...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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...Reflection on Nacirema "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" is a paper by Horace Miner that describes the Nacirema tribe’s culture in a unique way. A substantial part of the tribe’s lives are spent on unusual rituals and customs to improve conditions of the body that are filled with magical components. As I first read this article I was taken back. The article intrigued me. I had to think really long and hard about what was being done in their culture. While I was thinking about how I perceived this article I started thinking that everything may not be as far out there as I originally thought. So I read the article again with more of an open mind. Even though this article may seem to be odd there are points that I myself see very similar to the way our society does things. Starting with a brief history of how the nation became the way it is, with Notgnishaw cutting down the cherry tree. Even today young children know this idea of cutting down the tree may seem familiar, and it should because George Washington cut the tree down. Miner talks about the need for our bodies to be "perfect" in order to attract friends and mates. He says that the Nacirema "perform a mouth-rite" every day because the mouth is the source of all things good and evil (kissing, talking, eating, decay) this is true everything that we do involves our mouths. He then goes on to talk about our need to stay young. I believe that our society worries too much about how old they look. Our society is always...
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...the World Elements of Culture Culture and the Dominant Ideology Case Study: Culture at Wal-Mart Cultural Variation Social Policy and Culture: Bilingualism Boxes Sociology in the Global Community: Life in the Global Village Sociology in the Global Community: Cultural Survival in Brazil Sociology on Campus: A Culture of Cheating? “Nacirema culture is characterized by a highly developed market economy which has evolved in a rich natural habitat. While much of the people's time is devoted to economic pursuits, a large part of the fruits of these labors and a considerable portion of the day are spent in ritual activity. The focus of this activity is the human body, the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant concern in the ethos of the people. While such a concern is certainly not unusual, its ceremonial aspects and associated philosophy are unique. 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. Incarcerated in such a body, man's only hope is to avert these characteristics through the use of the powerful influences of ritual and ceremony. Every household has one or more shrines devoted to this purpose. The more powerful individuals in the society have several shrines in their...
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