Summary Of Body Ritual Among The Nacirema

In the midst of all our accomplishments lies the wonder of culture and ritual. Societies around the world use these phenomena to express their beliefs and establish a profound way of life. More often than not, it is these practices that education individuals and groups the truth behind their society. However, a culture and its rituals differentiate from the rest of the world. Many groups fail to understand the way in which other cultures function based the biased opinion of their own. Horace Miner, mastermind of the work, Body Ritual Among the Nacirema illustrates this notion and reveals the truth behind understanding cultures beyond one’s own. Furthermore, Miner’s work explores deep into the twentieth century American culture and how it’s
Almost half-a-century later, anthropologists have traveled back to further unravel the mystery of the Nacirema. While some aspects of the culture remain unchanged, the Nacirema never ceases to amaze. Their critical obsession with the human body has severed in the recent years. It seems that the Nacirema have abused their liberties and riches in hopes to achieve a sense of immortality. They are now giving life to wired creatures to assist them in their personal endeavors. Commoners insist that these glaring rectangles are evolving society. With a variance in size and shape, this man-made kin has seemingly begun to control the minds of the natives. Families will spend countless hours staring into the eyes of these aliens completely dumbfounded. The new kin has mesmerized men forcing them to crash automobiles and endanger themselves. They are a destructive species; yet, ambition has blinded the Nacirema people. Their old rituals have been replaced by newer kinds which allow alteration of the body. It is a common practice for the natives to lay in beds of fire to darken their skin. At the head of the medical field lies the filling-men, certified practitioners who beatify their patients by enriching them with artificial materials. With such a high demand, the filling-men are paid handsomely to enhance
Although ugly and prone to disease, the human body is easily manipulated from the help of new entities. Alongside the Nacirema’s new rituals, they have also learned to coexist with a foreign species; which seem to be hindering the human population rather than helping. Public places have been replaced with these beaming lifeforms reducing the social interaction between Nacirema tribe. However, the natives are sightless to this dilemma as they only care to focus on one’s self. The culture of the Nacirema has become significantly materialized; the more the population evolves, the more Naciremans focus on indulgence. They have taken for granted all of their opportunities and freedoms. Living in such a way it seems that the Nacirema people are slowly declining. Intriguingly enough, this observation of the Nacirema provides merely as an outside perspective of the culture. Of course, all of the bizarre aspects observed outside the culture are homely within. To articulate, the Nacirema practices of laying in beds of fire or filling themselves with artificial material holds a completely different meaning. Personally I believe the observation of the Nacirema serves a significant purpose as it teaches societies to respect culture beyond their own. Thus, the world is full of culture, whether it is materialistic or philosophic, it has provided mankind the