...Body Ritual among the Nacirema It is a fact that whenever you visit a different culture and try to observe it from an individual's perspective, your first impression of a society is going to be based on what you have heard about it or what you think about it. Each one of us learns certain prejudices, assumptions and stereotypes that alter our perception of others. It is not realistic for somebody who has no interaction with a society to fully understand how and why things are working in that society unless this observer keeps his/her personal perspective away and practice the self-awareness. If I am visiting a so called Nacirema society, my perspective of viewing at their culture would be totally different than how I would see this culture as soon as I would realize that it is actually world famous American culture. There are a few rituals that I would like to observe from that individual’s view who have never been to Nacirema society before this. The “use of expensive magical charms and potions” and “spending quality time in shrine” would make me think of this society as a magic ridden people who are shallow and superficial with their appearance. They would make their body go through extreme pain by following some rituals, such as, going to” holy-mouth man to get the painful procedure done”, “putting hog hair in the mouth” and ”women boiling their heads in ovens.”(Miner) Being an outsider in this culture, I might quickly attribute these strange rites as supernatural...
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...Body Ritual Among the Nacirema In 1956, Horace Miner published "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" and with it arose many questions. Some of those questions included, "Who are the Nacirema?", "Why have we never heard of them before?", and "Why do the Nacirema live the way they do?" From these inquiries, readers could then deduce their own thoughts about the passage and the Nacirema as a whole. The aforementioned questions served as a foundation of internal (sometimes external) discussion on the main focus of the passage; How does this article make me feel about the Nacirema? For some readers, myself included, it made me feel as though the Nacirema's antics were a bit bizarre/extreme. The idea that the citizens of the Nacirema keep shrines that...
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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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...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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...In Horace Miner's Body Ritual Among the Nacirema, he characterized them as a culture based people who very much believe in 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 is also located inside it where potions or charms are placed for safekeeping and to reuse when needed. Rites of ablution are done everyday that requires bowing before the charm box and the use of holy water. It also includes a private mouth rite, described as "revolting", that involves putting hog hairs...
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...[SS310 | Exploring the 1960s: An Interdisciplinary Approach] Body Ritual among the Nacirema Body Ritual among the Nacirema by Horace Mitchell Miner Published in American Anthropologist, vol 58, June 1956. pp. 503-507. Most cultures exhibit a particular configuration or style. A single value or pattern of perceiving the world often leaves its stamp on several institutions in the society. Examples are "machismo" in Spanish-influenced cultures, "face" in Japanese culture, and "pollution by females" in some highland New Guinea cultures. Here Horace Miner demonstrates that "attitudes about the body" have a pervasive influence on many institutions in Nacirema society. The anthropologist has become so familiar with the diversity of ways in which different people behave in similar situations that he is not apt to be surprised by even the most exotic customs. In fact, if all of the logically possible combinations of behavior have not been found somewhere in the world, he is apt to suspect that they must be present in some yet undescribed tribe. The point has, in fact, been expressed with respect to clan organization by Murdock[1] . In this light, the magical beliefs and practices of the Nacirema present such unusual aspects that it seems desirable to describe them as an example of the extremes to which human behavior can go. Professor Linton[2] first brought the ritual of the Nacirema to the attention of anthropologists twenty years ago, but the culture of this people is still...
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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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...In “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” Horace Miner explores the superficiality and vanity of humans in the extreme and unusual rituals of the Nacirema people. The Nacirema have a fascination that borderlines obsession with the human body, dedicating shrines and ceremonial activities towards it. They believe that their own bodies are naturally ugly as well as prone to disease, so it is extremely necessary to perform various rituals in order to prevent these characteristics. For example, their shrines consist of a chest filled to the brim with a wide array of charms and potions whose purposes’ are forgotten and feared, yet are kept because the Nacirema believe the potions will protect them. Moreover, they have blind faith for medicine men and practitioners that assist...
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...Tierra Mosby Ivy Tech community College Professor Becker Interpersonal Communication Reflection Writing Assignment 1 February 6, 2015 Imagine living in a world where everyone was the same. A world where everyone stereotyped the next person because of their appearance or lack thereof. A world where everyone’s gender was the same, dressed the same way, or even practiced the same religious beliefs. I think most of us would agree that a world such as this would be a pretty boring place to existent in right. Since the beginning of time, gender has played a major determining factor in how someone acts and how they are viewed upon in our society. From a young age children are encouraged to embrace their natural gender roles. Boys are taught to play up their masculinity and ignore the more feminine traits and the girls vice versa. Although in today’s world stereotypes amongst the media has affected the view of gender roles. One of the ways that media and stereotypes have shaped the view of gender roles is by influencing individual’s outlook, attitudes and principles on life; for example, the beer and high heel shoe commercials from the clip. Commercials are the vast source of gender stereotyping, because they are adapted to a specific gender, either male or female characteristics. The purpose of the latest commercial is not only the satisfaction of needs, but also their design. Women are more often presented in commercials more than men because they are perceived as more liable...
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...America’s diversity and/ or ethnocentrism through the use of sociological imagination while exploring the body rituals and customs used by Nacirema (American) Tribes. Introduction Anthropologists strive every day to employ culturally relative methods to their research, and have made great strides in the understanding of foreign cultures and societies. We must also, however, notice that these ethnocentric interpretations are sometimes more accurate than we can imagine. Cultural relativism is crucial to our understanding of unknown people and cultures. Without it, we are subject to misinterpretation and incorrect assumptions, which is exactly what Miner was trying to tell us. Being able to subjectively take a step back from the safety and comfort of our own well placed and overtly understood glass houses, while acknowledging that to know another culture requires a full understanding of that cultures beliefs and motivations. Given our normal every day rituals, we interpret what we do or say as the truth, despite the fact the different people have different cultures binding and guiding them as their norms. Therefore, the diversity can be just as surprising for the outsider, as perhaps it is for us at times. The author (Minor, 1956) details his script while using qualitative research methodology of the Nacierma (American) people and their explicit body rituals and beliefs through humorous observations and cleverly defined language defaults. He thoughtfully defines...
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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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...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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...been diagnosed with diabetes, whether it be type 1 or type 2. Diabetes is a chronic (lifelong) disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. Between the years of 2002 and 2005, 15,600 children and adolescents were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes , and 3,600 children and adolescents were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Snack machines are filled with foods that are high in sugar and could be potentially fatal to a child or adolescent by causing a jump in their blood sugar. A jump in blood sugar can cause very serious injury and even worse, death. The smartest thing to do would be to remove snack machines from all schools to prevent this from happening. Between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese. Obesity is a body weight that is much greater than what is...
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...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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