Body Ritual Among The Nacirema Summary
Body Ritual among the Nacirema
Kim Wilson
Ivy Tech Community College
This article written by, Horace Miner, was my first read in where I was shocked to discover such barbaric rituals from other areas of life. I took the time to re-read this article several times. I have learned of many different cultures in where people do things that seem out of the ordinary; however the beliefs and practices of the Nacirema people just seem outlandish.
According to, Professor Linton, who brought the ritual of the Nacirema to the attention of anthropologists twenty years ago, claims the culture of these people are very poorly understood (Miner, n.d.). Miner proceeds to give many representations in which the Naciremas people have beliefs and rituals …show more content…
When this word is looked at several times its apparent it is simply American spelt backwards. After realizing the true meaning of the name; I reread the article with keeping the American culture in mind. When Minor describes the Nacirema mythology, he notes that the nation was originated by a culture hero, named Notgnihsaw. He proceeds to tell us how this man was responsible 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 (Miner, n.d.). Clearly, we are discussing George Washington. I feel as if Miner is leading his audience to believe that the Nacirema hold Notgnihaw as a hero for simply being an honest person. All Americans are taught from early on that George Washington is indeed a hero; not just because he was an honest person but because he was one of our Forefathers, as well as our first …show more content…
The Nacirema people believe that their bodies are ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease (Miner, n.d.). They use a “box or chest” which is built into the wall and filled with magical potions which are given by specialized practitioners. My first outlook on this is definitely viewing Americans and how we indeed are concerned with our bodies. Miner describes a “bathroom” as a shrine in which other cultures would view it as a place to worship ourselves. We have doctors whom issue a variety of medicines that are supposedly healing us of age, weight, depression and or other diseases. Cultural relativism is completely evident here within this article. To use the “shrine” as an example; other cultures do not look at medicine in a way which American culture does. We have doctors whom use scientific methods and use synthetic medications in order to heal. Amish culture believes everything should be on natural healing. Native Americans have a medicine man which believed in a combination of herbs and rituals that would heal the sick. It’s quite apparent that Miner is using his writing to show that cultures from all over could definitely look at the American culture and view us as barbaric for several things; such as the use of our medicines and
Kim Wilson
Ivy Tech Community College
This article written by, Horace Miner, was my first read in where I was shocked to discover such barbaric rituals from other areas of life. I took the time to re-read this article several times. I have learned of many different cultures in where people do things that seem out of the ordinary; however the beliefs and practices of the Nacirema people just seem outlandish.
According to, Professor Linton, who brought the ritual of the Nacirema to the attention of anthropologists twenty years ago, claims the culture of these people are very poorly understood (Miner, n.d.). Miner proceeds to give many representations in which the Naciremas people have beliefs and rituals …show more content…
When this word is looked at several times its apparent it is simply American spelt backwards. After realizing the true meaning of the name; I reread the article with keeping the American culture in mind. When Minor describes the Nacirema mythology, he notes that the nation was originated by a culture hero, named Notgnihsaw. He proceeds to tell us how this man was responsible 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 (Miner, n.d.). Clearly, we are discussing George Washington. I feel as if Miner is leading his audience to believe that the Nacirema hold Notgnihaw as a hero for simply being an honest person. All Americans are taught from early on that George Washington is indeed a hero; not just because he was an honest person but because he was one of our Forefathers, as well as our first …show more content…
The Nacirema people believe that their bodies are ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease (Miner, n.d.). They use a “box or chest” which is built into the wall and filled with magical potions which are given by specialized practitioners. My first outlook on this is definitely viewing Americans and how we indeed are concerned with our bodies. Miner describes a “bathroom” as a shrine in which other cultures would view it as a place to worship ourselves. We have doctors whom issue a variety of medicines that are supposedly healing us of age, weight, depression and or other diseases. Cultural relativism is completely evident here within this article. To use the “shrine” as an example; other cultures do not look at medicine in a way which American culture does. We have doctors whom use scientific methods and use synthetic medications in order to heal. Amish culture believes everything should be on natural healing. Native Americans have a medicine man which believed in a combination of herbs and rituals that would heal the sick. It’s quite apparent that Miner is using his writing to show that cultures from all over could definitely look at the American culture and view us as barbaric for several things; such as the use of our medicines and