Body ritual among the nacirema. The Nacirema Culture: Attitude to the Body: Free Essay Example, 551 words 2022-12-18
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Body ritual among the Nacirema is a cultural anthropology article written by Horace Miner in 1956. The Nacirema are a North American group characterized by their highly ritualized approach to personal hygiene and health. The rituals performed by the Nacirema are both strange and extreme, and their beliefs about the human body and its functions are markedly different from those of other cultures.
One of the most striking aspects of Nacirema culture is their focus on the human body. The Nacirema have a number of rituals and practices related to the care and adornment of the body, and they place a great deal of importance on physical appearance. For example, the Nacirema believe that the head is the most important part of the body, and they perform a number of rituals to cleanse and beautify the head. These rituals include the use of a variety of oils and creams, as well as the application of a range of potions and ointments.
Another notable aspect of Nacirema culture is their emphasis on dental hygiene. The Nacirema perform a number of rituals related to the care of their teeth, including the use of a variety of dental implements and the performance of elaborate oral hygiene rituals. The Nacirema also place great importance on the appearance of their teeth, and they will often go to great lengths to ensure that their teeth are white and straight.
The Nacirema also have a number of beliefs and practices related to the treatment of illness and disease. They believe that the human body is prone to a range of ailments and afflictions, and they have developed a number of rituals and practices designed to prevent or cure these conditions. These rituals include the use of a variety of herbs and potions, as well as the performance of elaborate cleansing and purification rituals.
Overall, the body ritual among the Nacirema is a fascinating aspect of their culture. It is characterized by a number of strange and extreme practices, and it reflects the Nacirema's unique beliefs about the human body and its functions. Despite the strangeness of these rituals, they are an important part of Nacirema culture, and they play a central role in the lives of the people who practice them.
Analysis Of Horace Miner's “Body Ritual Among The Nacirema”
I was able, however, to establish sufficient rapport with the natives to examine these shrines and to have the rituals described to me. They are dedicated to preserving the traditional ways of life and traditions of their people. Anthropologically Speaking The essay is also a statement on anthropological study. As I read about the Nacirema I was shocked by their body rituals until I realized they are rituals I have been taught and practice daily. But without its power and guidance early man could not have mastered his practical difficulties as he has done, nor could man have advanced to the higher stages of civilization.
While the natives are very vague on this point, we can only assume that the idea in retaining all the old magical materials is that their presence in the charm-box, before which the body rituals are conducted, will in some way protect the worshiper. Although the mocking of American body culture is not the main point of the essay, the fact that Miner presents his case as an outsider adds to the situational irony of the text: in reality he is one of the Nacirema. Men scrape their face with a sharp object daily, and women bake their heads in small ovens four times a month. I chose to focus on the "mouth rite. Some rituals Miner described as illogical because there was a low rate of success in what they are trying to achieve. They are a North American group living in the territory between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles.
It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist so long under the burdens which they have imposed upon themselves. What Do Nacirema Believe About Their Bodies? But even such exotic customs as these take on real meaning when they are viewed with the insight provided by Malinowski when he wrote 1948:70 : Looking from far and above, from our high places of safety in the developed civilization, it is easy to see all the crudity and irrelevance of magic. The idea of culture to me is a system of shared beliefs, rituals, concepts, and values that allow a community to peacefully interact and communicate that can reflect and transmit to follow generations to continue. Only those who can afford the latipso may visit: even the sickest "supplicant" is denied entry if they cannot provide sufficient gifts upon entering and leaving. The patient simply tells the "listener" all his troubles and fears, beginning with the earliest difficulties he can remember.
Body Ritual among the Nacirema Analysis Essay Example
Through the reading, many questions arose. Revised 11 September 2022. The magical packets are so numerous that people forget what their purposes were and fear to use them again. The article infers that cultural relativism is the best way to examine another culture. Bathing and excretory acts are performed only in the secrecy of the household shrine, where they are ritualized as part of the body-rites. It is difficult to say definitively whether the nacirema are pathological or not. The sections from di Leonardo emphasize this aspect.
