The Exorcism Of The Evils Of Nacirema People

Miner begins his essay by describing the American culture as if it were a tribe. Although he does so secretly, Horace Miner does state that the tribe is located between Canada and Mexico. He then states that they have a developed market, yet they’re main concern is on the body. He then goes on to talk about the ritual areas in the homes on the Nacirema people, bathrooms, where the people practice they’re odd rituals. He does not use direct terms for the medicine men, nor any of the other physicians that are seen in the daily lives of American people. Miner continues this process while only leaving slight hints.

Furthermore, the Nacirema seek help of the “temple” or “latipso” for other serious illnesses, comprised mainly of medicine men and other female specialists. The culture’s devotion to rituals is undeniable as a considerable sum is required for the service of the “temple,” although “these temple ceremonies may not cure, and may even kill the neophyte, in no way decreases the people’s faith in the medicine men” (173). This belief of the “temple” constitutes checking in to the hospital to treat diseases in the American culture. Often times a significant hospital fee needs to be paid for even a short visit and it is not guaranteed that one would be healed as a result. The American culture’s “ fundamental belief…human body is ugly and its natural tendency is to debility and disease” can help explain the society’s faith in hospitals

As I read through The Body Ritual Among the Nacirema, I felt as those it was very brutal and barbaric in practice. However, after reflecting upon a single piece of the passage, the ritual of healing, I see similarities and ties to common day performance. Although the techniques and procedures have been refined and the educational requirements vastly improved, the practices have a historical basis. It makes me wonder if in a thousand years from now, our modern day physician will too seem wicked and uncivilized.

Miner emphasizes an obsession of self image in the Nacirema that is very much present in Americans today. There is an infatuation with the maintenance of appearance and health resulting in the human body becoming the dominant focus for the Nacirema’s cultural practices. Americans spend so much time buying items with an aim of improving their “look”. Medications exist for so many illnesses and doctor visits are frequent. All of these tasks are done to improve their image and way of life. Part of the Nacirema culture is a shrine that contains a box or chest full of charms and magical potions. The medicine men are specialized practitioners that initiate these preparations. However, the medicine men only decide what ingredients should be in certain potions and write them down in a secret language. This secret language can only be understood by other medicine men and herbalists who provide the charm. In America, doctors write notes called prescriptions that contain ingredients to medication to treat a specific illness. These prescriptions are illegible to their patients and can only be understood by pharmacists who prepare the medications. There is also an obsession with the mouth and teeth among the people of Nacirema. It is believed that the mouth has a “supernatural influence on all social relationships” (Miner 504). There is a ritual of washing the mouth for children which could improve their morality.

Ritual healing involves “health, emotion, identity, religion, self, suffering, modernity, and colonial situation”, according to Thomas Csordas, who spent a lot of time on the Indian lands with anthropologists studying the Navajo and their daily lives. There is one ceremonial healing practice that was studied in depth by Thomas Csordas and that is the Night Way Ceremony.

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 Nacirema May sound like strange a tribe, but if you read very closely you will notice they are not. Nacirema is American spelled backwards and latipso is ospital backwards which almost spells hospital. In this passage the American people are really the ones who are being talked about. All the rituals that are spoken of describe our everyday life. Bathrooms are described as shrines and medicine cabinets as charm boxes. Doctors are referred to as medicine men and dentists to holy-mouth-men as they rid the mouth of evils. The story of the “Nacirema” really does make a good point about out how we have a ridiculous amount of medications, and we take unnecessary trips to the hospital too often. Miner, the author is trying to illustrate the obsessions of the American people like our obsession with self-image and health and how strange and

This tribe has many sadistic health related rituals along with the tooth check-up. Many are far more painful, and happen on scheduled dates as if the tribal people enjoy it. There are centers for the most debilitated called latipsos. The sick are “healed” but almost no one ever fully recovers. Some cannot get into the latipso for healing because you must present a gift at the door to get in and one at the exit to get out.

