The Body Ritual of the Nacirema It is human nature to describe one's own culture as the most advanced and most intellectual. Unfortunately, it is also common practice to look down upon the practices of another culture because they are not similar to one's own traditions. The ability to do this can sometimes be a damaging characteristic for society as a whole. Horace Miner realized the implications of egocentric views and wrote a groundbreaking essay to open society's eyes to their biases
Body Ritual Among the Nacirema What is the precise geographical location of this strange tribe, the Nacirema? The Nacirema is 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. Little is known of their origin, though tradition states that they came from the east. What are the private and secret shrines of the Nacirema? In the Nacirema, the belief is that the human body is ugly and
Horace Miner’s Body Ritual Among the Nacirema In Horace Miner’s article, “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema”, he talks about a tribe and describes their odd behavior. He tells about how the tribe performs these strange daily rituals and how their peculiarity is extreme, but in fact he is actually speaking of Americans as a whole (Miner). Miner uses this style of writing to more effectively prove his point: that Americans are ethnocentric. Miner does an exceptional job in disguising the Nacirema
The article, “Body Ritual among the Nacircema” by a Horace Minor, brings the unusual beliefs and practices of these people to light. Minor begins by introducing the North American group and how little is understood about their beliefs. These people lived in a thriving market economy; despite being dedicated laborers, much of their day is set aside for ritual activity that focuses upon the appearance and health of the body. The Nacirema partake in ritual activities in hopes that it will over power
The article, Body Ritual among the Nacirema, spoke of the many ritualistic activities a native people known as the Nacirema undergo on a daily basis. As described by Horace Miner, the Nacirema’s daily life involved rituals that focused on the appearance and health of the human body. According to Miner, the Nacirema people believe that the human body is ugly therefore; they try to diverge from this fate by engaging in different rituals and ceremonies. For example, the Nacirema have special shrines
“Body Ritual among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner was a very interesting read. It took me a while to actually, fully understand the meaning of the article. The first time that I read through the article I was dumbfounded on how strange the rituals described in the article were. I genuinely thought that the author was describing a very primitive culture found in a remote area of the Americas and did not have the slightest clue that the author was talking about the American culture found in the United
his essay titled "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema," Horace Miner introduces us to a mysterious tribe of people and their strange daily rituals. According to the author, the Nacirema tribe members subject themselves to various daily tortures and ritualistic behaviors in hopes of achieving the ‘perfect' body. The article mentions several comparisons of the Nacirema tribe habits to the actions of today's society. One of the easily recognizable elements is the extreme mouth rituals referring to today's
In Horace Miner’s “Body ritual among the Nacirema.” Miner writes about the strange customs and rituals practiced amongst the Nacirema tribe. These rituals revolve mostly around the human body which is seen as “ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease” (Miner, 1). In order to treat their natural afflictions, the natives put themselves through a daily series of seemingly sadistic and brutal rituals that include visiting a holy-mouth man who ”opens the client's mouth and enlarges
Truth Exposed in Body Rituals among the Nacirema “Body Rituals among the Nacirema” is a document written by Mr. Horace Miner. Miner was a graduate of the University of Chicago, with a degree in anthropology. Throughout his life, Miner was dedicated to his studies ranging in anthropology to sociology. He was very interested in the study of anthropology, but Miner disagreed with the way that other cultures were represented. He thought American anthropologists believed that the American culture
Reaction Essay: “Body Ritual Among The Nacirmea” The reaction essay is based upon Horace Miner’s article “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema,” published in Wiley-Blackwell’s, in conjunction with the American Anthropological Association, journal American Anthropologist. The essay will consist of two sections: an article summary and a reaction discussion. Article Summary Horace Miner wrote the article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”, in which he described and detailed the various body rituals practiced among
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
reading Horace Miner’s Body Ritual Among the Nacirema I cannot say that I would want to be part of the tribe. A huge reason would be that I could never go from my own Christian faith to the religious practices of the Nacirema. My second reason for not wanting to be part of the tribe is that I could never be subjected to the horrific medical practices and “magical potions” used on every citizen in the tribe. One of the fundamental beliefs of the Nacirema is that “the human body is ugly and that its
certain meaning that pertains to a story. “In the Body Rituals of the Nacirema”, “The ones who walk away from Omelas”, And “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut” , you come to recognize
Motherhood and the Politics of Native Americans Community, rituals, magical beliefs and practices are very important things to Native American people. Native American people live by these rituals and beliefs, they live around their community; their community isn’t just that, but their family as well. Parents don’t just raise their children but the whole community has a hand in raising all of the children. Family is a very important part of Native American people’s lives, they keep traditions
An Interesting Connection Many times people can be put into a situation that would make them feel uncomfortable. It may be even worse when a situation like that is the way and style that you live. In the two stories A Body Ritual Among the Nacirema, by by Horace M. Miner, and Reclaiming Culture and the Land: Motherhood and the Politics of Sustaining Community by Winona LaDuke, this situation is just that. In both of the stories, the main character or characters are living in a situation where
In Body Rituals of the Nacirema, Horace Miner demonstrates through his study of the North American tribe Nacirema that “attitudes about the body” have a significant influence of human behavior within the people and can give a glimpse into some of the most extreme behaviours humans can reach. He argues that the beliefs and practices of the Nacirema, which have a sort of magical connotation, are so bizarre that members assume an extreme in human behavior is very easily within their community. The Nacirema
in control of the factors that affect him directly. In the contrary, Ixtepejanos interpret their world with harmful and lethal immaterial forces. In the article “Body Ritual Among the Nacerima” by Horace Miner wee see the framework for social construction of the Nacerima culture. The Nacerima fundamental belief is to avert their bodies debilitating characteristics with powerful
When a person visits a foreign country it may be difficult for them to understand the other countries culture. To better understand this Miner wrote a paper about a foreign country in his perspective. Miner wrote a paper about the Nacirema titled “Body Rituals of The Nacirema”. The work was a little vague but true, shows the American way of life, and has many hidden meanings. Miner describes the Nacirema with vague but true detail about what he saw happening. “In this light, the magical beliefs and
these natives? In the two articles, “Body Rituals of Nacirema” by Miner Horace and “Geographical Basis of World History” by Hegel
He was actually portraying and explaining the rituals of the American people and how we are so consumed with self-image. Our cultural worldview influence and inform our perception of people from other cultures by the way our own culture has taught us to behave. For example, we are so consumed with