The people spend much of their time in economic pursuits. The journal advances the Association's mission through publishing articles that add to, integrate, synthesize, and interpret anthropological knowledge; commentaries and essays on issues of importance to the discipline; and reviews of books, films, sound recordings, and exhibits. Poorer families imitate the rich by applying pottery plaques to their shrine walls. Even after one has gained admission and survived the ceremonies, the guardians will not permit the neophyte to leave until he makes still another gift. People of the Northern Mariana Islands are devoted to maintaining their health and youth. Every household has one or more shrines devoted to this purpose. Both the holy mouth men and the shrines are excellent examples of how perspective can shape your ideas about culture.
Nacirema culture values hard work and achievement, and people are often very competitive in their pursuit of success. The Temple Medicine men have a temple called a latipso, where elaborate ceremonies are performed on very sick members of the tribe. Beneath the charm-box is a small font. Each day every member of the family, in succession, enters the shrine room, bows his head before the charm-box, mingles different sorts of holy water in the font, and proceeds with a brief rite of ablution. According to Nacirema mythology, their nation was originated by a culture hero, Notgnihsaw, who is otherwise known for two great feats of strength—the throwing of a piece of wampum across the river Pa-To-Mac and the chopping down of a cherry tree in which the Spirit of Truth resided. One interesting aspect of Miner's satire is the focus on wealth and social status. 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.
Summary Of Body Ritual Among The Nacirema Free Essay Example
Special women's rites are performed only four times during each lunar month, but what they lack in frequency is made up in barbarity. Those raised in this manner are led to believe that they can and should be whatever they want to be. No matter how ill the supplicant or how grave the emergency, the guardians of many temples will not admit a client if he cannot give a rich gift to the custodian. Hopefully when the Nacirema are better studied, the personality of holy-mouth-men will be analyzed. By viewing culture through the knowledge of specific cultural values and beliefs, the reader will be able to fully understand the tribe. The more powerful individuals in the society have several shrines in their houses and, in fact, the opulence of a house is often referred to in terms of the number of such ritual centers it possesses.
Intercourse is taboo as a topic and scheduled as an act. . Watching them work, their eyes seem to gleam as they torture their clients. Professor Linton first brought the ritual of the Nacirema to the attention of anthropologists twenty years ago, but the culture of this people is still very poorly understood. Psychological shock results from the fact that body secrecy is suddenly lost upon entry into the latipso. If you do use it, please consider the critiques.
The Nacirema Culture: Attitude to the Body: Free Essay Example, 551 words
Get your paper price 124 experts online In the paper Miner attempts to make us unwittingly use our cultural prejudices against our own societal mores. Martin Lipset Characteristics 1271 Words 6 Pages The national characteristic of the political and social structure of America is what makes it unique from other nations of the world. By far, participant-observation is the most common method employed by cultural anthropologists. These preparations are secured from a variety of specialized practitioners. But without its power and guidance early man could not have mastered his practical difficulties as he has done, nor could man have advanced to the higher stages of civilization. If there age no naturally occurring holes in the teeth, large sections of one or more teeth are gouged out so that the supernatural substance can be applied. A man, whose own wife has never seen him in an excretory act, suddenly finds himself naked and assisted by a vestal maiden while he performs his natural functions into a sacred vessel.
One has but to watch the gleam in the eye of a holy- mouth-man, as he jabs an awl into an exposed nerve, to suspect that a certain amount of sadism is involved. In my opinion, these rituals are, to some extent, similar to our own daily practices and rituals. Female clients, on the other hand, find their naked bodies are subjected to the scrutiny, manipulation and prodding of the medicine men. They believe that looking good distracts them from their spiritual goals. The Nacirema: An Interesting And Unique Group Of People According to the Nacirema, the purpose of the body is to serve the mind, and that the mind should always be in control. The medicine men have an imposing temple, or latipso, in every community of any size. It is common for natives of the Necamera people to have oral histories that reveal their origins and customs.
