Global Village

Author Horace Miners writes an article about a North American group called the Nacirema. In Miners’ article, “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” he wrote about their culture obsessions with rituals in regards to the pride of the human body. Nacirema people believe that their bodies are unattractive, and rituals and ceremonies, will bring satisfaction and a better sense towards meaning of life. Daily rituals are performed in shrine rooms located in every household. Charms such as magical materials and potions are placed inside a box located for theses rituals. Nacirema culture has a powerful attraction with the representations between the mouth and an individual’s morals. One of the body rituals is a mouth-rite: inserting hog hair and powders in the mouth and brushing. Nacirema people believe that these rituals will attract others and prevent deterioration of teeth. Listener is a type of profession found in the culture that performs counter-magic to ease fears an individual may encounter (Miners, 1956).

In conclusion, I would describe this culture as insane. The rituals and ceremonies performed by the Nacirema people make them feel good about themselves, which is absurd. The Nacirema people feel satisfaction by performing daily rituals and ceremonies, whereas American people go shopping and eat out as some of the ways to satisfy their meaning of life. The article mentions that the Nacirema have listeners who listen to fears and troubles of the people and perform magic to ease fears, whereas American people see a psychiatrist for the problems and take antidepressant to ease the fear. Nacirema is America spelled backwards.

Reference

Miner, H. (1956, June 1). Body Ritual among the Nacirema. Retrieved November 9, 2014, from http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/665280?uid=3739256&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104490863321