Nacirema
Body Rituals of the Nacirema Tribe
By Sir Horatio Galbraith
People in the Nacirema culture spend a considerable portion of their days in ritual activity. The focus of some of these activities is the human body, the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant concern in the minds of the tribe’s people. While such a concern is certainly not unusual, the way the tribe operates can be considered quite unique.
The fundamental belief of the people appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to fall apart and to riddled by a variety of diseases. Being placed in such a body, man's only hope is to avoid these negative circumstances by performing odd rituals. Every tribal family has one or more shrines devoted to this purpose.
While each family has at least one such shrine, the rituals associated with it are not family ceremonies but are private and secret ceremonies. The rites are normally only discussed with children and then only during the period when they are being initiated into these mysterious activities. Once the children become old enough, the rituals become private again. I was able, however, to establish sufficient rapport with the natives to examine these shrines and to have the rituals described to me.
The focal point of the ritual shrine is a box or chest. In this chest are kept the many charms and magical potions which no native believes they could live without. These charms and potions are secured from a variety of specialized people. The most powerful of these are the medicine men or the “srtocod”, whose assistance must be rewarded with a wealth of gifts. However, the medicine men do not provide the curative potions for their clients, but decide what the ingredients of the charm should be and then write them down in an ancient and secret language. This writing is understood only by the medicine men and then soon after by the herbalist who, for another gift, provides the required charm.
The charm
By Sir Horatio Galbraith
People in the Nacirema culture spend a considerable portion of their days in ritual activity. The focus of some of these activities is the human body, the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant concern in the minds of the tribe’s people. While such a concern is certainly not unusual, the way the tribe operates can be considered quite unique.
The fundamental belief of the people appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to fall apart and to riddled by a variety of diseases. Being placed in such a body, man's only hope is to avoid these negative circumstances by performing odd rituals. Every tribal family has one or more shrines devoted to this purpose.
While each family has at least one such shrine, the rituals associated with it are not family ceremonies but are private and secret ceremonies. The rites are normally only discussed with children and then only during the period when they are being initiated into these mysterious activities. Once the children become old enough, the rituals become private again. I was able, however, to establish sufficient rapport with the natives to examine these shrines and to have the rituals described to me.
The focal point of the ritual shrine is a box or chest. In this chest are kept the many charms and magical potions which no native believes they could live without. These charms and potions are secured from a variety of specialized people. The most powerful of these are the medicine men or the “srtocod”, whose assistance must be rewarded with a wealth of gifts. However, the medicine men do not provide the curative potions for their clients, but decide what the ingredients of the charm should be and then write them down in an ancient and secret language. This writing is understood only by the medicine men and then soon after by the herbalist who, for another gift, provides the required charm.
The charm