“Body Rituals among the Nacirema” is a document written by Mr. Horace Miner. Miner was a graduate of the University of Chicago, with a degree in anthropology. Throughout his life, Miner was dedicated to his studies ranging in anthropology to sociology. He was very interested in the study of anthropology, but Miner disagreed with the way that other cultures were represented. He thought American anthropologists believed that the American culture was “normal” and, that the other studied cultures were misrepresented (Hoogland). Miner was convinced to prove otherwise. He wanted to prove to other anthropologists that to other cultures the American culture could be viewed as unusual.

Alvar Nunez uses detail to reflect on his experiences when the Natives took him in. “When we concluded with the sign of the cross, He willed that our patients should directly spread the news that they had been restored to health. In consequence the indians treated us kindly” Alvar became a medicine man and was treated as one of their own and rewarded

Traditional healers also known as curanderismo are important part of Latin American culture, society and a way of life. Traditional healers have been a part of Latin American culture for thousands of years and even today are considered as important as the traditional health care professionals (Avila, 1999). The services of these healers are used extensively and they are well respected and admired members of the community. Not anyone can be a healer and in order to become one a special talent and extensive training is needed (Avila, 1999). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of traditional healers in Latin American culture and to discuss what economic, social and religious reasons traditional healers are still so

Anthropologist studies the patterns in human behavior, thought, and emotions. It focuses on human culture-producing and culture-reproducing (Haviland, 2014). Professor Linton bought the Nacirema culture in the path of anthropologist twenty years ago. As cultures all around are devoted with economy, Nacirema’ culture concern is dealt with the human body, its appearance and health within the people. Miner Horace comes upon unique rituals done by the Nacirema culture in where we see that people in this culture go to the extreme to have satisfaction with their bodies.

In fact, Mercy Medical Center in Merced recently established a new Hmong shaman policy that invited shamans to perform nine approved ceremonies, such as “soul calling,” in the hospital (Brown, 2009). Integration of Hmong shaman policies into hospitals, and exposing shamans into western medicine, allows for the coexistence of Western and Oriental medicine, in addition to a profound respect for the patient’s choice. This paves a way for the steady integration of holistic health care, a system that strives to promote optimal health by recognizing healing as a part of the soul, and focuses on remedying the ill by analyzing a plethora of external factors outside of organs, such as behavior, social environment, the person as a whole, and social role function (Wade, 2009). Although oriental medicine can be a way of effective treatment by pulling strings from the placebo effect, there are several drawbacks in using traditional medicine. Medical disabilities that best require surgical intervention, such as the case with clubfooted Hmong refugee Kou Xiong, would be turned down by Hmong families who are deeply rooted in the animism faith, which views physical alteration of congenital deformities as a dangerous violation of spirit will (Caplan, 1995). As much as the US is advancing towards accepting other forms of medical practices into current methods of patient care, tensions between Western medicine and oriental medicine still exist. In fact, the book The Spirit Catches You, and You Fall Down captures the collision of cultures most vividly as it narrates the failure of Merced hospital doctors to recognize patient Lia and her family’s cultural beliefs by unrelentingly imposing westernized medical treatment on Lia, which ultimately created tensions between the family and the hospital (Fadiman, 1997). Such tensions, as

Fritz, some “traditional” healers show appropriation of Western public health symbols by wearing gloves and using new and clean instruments on each patient (West 2006: 31). In both types of healing, patients have to be okay with their healer having little to no education or formal medical training. Despite their lack of a degree, the healers have authority similar to the Western medical physician bureaucracy. Dr. Fritz Dr. Fritz and other Brazilian spiritists combine Western practices with Shamanic practice. However, “traditional” healing focuses primarily on Shamanic practice. “Traditional” healing rituals and practices usually take place in villages and other rural settings, while Dr. Fritz hosts patients in a center that more closely resembles Western medical settings. For patient diagnosis, Brazilian spiritists read a piece of paper describing the patient’s condition as it was recorded through previous registration, examine the patients for a few seconds (Lynch 2005: 25). In “traditional” healing, spirits and “voices” make diagnoses known to the healers (West 2006: 27). For treatment, both types of healing involve a degree of spiritual aid. Treatments in “traditional” healing are most often noninvasive and involve eating or drinking various

Before the creation of “Modern Hospitals” in Islam , temples were used as healing sanctuaries , and provided an individual with the psychological