Body Ritual Among The Nacirema By Horace Miner Summary

Body Rituals Among The Nacirema is a satirical essay written by Horace Miner about an apparent north American tribe referred to as the Nacirema. Throughout his article, Miner discusses the unorthodox behavior and culture of the tribe. He describes the supposed shrines that the Nacirema use for bathing and excretion, chests in the wall that carry charms and magical potions, and odd rituals such as “inserting a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth…and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures” (Miner 1956, 504). Miner then refers to what must be the healthcare professionals of the tribe; “holy-mouth-men”, “medicine men” and “the listeners”, who are presumably the dentists, doctors and psychologists, respectively. At this point it is quickly clear that Miner is in fact describing Americans and their culture, another revelatory clue

If one were to look at the Nacirema’s cultural practices and behaviors without any insight or context on the specific beliefs of that culture, they may appear to be radical and incomprehensible, as was the case of the reader reading this article. Another point of the article brought up by Miner is the Nacirema’s propensity to engage in seemingly masochistic practices in order to enhance the superficial body. These practices however, are done in our society on a daily basis, and include sticking hog hairs into the mouth, or better referred to as brushing the teeth, and “lacerating the surface of the face with a sharp instrument” (Miner 1956, 505), or shaving. This goes to show that we often make wrong assumptions about a culture just because what the other does isn’t homogeneous. The main point of Miner’s article is to emphasize the issue regarding society’s superficial tendencies as well as their ethnocentric approach when talking about other