Body Ritual Among The Nacirema By Horace Miner
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The essay, written in the form of an anthropological study, critiques the cultural practices of American society by presenting them as the strange and bizarre rituals of a mysterious tribe called the Nacirema. The following quotes demonstrate how Miner uses language and literary techniques to convey his message. "The fundamental belief of the Nacirema is that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendencies are towards evil." (Miner, 1956)
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Horace Miner, a American Anthropologist wrote an academic essay titled “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema.” In this article Miner described some of the bizarre rituals and practices of the “Nacirema” which the reader comes to find out that he is talking about North Americans. The way Miner goes into detail about how these people live makes them seem foreign. Thus making the norm for an American lifestyle seem odd because the certain type of lingo Miner uses to make this “tribe” more exotic then the actually are. His point in doing this is to show the reader how obnoxious anthropologist can be when they are explain a different culture.
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Horace Miner, the author of “Body Ritual among the Nacirema”, used very interesting and descriptive choice of words to describe the routines that modern Americans go through from an outsider point of view. He gives different terms to describe mundane routines, like brushing your teeth, and exaggerate the details as something that is bizarre. Some rituals Miner described as illogical because there was a low rate of success in what they are trying to achieve. This reveals that what determines something to be socially acceptable is not through logic, but only though the popularity of the community. One of the rituals that Miner described as illogical but everyone still do the ritual was the fact that the people kept going to the “holy-mouth-man”, or also known as the dentist, even if their teeth are still decaying.
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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.
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As a result, even anthropologists are likely to face difficulties in accurately representing a group of people. In Body Ritual Among the Nacirema we are exposed to “the problem of representation.” Horace Miner “represented” Americans by writing about them and interpreting their behaviors. Miner’s representations of the American, or in this case “Nacirema,” culture most likely differ greatly from the way we would represent Americans. As we saw in Who are the Nacirema?
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To summarize the findings in the three autobiographies, sacred rituals take place within a scared context. This means that sacred symbols, scared times, sacred places, myths, additional rituals (sacrifices) etc. might be involved. Both Mazumdar and Crow Dog appease to a deity through a sacrifice. Nonetheless, the two sacrifices are different. Whereas Mazumdar offers food, Crow Dog offers her own flesh.
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In chapter one of “The Human Record” on pages 24 and 25, some scholars believe that the second artifact, “The Dancer ” is a young woman who performed dancing religious rituals. This bronze sculpture dating back, probably in the period of 2600–1900 B.C.E during the Bronze Age , when bronze was the choice of metal. However, all civilizations, societies, etc. did not transcend from the use of the metal bronze alone. By 1920s, archaeologists and historians excavated the city of Harappa . And with the discovery of The Dancer discovered in Mohenjo-Daro , some scholars suggested The Dancer danced in religious rituals or had to do with something else.
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Rituals are rather important to both faiths even if it seems simple to another. Not many records show as to how the commoners worshipped, but there are many good guesses as to what they did and their involvement in their religion. Temples were not open for commoners, because of their “impurity”, but the priests would hold small rituals outside for the general public. Some communities even had local temples made of mud bricks with a chosen priest or priestess to serve the deity. Temples also had offering boxes so people could offer gifts in return for protection and favors.
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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.
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When looking at an American account by James Walker, who was a physician on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, gave an account of the sacred pipe and is uses. Walker writes, “When a Lakota does anything in a formal manner he should first smoke the pipe. This is because the spirit in the pipe smoke is pleasing to Wanka-Tanka and to all spirits.” This quote by Walker expresses the importance that the Sacred Pipe had in daily life if one took time out of their day to smoke before doing something of importance. The connection with ancestors and with Wakan-Tanka through the smoke that is released through a sacred pipe and the importance within Lakota society shows the way that an object is able to bring a closer relationship with a God.
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