Nacirema Essay

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

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

The Nacirema tribe is a North American group with a highly developed market economy that has evolved into a rich natural habitat. The underlying belief of the Nacirema is the human body is ugly and that it has a tendency to weakness and illness. The Nacirema believe that the condition of one’s mouth has influence on their social relationships and believe that if not in good condition, their lovers will leave them, their gums will bleed and their teeth will fall out, etc. So in order to maintain a

Pacific Ocean. This group of people is called the Naciremas. These natives have been around for roughly two hundred years and not much has been discovered about this exotic natives. Only one study was done about this group of native by Professor Linton and still little is known about them; however, only one thing is certain, that their sole purpose of living is spiritual ceremonies and rituals. Professor Linton had studied the body rituals among the Naciremas and found that they have “the fundamental

When Abelard Schneider returned from his voyage to the primitive Nacirema tribes, one could scarcely stop him in his excited rambling. He spoke in a frenzy, rarely pausing to accept questions from his audience of peeved onlookers. Schneider’s discoveries describe at great length, the peculiar nature of Nacirema mating rituals, a world of bizarre customs and luxurious excesses. It is well known that the Nacirema engage in an elaborate rite which they call a gniddew; each tribesperson is expected to

The rituals of the Nacirema culture are very unique when it comes to the different forms of beliefs and remedies. According to the article, “The fundamental belief underlying the whole system of the Nacirema appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease” (4). With that in mind, the Nacirema have come up with a bundle of ways to keep the body healthy and pure. Of those ways, most are included with the belief that magic is the key component in

Who are the Nacirema? According to Horace Miner the Nacirema are a tribe located in North America, originating from the east, who are known for their performances of odd rituals and taboo magic. Miner, an author published by The American Anthropologist, wrote an article in 1956 titled "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema". Recently additional information has surfaced about the tribe from the American Anthropology Association. Proof of a new strange ritual has been discovered. This practice consists of

Dillon O’Brien Merrill Singer Anthro 1000 15 April 2012 Nacirema Paper It has been rumored that are extraordinary beings on another familiar planet close by our home of Nacirema, and it is our goal as the Interplanetary Nacirema Research Center team to investigate the situation. We plan to focus our trip on the specific coordinates that the University of Connecticut campus lies on, and being the curious creatures we are, we plan to delve into specific areas within this concentrated area. We

The rituals of the Nacirema To most of us, hospitals are a place to help you when you’re in need or want to get healthy. But for the Nacirema, it’s quite the opposite. According to the Nacirema ritual article, they call hospitals a latipso, which is hospital spelt backwards without the ‘H’. They discuss and caricature the repulsive viewings on what they think goes on in hospitals (latipso’s), or what they think they do. I will now tell you how in Miner’s perspective, the body is ugly and how

Anthropologists are familiar of many cultures that spread across the world. They are usually not surprised when it comes to bizarre cultures such as the Nacirema. The Nacirema is a North American group, although it suggests that they came from the East little is known about their origins. What makes the Nacirema so interesting are their beliefs and rituals, within their culture it is believed their body is ugly, and has a tendency to be weak and attract diseases. This belief has led them to have