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Nacirema

            In the article "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" Horace Miner goes over the various facts about the Nacirema tribe. This is a very exotic tribe found on North American and of thought to have originated from the East. They are a tribe that has heavy beliefs in magical practices and rituals and shrines. .
             This tribe's fundamental belief is that the human body is ugly and that it's naturally susceptible to disease. This to me is a very strange belief because it is defacing the human body, which all humanity is based on. In each household all families have certain shrines and wealth can be characterized by how large or how many items are in a persons" shrine. The shrines also contain magical powders that the tribe uses to cure certain illnesses.
             Another very interesting fact about the Nacirema is their "holy-mouth-men" beliefs. The Nacirema believe that the mouth is most sacred part of the human body, and should be kept neat and clean to keep friends, or a significant other. People in the tribe go to a holy-mouth-man once to twice a year to get their mouths inspected. The holy-mouth-man will fix any holes in the teeth, gums and lips using magical powder. Like Miner says the tribe people continue to go this holy-mouth-man yearly although their teeth continue to decay worse and worse. .
             The "listener" is another interesting tradition by the Nacirema, this someone who listens to peoples" problems and tries to get the devil out of their head. This is kind of like Catholicism in trying to expunge the devil out of Catholics lives. This to me is very interesting because it is sort of like Catholicism. .
             If I had a chance to encounter a Nacirema tribe member I would want to know more about their fascinating culture. Although some of it I do find incredibly odd I would like to meet them to see why they believe it so deeply. I would also ask them why they subject themselves to pain as shown in the article.


Essays Related to Nacirema

1. The Nacirema Dlohesuoh Senirhs

The Nacirema Dlohesouh Enirhs (Household Shrine) The leaders and more powerful individuals of the Nacirema society had huge walls that where always painted red and covered with jewels and rhinestones within their shrine rooms. A leader was elected by the Nacirema people. ... The poor people of the Nacirema tribe could not afford big shrines, so to imitate their leaders, they put pottery plaques on their walls and lined the floors that was usually the made from dirt, pebbles and straw along their walls with their scrolls and magic potions. When a potion became old and had served its pur...

  • Word Count: 269
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Life Among The Nacirema

The Nacirema take this one step further. ... The Nacirema have an almost extreme revulsion and fascination with the mouth. ... Competition is also highly valued in Nacirema civilization. ... The Nacirema are especially brutal and sadistic in times of battle. ... When Nacirema men return from battle they have severe sleep dist...

  • Word Count: 2054
  • Approx Pages: 8
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3. school

The Concept of Culture The article about the Nacirema talks about the ritual they perform on their bodies. The Nacirema live near Mexico and Canada. ... The Nacirema also believe in magic and medicine men. ... (P. 1) This is true even though we might not understand and agree with the rituals of the Nacirema, it is their culture. ... I think cultural rules and enculturation relate very much to the Nacirema. ...

  • Word Count: 311
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Parties And Politics

The Nacirema use their parties to show favoritism, anger, and to influence those that can help them succeed. ... Equality is not a main priority when the goal is status among the Nacirema. ... The upper class of the Nacirema has the same limitations in theory. ... The market system of the Nacirema lends itself to control by those with more material possessions and money. ... The Nacirema use money, gifts, food and decoration to impress the right people and intimidate others. ...

  • Word Count: 1713
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: High School

5. American Rituals

In the academic essay " Body Ritual among the Nacirema", by Horace Minor, we are shown some of our faults in a deceiving manor. We are convinced that there is such a tribe as the Nacirema, and as we are told their rituals seem extreme and almost ridiculous. ... The first thing that affects the reader is Minor's overall tone about the Nacirema rituals, a tone of satire and sarcasm. ... In conclusion, by using a sarcastic, satirical tone and words with tribal connotations Minor is able to convince his audience that the Nacirema "tribe" is a real tribe, when the word Nacirema is America spe...

  • Word Count: 478
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. Body Rituals of the Nacirema "

In June 1956, Horace Miner published an article called "Body Rituals of the Nacirema"" in American Anthropologists. ... Miner discusses ways that the Nacirema attempts to keep away disease and disability; and for the most part he is disclosing what the Nacirema appear to be doing habitually. ... Miner states that "Each Nacirema family shares a family shrine as part of their practice to maintain the state of their bodies. ... Then he states "The Nacirema also have a "listener ". ... Then, Miner beautifully concluded by saying that the Nacirema people are a "magic ridden people."" ...

  • Word Count: 959
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7. The !Kung

Most contemporary foraging groups, such as the !Kung and other Bushman tribes, are viewed as a "primitive- people. Some have even gone as far to say that they are "the last representatives of the Stone Age."" While it is true that these people have the most similar culture to what we believe primiti...

  • Word Count: 3399
  • Approx Pages: 14
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Analysis about the article: Body Rituals About The NACIREMA

In the United States, there are many cultural practices that we can easily observe throughout other people. People who adapted themselves to believe in follow these cultural practices think that the best thing to do is to get them involved in these kinds of cultural practices. One of the things that we can say that would be weird from people from other cultures to observe can be people's worryness about their weight. For example, nowadays, people care a lot about their weight, may be they are in a good condition but when they get to see themselves in a mirror they see more than wha...

  • Word Count: 335
  • Approx Pages: 1
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