Fatih Elmali Body Ritual and Witchcraft Many native males and females from a highly developed culture in Nacirema engage in a body ritual almost daily‚ which involves from leaving their homes at various times in the morning or afternoon and engaging in activities that strain the body as well as the mind. This ritual usually encompasses males and females of ages 18 and older. In this strange place‚ the ritual is a requirement to keep their bodies as well as their families’ bodies functioning
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The Nacirema people value developing a religious connection with their deities because every family possesses at least one shrine in their home. They garnish and decorate their shrines with charms and other accoutrements and commune with them on a daily basis. The Nacirema people also put a lot of faith in their Medicine Men and Listeners‚ as a means of communing with the Divine through their rituals as a means to heal the sickly. Maintaining good health is also a pinnacle to Nacirema society. The
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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
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Zhakypbek Yerkinbek ARM Tutor: William McMutrie Body ritual among the Nacirema A well-known anthropologist Horace Miner has conducted a research on the community called the Nacirema‚ which was originated in North America. The main focus of the research was made on the body rituals of the Nacirema‚ which then becomes the title of his work. According to Horace (1956) fundamental belief of the Nacirema is that a human body is weak and imperfect‚ irresistant to many diseases. He believes
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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
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Miner: American Vs. Nacirema Horace Miner expresses both irony and ridicule towards the American culture in his article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”. He uses a sociological approach that is rather witty‚ using a fictitious North American group called the “Nacirema”. The views of this culture are much like our own‚ depicting the importance of societal status‚ wealth‚ health and appearance. Miner introduces the readers to a society living between Canada and Mexico‚ originated by a founder called
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primitive Nacirema‚ who carve out an existence somewhere between "the Canadian Cree‚ the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico‚ and the Carab and the Awawak of the Antilles" ("Body Ritual among the Nacirema‚ p. 1). Who could even think to compare Americans‚ in our advanced state‚ with such a remote and isolated group? However‚ upon closer reflection‚ however‚ it occurred‚ much to the present author’s surprise‚ that the Nacirema and Americans are in fact mirror images of one another. First‚ the Nacirema have
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Body Rituals Among the Nacirema Assignment “Body Rituals Among the Nacirema”‚ by Horace Miner‚ is an essay written about the American people‚ from an outsider’s perspective‚ which he calls Nacirema‚ American spelled backwards. He disguises what he’s talking about by spelling many nouns backwards and giving things different names. Miner writes about American rituals in a foreign way that comes off as barbaric and heinous. He starts off talking about George Washington and how he founded America and
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Stephanie Brinks Sociology 151 September 30‚ 2008 Would you want to live among the Naciremas? Why or why not? 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”
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"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
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