Analysis Of The Nacirema Culture

While reading the Nacirema I could not help to think how different they were and question the different rituals and customs they practiced. After finding out the meaning behind the allegory I was shocked and surprised. I was surprised int the similarities that are visible after knowing that the parable of the Nacirema was actually about America. My brain started making connections to the American culture. One of the first connections that immediately made to the reading was the part where Miner talked about how the human body was viewed as disease and an ugly thing. How could someone view this of their own body? But that is exactly the way Americans consciously or not view our bodys. The way that we go to the doctor often and take vitamins or shots against viruses and disease. Often we are even required by schools that we have certain vaccinations. This could appear different to people who do not get vaccinated as often as Americans do. People grow up viewing everything they do on a daily basis as normal and what's correct. That when we see different from one's ordinary practices we are alarmed, but our own culture or even habits are also different from others.

In 1956 a professor from the University of Michigan, Horace Miner, wrote an article in The American Anthropologist that has become a mainstay of learning for anthropology students. Miner published the article to show a fictional exotic society called “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” as an example of how one’s own limited perspective might affect the perception of a foreign culture (Miner, 1956, p. 503). The article uses subtle humor to make the reader more comfortable in examining cultural behaviors, physical appearance, and health as the reader soon discovers that the actual society being examined is the American society. To the reader, the article begins to sound very familiar after each paragraph is

In my opinion, this article about the Nacirema people was very fascinating. These people have a very different culture than we do, which I find very intriguing. They believe that the human body is ugly, and describe it as weak and prone to disease. Due to many aspects of the nonmaterial culture in America, I was raised to believe that the human body is beautiful and can accomplish incredible things. Therefore, I find it hard to see the meaning of their rituals, however, I do respect our cultural differences. The Nacirema people also build shrines within their houses. These shrines contain chests full of previously used magical healing potions and charms. The Nacirema people perform personality ceremonies at the shrine daily in order to ensure

Horace Minor applied satire in his article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema.” to the culture of the American people. Several ways in which “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” relate to the core concepts of sociology are through the use of sociological imagination, ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. The American culture is described by Minor in a very unique and humorous way. The author uses satire to examine the rituals that are every day in American culture. The reader thinks at the beginning of the article that they are reading about some uncivilized tribe of people but soon realized that the “rituals” that are being performed are just everyday events that take place in every American household.

Horace Miner wrote the article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”, in which he described and detailed the various body rituals practiced among the Nacirema culture. Horace starts the article by explaining that anthropologists encounter all types of cultural and ritualistic extremities, but the Nacirema body rituals are among some of the most extreme observed. The

This is about a culture called Nacirema that is practiced in many different place and was brought to the attention of the Anthropologist attention by Professor Linton to talk about this culture that was poorly understood. The Nacirema is a type of culture that is summed up as that these people that believe in this culture that the human body is ugly and that the natural tendencies are meant to debilitate and cause disease. They are also big believes in rituals and ceremonies in the household to preform these ceremonies either as a family but in most cases it was privately. Where they would receive charms and other items form the medicine man of the community that would help with a certain problem. They would use these magic items to help with

The Nacirema believe that human body is ugly. They perform the ritual called mouth rite that need to use powerful influences and rituals objects in each household to get rid of evil. They insert a small bundle of hog hairs into the

Natawista, an Indian women, was the chief of the Blood tribe of the Blackfoot Confederacy. During her traveling to Fort Union, she met her future husband, Alexander Culbertson, who was the chief of the Fort Union. She and her husband made a big fortune in the fur trade.

This study examines Horace Miner’s essay “Body Rituals Among the Nacirema. While using the participant observation approach, he gives us a new perspective on the daily behaviors within this group of people. Exploring ethnocentrism and how we view cultures outside of our own.

The author’s purpose in writing this article was not to show the “Nacirema” as an example of how extreme human behavior can become, but how an outside perspective can affect your perception of an alien culture. If one were to look at the “Nacirema’s” cultural behaviors regarding physical appearance and health without any insight or knowledge of the specific beliefs or values of that culture, they might seem bizarre and even incomprehensible. By showing behaviors and “rituals” performed by this unknown tribe, Miner allowed others to see that the way studies were representing distinctive cultures was narrowminded and defective. Without the proper comprehension of the basis of any society, huge cultural misunderstandings could occur. Of

From present time to thousands of years ago, these ceremonies were used to cure a person’s situation or guide them through a difficult time in life. “Their beliefs and practices form a integral and seamless part of their very being. …They also embraced ceremonies and rituals that provided power to conquer the difficulties of life, as wells as events and milestones, such as puberty, marriage, and death”(Alexander). When the Native Americans practiced their ceremonies, they felt powerful, in control, and connected with their people. When they practiced their native culture, it tied their tribes together. Without these stories and ceremonies that they practiced, they would feel as if a piece of them were missing. Some Native Americans tried to find comfort in alcohol, but many times this resulted in depression and anger. If a person were to experience a difficulty in ones life, then there would be a ceremony that would fit the person’s situation. For example, Betonie, the medicine doctor, was able to invent a ceremony that fit Tayo’s

These rituals usually start as the sun rises. The tribe will start heading towards the shrine. When they reach it they will wait outside and start making food in honor off their god “Hawkeye”. They will also drink an elixir made out of barley, hops and yeast with water. The tribe believes this elixir brings the tribe closer together and allows the mind to talk their god more easily. They will continue to drink this elixir for hours until they have consumed enough to go to the shrine and start the religious ritual.

For us to properly learn about culture, we must understand the meaning of cultural relativism and ethnocentrism. The two concepts challenge one another. Reading the article, we must pull away from our ethnocentric views and think critically about the Nacirema people's. However, the description of the culture creates an ideology that is hard to agree with. For example, the Nacirema peoples take part in a rite that involves hog hairs and magical powders. The Nacirema rituals do sound strange and displeasing but, we have to learn to recognize our ethnocentric judgments.

High in the Andes at 11,800 feet above sea level, the province of Chumbivilcas is home to communities that trace their ancestry back to the Inca and Chanka cultures. The indigenous people of the area speak Quechua as their primary language and continue many of the practices that were part of their culture before the arrival of the Spanish. On December 25, they gather for festivities including dancing, singing, drinking and feasting. But the primary feature of the day is focused on takanakuy, ceremonial fistfights between members of the community. Hundreds of people from throughout the province gather to watch the fighters display their manhood and courage, uphold family honor and settle grievances. Some dress in traditional costumes that represent

The main idea of the article is that people act in similar ways, no matter the origin. Appearance and health of a human body is a major concern of all people. The only difference is the belief and how they perform the treatment. From the article it shows Nacirema people had their own unique ways for example the shrine houses, the rituals of the mouth and