Rituals Among the Nacirema‚ “ by Horace Miner‚ is an essay written about the Nacirema‚ or American people‚ from an outsider’s perspective. Miner gives an insight on the Nacireman people‚ which he describes in his essay as an unknown tribe‚ and the completing of the Nacireman’s magical beliefs and practices‚ which involve daily‚ involuntary body rituals that cause much pain and discomfort. Miner shows how an outsider’s perspective can affect the way a culture is seen. In his essay‚ Miner uses a tone
Premium Culture The Culture Ritual
In "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" Miner is ridiculing how much society cares about their appearance. He talks about the unnecessary rituals that we go through just to please society. An example the author uses is how people are never pleased with what they have. Everyone is trying to fit in with what society thinks is right. Since society has its own perception of what is beautiful women try and do whatever it takes to fit into that definition. This is why women get breast implants or breast
Premium Plastic surgery Medicine Breast
the Naciremas? Why or why not? After 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
Premium Suffering Religion Human body
Who are the Nacirema and how shall they be defined? The dictionary defines an Anthropologist as a person that studies human beings and their ancestors through time and space and in relation to physical character‚ environmental and social relations‚ and culture (Webster 2011). I am not claiming to be an Anthropologist however‚ from my viewpoint‚ I am not sure if I am capable of grasping my mind around the concept that “the body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease” explained
Premium Anthropology Sociology Culture
Body Rituals Among the Nacirema Assignment “Body Rituals Among the Nacirema”‚ by Horace Miner‚ is an essay written about the American people‚ from an outsider’s perspective‚ which he calls Nacirema‚ American spelled backwards. He disguises what he’s talking about by spelling many nouns backwards and giving things different names. Miner writes about American rituals in a foreign way that comes off as barbaric and heinous. He starts off talking about George Washington and how he founded America and
Premium Talk radio Ethnocentrism Relativism
primitive Nacirema‚ who carve out an existence somewhere between "the Canadian Cree‚ the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico‚ and the Carab and the Awawak of the Antilles" ("Body Ritual among the Nacirema‚ p. 1). Who could even think to compare Americans‚ in our advanced state‚ with such a remote and isolated group? However‚ upon closer reflection‚ however‚ it occurred‚ much to the present author’s surprise‚ that the Nacirema and Americans are in fact mirror images of one another. First‚ the Nacirema have
Premium Ritual Human body Shamanism
the Nacirema A well-known anthropologist Horace Miner has conducted a research on the community called the Nacirema‚ which was originated in North America. The main focus of the research was made on the body rituals of the Nacirema‚ which then becomes the title of his work. According to Horace (1956) fundamental belief of the Nacirema is that a human body is weak and imperfect‚ irresistant to many diseases. He believes that in order to maintain a true potential of a body‚ the Nacirema performs
Premium Anthropology Culture Ritual
Horace Miner writes about the Nacirema‚ a culture steeped in magic and superstition. Their ways of life are portrayed as uncivilized and barbaric. The Nacirema perform rituals and rites that are strange to us here in the civilized world. The description and portrayal of this tribe make it very hard for the reader to connect or even begin to understand such a strange people. Miner starts of the article creating an atmosphere of wonderment; “if all of the logically possible combinations of behavior
Premium Culture Cultural relativism Ritual
After realizing “Nacirema” is American spelled backwards‚ it becomes evident that Miner is criticizing American culture. He describes the “tribes” behavior with a focus on changing personal appearance and magic-based rituals. Everybody goes to the “Latipso” to see “medicine-men” when they are sick and often are given potions or end up dead. This is like a looking glass into American culture. In our culture‚ there is a huge focus on physical features‚ but we don’t pray to fix it. Instead we take vitamins
Premium
Body Rituals of the Nacirema Tribe By Sir Horatio Galbraith People in the Nacirema culture spend a considerable portion of their days in ritual activity. The focus of some of these activities is the human body‚ the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant concern in the minds of the tribe’s people. While such a concern is certainly not unusual‚ the way the tribe operates can be considered quite unique. The fundamental belief of the people appears to be that the human body is ugly and
Premium Ritual Human body Shamanism