Body Ritual Of The Nacirema By Horace Miner
Body Ritual of the Nacirema written by Horace Miner is a mocking summary of what most Americans do in regards to their health routines. Looking closely at the word “Naciremas”, we can see that it is “American” spelt backwards. Miner takes the approach of explaining the body ritual among the Nacirema from an outsider’s point of view, with no real understanding of the American culture. Miner describes Americans as “magic-ridden people” (Miner 2009, 507).
When first reading this analysis, it is not easy to recognize that Miner is talking about American’s culture. Miner argues several common actions and behaviors of Nacirema’s further in his analysis. Miner uses descriptions and words for certain things that happen in our everyday lives that we normally do not hear. By doing so, Miner allows the readers to understand what he is saying in a different perspective. First looking at the Nacirema
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This is an example of this because Miner was able to describe this culture in a positive way. Even though there are so many versions of what the world portrays of a culture, Miner tried to make his readers understand it without making positive or negative judgements towards the culture. The gender roles in this article relates to also the conceptions of gender discussed in class, because when Miner is talking about the “medicine men” the thought of a man playing the role – the medicine men is a doctor in reality. When Miner talks about the “listener” you get more of the vibe that it is a female – listening to people’s feelings. Another topic that the “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” is the ethnocentric Fallacy, this is true because as you read this article, it seems as though you can either take it on way, that the idea the belief’s and behaviors are right and true, which those of other peoples are wrong or
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793 Words | 4 PagesIt was confusing at first but when I understood the article and its meaning, I began to laugh as I was reading. My first reading I believed that this article was about a specific tribe, perhaps an Indian tribe called the “Nacirema”, that practices old rituals and
Body Ritual Among The Nacirema Summary
743 Words | 3 PagesIn the article ‘Body Ritual Among the Nacirema’ written by Horace Miner he goes on to describe the culture and rituals of the Nacirema. A group of North Americans that are found “between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles.” Throughout the article he describes American rituals from an outsiders point
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767 Words | 4 PagesIn Horace Miner's Body Ritual among the Nacirema, Miner depicted the Nacirema as a culture obsessed with rituals who focused on the human body as a whole. Miner (1956, p.503) stated that the fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that it's natural tendency is to debility and disease. This paper aims to show the main points of the article, how it is different and similar to todays modern society, and how it shows the culture of consumption and American liberal economics. Upon reading the article, one would think that the rituals being done daily would be gruesome and morbid. In my opinion, Miner did this in order to show how much an outsiders perspective can affect ones perception of a
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565 Words | 3 PagesThe tribes people will fill these chest with magic potions(medicine) that they get from herbalists (pharmacist) that the medicine men(doctor) instructed them to do. Miner goes on to give plenty more satires including the imposing temple(hospital), a mouth-rite (brushing teeth), the holy mouth man(Dentist), The listener(therapy), and shaving. All of these satires relate to how humans think that the body is ugly and all of the steps they take to prevent
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