The Nacirema Tribe By Edgar A. Maceo September 2008 The article that I read is called “Body Ritual Among the Nacierma”. The Nacierma is a North American Group living in the territory between the Canadian Cree‚ the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico. My first thought was‚ wow‚ I never heard of this tribe before‚ and they are North American. As I continued to read this article‚ I became more fascinated by it and wondered‚ how come I’ve never heard of this tribe. They appear to be a lot like us or
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The research article about the Nacirema culture focused on a heavily religious society. In which the indualives shape their whole lives around it. Most people in the culture have at least one shrine dedicated to their physical health. It’s custom for all of the household members to pray to the shrine at least once a day. Praying is a secluded activity in the Nacirema culture and it is believed to reinforce the individual’s relationship with the divine. There is a major emphasis on the mouth and how
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The Nacirema people value developing a religious connection with their deities because every family possesses at least one shrine in their home. They garnish and decorate their shrines with charms and other accoutrements and commune with them on a daily basis. The Nacirema people also put a lot of faith in their Medicine Men and Listeners‚ as a means of communing with the Divine through their rituals as a means to heal the sickly. Maintaining good health is also a pinnacle to Nacirema society. The
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When I first read the title of this article‚ I realized Nacirema is American backwards. Horace Miner’s article Body Ritual among the Nacirema is about the way a group of North Americans and their culture. Nacirema’s people lived in the early 1900’s and these people were extremely obsessed with body rituals. During one of these rituals men used what’s described as a chisel to scrap faces. These rituals are usually done in what’s described as a shrine area where there’s potions and medicine to be
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Wrap-up Why did Horace Miner write the article on the “Nacirema”? (That is‚ what point was he trying to make?) What do the “lessons” of the Nacirema reveal about the conflicts described in The Spirit Catches You? What did you learn from the assignment? Horace Miner writes this article to captivate his audience. Miner takes a full on anthropological approach in an attempt to expose his own American culture to their egocentrism‚ vanity‚ and narcissistic views that are presented throughout his
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“Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” In Horace Miner’s essay on the tribe of Nacirema‚ it takes little effort to determine that Nacirema is a depiction of a typical American’s health habits. This essay is important for two reasons: It teaches principles about our own culture and it makes us assess the value/downfall of looking at other cultures with an etic approach. Without a doubt‚ this essay personalizes the study of cultures and its respective peoples. Regarding the view of North American
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Ethnocentrism is the act of viewing someone’s culture below yours or from the perspective of only your own views. When considering issues of immigration‚ it is looked at as a major problem. People who come to live permanently in a foreign country‚ also known as an immigrant‚ are sometimes treated with hatred and not given the basic respects that every human being deserves. Prejudices‚ discrimination and hate crimes are things that immigrants face every day‚ no matter what country they came from.
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Ethnocentrism refers to the idea that one believes that their ethnic group is superior to other groups. Cultural relativism is the belief that all cultures are worthy and of equal value. WIth this in mind‚ history plays a role in the development of medical
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The Nacirema are a society obsessed with the presservation and maintenance of their bodies. They have many body rituals‚ some thats are conducted in private‚ others that require the assistance of certain knowlegable medicine men. After reading about this tribe I was shocked at how much they focused on their appearance. "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" was actually written about Americans. Horace Miner chose not to directly reveal this‚ in order to demonstrate people’ ethnocentric tendencies. From
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Body Ritual among the Nacirema Name Course Sociology Date 6/12/2013 Body Ritual among the Nacirema Horace Miner in the article‚ Body Ritual Among the Nacirema depicts a society that is growing naturally‚ but which has transformed itself into a ritual tribe. In this article‚ the tribe‚ Nacirema‚ is a tribe that has transformed itself naturally and which has incorporated a lot of beliefs and religious tendency for
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