Body Ritual among the Nacirema
Amanda Carson
SOC 111
Writing Assignment #1
Summary of Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”
Abstract
This paper is a summary of Horace Miner’s paper “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”. It talks about how every culture has a set of rituals they practice religiously, and in particular, the unusual rituals and beliefs of the Nacirema people from an outsider’s perspective.
Amanda Carson
Sociology 111
Writing Assignment #1
January 25, 2015
Summary of Horace Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema
Every society, tribe, or group of people have certain rituals and beliefs that we practice every day. In Horace Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”, he tells us about this particular tribes unusual rituals, therefore giving us an insight into how different human behaviors can be. It gives the readers a look into a culture that many do not understand. Miner tells us that the Nacirema are “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.” They have a “highly developed market economy”, but appearance seems to take command of their peoples’ priorities. The fundamental belief of the Nacirema people is that “the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease”, so they do all these unusual rituals to try to keep their bodies healthy and good-looking. It all begins in a room called the shrine, dedicated to the rituals the Nacirema use to maintain their looks and health. There is box with many charms and potions, and beneath that a font where each person performs the “brief rite of ablution” (washing the hands or body). There is also a “mouth-rite”, in which a person inserts a bundle of hog hairs in the mouth with magical powder, and moves the bundle in many different gestures inside the mouth. In order to stay in tip-top shape, the members of the Nacirema see medicine-men and a holy-mouth-man. These men check
SOC 111
Writing Assignment #1
Summary of Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”
Abstract
This paper is a summary of Horace Miner’s paper “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”. It talks about how every culture has a set of rituals they practice religiously, and in particular, the unusual rituals and beliefs of the Nacirema people from an outsider’s perspective.
Amanda Carson
Sociology 111
Writing Assignment #1
January 25, 2015
Summary of Horace Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema
Every society, tribe, or group of people have certain rituals and beliefs that we practice every day. In Horace Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”, he tells us about this particular tribes unusual rituals, therefore giving us an insight into how different human behaviors can be. It gives the readers a look into a culture that many do not understand. Miner tells us that the Nacirema are “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.” They have a “highly developed market economy”, but appearance seems to take command of their peoples’ priorities. The fundamental belief of the Nacirema people is that “the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease”, so they do all these unusual rituals to try to keep their bodies healthy and good-looking. It all begins in a room called the shrine, dedicated to the rituals the Nacirema use to maintain their looks and health. There is box with many charms and potions, and beneath that a font where each person performs the “brief rite of ablution” (washing the hands or body). There is also a “mouth-rite”, in which a person inserts a bundle of hog hairs in the mouth with magical powder, and moves the bundle in many different gestures inside the mouth. In order to stay in tip-top shape, the members of the Nacirema see medicine-men and a holy-mouth-man. These men check
Cited: Miner, H. (n.d.). Body Ritual Among The Nacirema. American Anthropologist.