Body Ritual Among The Nacirema Analysis

Effective communication has many aspects that can be described as either transparent or a hidden unknown, which in many readings it describes how ambiguity is a necessary evil in communications. The “Triangle of Linguistic Structure” can give phonology meaning form, semantics the value of meaning, and pragmatics that feature the intention to uncertain communications. The direct statements of saying someone is dead, can be harmful so they use etiquette to give reason to use a buffer and instead say they have moved away. For a literary example I will use “Who am I this time?” by Vonnegut and “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” by Miner, for both readings use ambiguity to hide an allegory of communication concepts. The “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”

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

Body Ritual Among the Nacirema What is the precise geographical location of this strange tribe, the Nacirema? The Nacirema is a North American group living in the territory between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles. Little is known of their origin, though tradition states that they came from the east.

In the essay “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema”, anthropologist Horace Miner depicts a group of people known as the “Nacirema”, but is referring to Americans, whose cultural beliefs are deeply rooted in the perspective that the human body is prune to sickness and disfiguration. Consequently, a substantial part of their lives is spent on unusual rituals and customs to improve conditions of the body that are filled with magical components. Moreover, Miner uses the Nacirema’s unusual culture to establish his view that we simply could not judge another culture that it is different from our own, as opposed to another anthropologist Malinowski’s point that we can judge another culture since we are

In the 1950’s, medical facilities were not what they are today, and I think Miner wanted to raise awareness regarding issues in medical clinics, psychiatric practices, and in dental offices. At that time there were many bizarre treatments in psychiatric facilities and most were just a place to lock up mental patients to remove them from society. Starting in the 1950’s, there has been major changes in the medical community. Practices performed in psychiatry and dental offices have changed dramatically as well and certainly wouldn’t compare to the procedures described of the Nacirema tribe.

There are a few points the author is trying to get across here. The purpose of the article is to have Americans read this, then have an opinion of the Nacirema that is of a lower standard then our culture., then be disgusted in themselves when realizing that they were, in actuality, judging themselves. Therefore, once again, Miner is proving that we, as Americans, are ethnocentric.

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

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.

This essay will be exploring how the key task of the anthropologist is “to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange”. I would define “strange” as being abnormal and different, not the norm and “familiar” meaning something we can relate to and are accustomed to. An anthropologist undertaking ethnographic research would be exploring the cultural and social variation and how as humans, we are unique but similar.

Native American culture refers to the term medicine as “the essence of life or an inner power” (Portman & Garret, 2006, p.454). It is believed that each person has their own essence that is locked in a physical form “our body” and this way they can learn in body, mind and spirit. To be able to understand the roots of Native American traditional medicine, it is important to

In the Body Rituals Among the Nacirema, both men and women believe that “they lack frequency.” In order for them to believe that they are to their standards and others standards perceived as beautiful, they undergo sadism and masochistic rituals performed by highly trained specialist to enhance one’s look. The people of the tribe change their bodies via enhancement to look like a representation of a doll “outside the range of human variation,” says Miner.

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

“The Religious Rituals of the Pygmies” video portrayed the healing rituals, as well as their Funeral rite in which death is accepted as a natural part of human life. The witch doctors of the Pygmies are shown in the video as they are healing, who use exorcism and spiritual cleansing in order to rid the people of disease along with natural remedies. The video portrays how supernatural powers assist in the curing of disease, the witch doctors as they are referred to in the video, are believed to possess special powers for dealing with the supernatural. This video helped demonstrate the importance of the Life-Crisis rites of healing rituals as the community values the health of its people and the religious professionals in charge of healing create

To figure out who you truly are, we need to look beyond our backgrounds and dive deeper into experiences like rituals, relationships, and restrictions. First, let me talk about the rituals that help define me as a person and as a local. The rituals I participate in help develop me as an adult and mature my mind and behavior. According to Taiye Selasi, our experiences shape who we are. One of my most important rituals is participating in church. This helps build my wisdom and is a way to bring peace to my mind and soul. Not only am I defined by the rituals I take part in, but also through the relationships I share with others.