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Analysis Of Body Ritual Among The Nacirema

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In the study called Body Ritual Among the Nacirema, the author calls the rituals and ceremonies the people perform “excessive”. They are insane rituals that people in America wouldn’t seem to think about doing. They sound so different, and unusual. As one reads the fieldwork, it raises a lot of questions and concerns. To anyone from another country it would seem these rituals are excessive because of the way they are performed, and the things they use to perform them. Some of those rituals are avoiding exposure of their body and bathing in secret. They believe that the body is an ugly thing. In order to make it better they have to perform a ritual and ceremony. Many of their homes have multiple shrines dedicated to this purpose. The more powerful …show more content…

Americans bathe in secret and do not like to show of their bodies in public. There are “shrines” where people do their makeup, because people believe that the body is ugly and want to cover it up and make it look prettier. They want to hide it from the decay that is occurring. There are typically multiple bathrooms inside of a home of a rich person. Bathrooms are where makeup is usually applied, and any other modifications to add beauty to oneself. The box or chest is simply drawers and cabinets and boxes that contain the makeup and age defying “potions”. They hold the things that make people more beautiful in the eyes of society and cover up the ugliness. The medicine given to people has a list of ingredients that was written by doctors, which is written in a different code that only people in that industry understand. Men scrape and lacerate their faces because they have to shave them. When women go to the hair salon they sometimes have to put their heads under a dome that heats and dries your hair. This is what is referred to as the “oven”. The bundle of hog hairs and magical powder that these people put in their mouths are simply a toothbrush and toothpaste, which is supposed to clean the mouth and help with the decay of teeth. They see a dentist about one or two times a year to go through torture and pain to make sure their teeth are clean in America. They don’t want their teeth to fall out, but if they do they go …show more content…

They name Nacirema spelled backwards is American. They really aren’t another culture. They are the American culture, made to seem extreme because that is how they seem to other places. The crazy acts are what people in America go through everyday, but they are not considered crazy until they are seen from another

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