Ritual is one of the elements that make a society. The Nacirema culture is based on a highly developed economic market and from a rich natural habit. This article give us a sense of understanding of how privilege us as Americans can be. The core of these stranger activities is special. It reflects people’s spirit, health, appearance, and body. All of the key words are spelled backwards to let readers think this is a new group of people that far away from our life. In order to understand people from different sociological background, one must think outside the box that is America’s way of viewing things. 3. Describe the 3 activities or behaviors seen in this culture that you found to be the strangest. (Minimum of 150 words.) People in this culture care about their appearance and think the body is ugly. They think the body is natural to be weak and sick for some reasons. Since these bad elements are in their bodies, people in this culture tend to combine some mysterious and powerful force and ritual ceremonial to dispel these weaknesses. The “holy-mouth-men” is important in Nacirema’s culture. People in this culture have a special emotion with their mouths. They believe that if they do not hold the ceremony for their teeth, their teeth would fall out and their jaws shrink. They also believe that their teeth can …show more content…
I think this article is still relevant today is because people can understand how different perspectives can lead different views. In the past, people believed that some sorcery could help them overcome difficulties and solve questions. The ritual activities are described in a very different way so that the reader could not realize that these activities happed in their daily life. After reading the article, the readers may have different attitude about this tribe because the reader and the Nacirema are dissimilar. People need to understand that science is not an unalterable principle, and it is based on
A little bit of perspective on the society and culture of the Nacirema people involve body rituals and how they go through great lengths to ensure physical wellness. It is difficult as a reader to make sense of the rituals the Nacirema performed and why they did. The Nacirema people believe that the human body is ugly and that it is susceptible to disease. They live a very bizarre lifestyle, not the stressing on the physical well-being part but the spiritual sense they put into their beliefs.
“Rifles, Blankets, and Beads” delivers an entertaining perspective on the Northern Athapaskan village of Tanacross. This book is an outstanding resource for anthropologists, students, and educators. In reviewing this book, the author brings a descriptive writing style when analyzing the Northern Athapaskan village of Tanacross culture and history with a focus on the potlatch giving us insight details how the potlatch celebrated among the Tanacross people. The author, William E. Simeone, is a great source for the Northern Athapaskan village of Tanacross because he lived there among the people. In addition to living there he also attended ceremonies in both Tanacross and surrounding villages, and participated in potlatches within the villages.
It also has been further improved by the use of technology. When it comes to the differences one would be very clear, nothing is exactly similar to another. In today's generation, people live in diverse and different societies with different cultures. These little things make them distinct from others and also sets an identity for them. Miner also showed the culture of the Nacirema to be very dependent on their rituals and 'magical' beliefs.
I was very scared after reading Miner’s article because of the descriptive details he used. If I had to practice those rituals I would be contemplating my life because it would be better than having to go through pain. Throughout Miner’s article, he describes Nacirema culture as both a material and nonmaterial culture. An example that shows that the Nacirema is a material culture is the fact that all the households that are of the Nacirema culture have shrines, and out of all the rooms in the houses, the shrines are the wealthiest rooms. Miner described that the families who are poorer put pottery plaques on the walls of their shrines to make them look a lot richer and imitate the richer families.
There were many ancient civilizations that conveyed their religious beliefs, spirituality, and worldviews through their architecture, decorations, and other artistic mediums. The three cultures that stand out the most in regards to their beliefs being conveyed through architecture and art are Cahokia, Nubia, and India. Cahokia was a Mississippian civilization located in what is modern day North America. One of the unique cultural aspects within their government, known as the chiefdom, was the way in which the ruler of Cahokia was treated in regards to their gods. In a chiefdom, the ruler is hereditary and the chiefdom is based on a gift-giving and communal culture.
The Northwestern Coast tribes became a thriving society using materials, religion and art, and their way of living to their advantage. They became known as one of the richest tribes in North America, due to their vast supply of resources. The tribe’s material usage was so efficient, allowing them to advance quickly. Religion was encouraged through art, stories, and ceremonies. Every person living here was placed onto the social ladder which was very laidback, but very important to the Northwest Coast.
After reading “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” I believe the Nacirema are the Americans. First Nacirema is American spelled backwards. I also think it is America because it said “North American group living… Little is known of their origin, al- though tradition states that they came from the east.”
We as the audience see this through undeniable evidence that there was no real cultural insight of the Nacirema. As well as language/description Minor uses in the essay to describe the natives. Because the Emic and Etic methods take two completely different approaches to anthropology you can clearly see how this essay approached a certain method rather than the other. In writing the “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema”, Minor followed the guidelines that a Etic would take in conducting research of a particular culture.
Something called “Medicine Men and Women” are spiritual leaders who use herbs to heal sick people. It’s very important to have spiritual leaders because they are the one’s to provide for the sickness of people, they play a huge role in people's lives so that’s why they're so important to the Native Americans religion. Now in closing, I have learned a lot of new things that I have never seen or heard of
The article written by Miner was one in which seemingly forced the student to keep reading. The varying ways in which the author described traditions created and passed down through generations of the Nacirema people evoked interest and question in the students mind. The student had never read this article, nor had he read an article written in such a way to make him feel emotions quite like the ones he felt while scrolling though the pages of this article. Fortunately, the student was able to find that he was not the sole student amongst his peers who had many questions and concerns that came to fruition while reading the Nacirema article. Questions fluttered around the readers head as he finished the first few paragraphs of the article.
Nevertheless, the culture develops from the rich natural habitat known as the natural resources to develop the economy. The main concern of the people of Nacirema, is the human body and their health. The
These rituals also create a sense of moral community, in which people conform to, which furthers their purpose and meaning in
Across the world, traditions are carried throughout many communities, and when others try to change these said traditions, there is typically backfire and disagreement. In the short story “Dead Man’s Path” by Chinua Achebe, the same background is used to fuel the story’s plot. Although it is believed that keeping certain traditions alive will prevent people from changing with the times, these traditions must still be respected and appreciated for keeping past generations alive. The plot of the story follows a new headmaster of a school named Obi who has plans of implementing changes to the school.
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.
Given a way to reach the African people that hunger spiritually, it was a celebration to the indigenous culture. It’s using the gifts, healing, casting out demons, speaking in tongues, and prophecy that the African Christian can use as tool or weapons in the spiritual warfare that they face. This also helps when they take part in remembrance of the first and third century church that started in the northern regions of Africa. The way that this draws people together in a time of political wars, gives people hope when dealing with healing, whether socially or physically. (Cox, p.