Body Ritual Among the Nacirema The Body Ritual Among the Nacirema As an individual coming to investigate American civilization through the observation of cultural activities, I find the ritual of medicine men and women (doctors, psychiatrists and pharmacists) very interesting. “Medicine man" or "medicine woman" are English terms used to describe traditional healers and spiritual leaders among Native American and other indigenous or aboriginal peoples (Unknown 2012 ¶2). Native Americans held the “medicine people” in very high regard. It was believed that the knowledge they possessed was privileged and linage was restricted to remain in particular families. The power bestowed upon and held by the “medicine people” made them mystical. They were viewed as having supernatural powers allowing them the ability to cure disease and control the spirits. This led to the term of “witch doctors”. Witch doctors were used to describe African traditional healers, as in Nacirema. The “witch doctors” were known for their connection to the spiritual world. Through their intimate relationship with the spirits they were often called on to heal disease or the psyche. They were believed to have the ability to bridge the natural world and spiritual world and provide inner harmony. These practices opened the door for herbalists, acupuncturist, and other alternative approaches to healing...
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...1. What is Miner’s purpose (argument) in writing about the behaviors of the Nacirema? The Body Ritual among the Nacirema serves as an illustration of how American culture could be perceived by those who are entirely ignorant to our way of living as strange and ritualistic. The work is written specifically from the viewpoint of an anthropologist who is oblivious to the “rituals” in our society, however familiar with many others. Miner’s substantiates how foreign our lives could be to others by offering numerous and vivid descriptions of routine Nacirema activities. While describing these actions, the tone of the anthropologist is nearly condescending, perpetuating the idea that said activities are extreme and very alien to the speaker. The activities described include brushing teeth, going to see a doctor, and taking medicine among other examples. Miner contends that “The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease.” (Miner 503) Which is an accurate deduction despite its cynicism. Miner compares the use of a bathroom to a shrine that’s purpose is to aid in remedying this belief. The shrine contains all things necessary for masking our supposedly faulted bodies. These things are all referred to by words to help dissolve the familiarity of the objects themselves, such as calling medicine “potions.” The wealthy are also referenced in the account. Miner says that those can afford...
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...In Horace Miner's Body Ritual Among the Nacirema, he characterized them as a culture based people who very much believe in strange rituals with reference to the vanity of the human physical structure. Doing these practices, in their beliefs, can cure their bodies' problems, debilities, diseases, and other ugly characteristics. Each Nacirema family shares a "shrine" as part of their practice to keep their bodies in good condition. A built-in chest or box is also located inside it where charms are placed for safekeeping and to reuse when needed. Rites of ablution are done everyday that requires bowing before the charm box and using the holy water. It also includes a private mouth rite, described as "revolting", that involves putting hog hairs into their mouths....
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...about a North American group that practiced body rituals the modern-day person would view as strange and different, as their religion is based on magic and organized by witch doctors in a hierarchal caste system. Although “Nacirema” is “American” spelled backwards and could theoretically refer to the Nacirema as a backward people, Miner does not explain how and where the name originated. In his thesis he refers to the Nacirema people “as an example of the extremes to which human behaviour can go” (1956: 503). This example is laid out in the article by describing the practices of “holy-mouth-men,” the “latipso,” and the “listener.” As it is for many, it’s all about beauty and health, and this is definitely the focal point for the Nacirema in all of their rituals and ceremonies. Personally, I believe their thoughts on beauty and health consumes them, considering that the Nacirema have proven to go to great extents and is seen as barbaric, “[t]he fundamental belief […] that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease” (1956: 503). They would practice rituals and ceremonies that are believed to work because of magic and faith in the practice and of the medicine men, shown in the examples below. An offshoot of their obsession with beauty and health is their preoccupation with their own mouths! They have medicine men they call “holy-mouth-men” (1956: 504). Compared to our modern culture, you can say they are the dentists for the Nacirema. They would...
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