Nacirema Culture Research Paper

By keeping reading this article, I do understand that Nacirema is a tribe with a deep and unique connection with their culture. For example, they have a created a special structure of society for their ritual and ceremony of the human body. Indeed, the Nacirema tribe has a deep believe in their religion, culture and their belief. We understand from this perspective that our diversity makes us certainly different, but connected. For example Horace mentions that Nacirema body cleansing is a must for social recognition, and mouth rituals make them (the Nacirema) more accepted by others. These rituals may look odd to some point of view. In this logic, one may argue that the author emphasizes the fact that diversity acknowledgement can be complex.

In 1956, Horace Miner took it upon himself to share what he had learned about the poorly understood Nacirema tribe living in North America through his paper titled “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema.” Initially shocking to many, it helped to provide an objective view of the Nacirema tribe and the unusual rituals and practices which they engaged in at the time. But, it has now been sixty-one years since the publication of that paper which has made it necessary to reexamine the practices and rituals of the Nacirema tribe.

The reason why Horace Miner writes this article to express people’s language, beliefs, and norms as well as material objects that are passed down from generations compared to Americans. Thus creating what is known as a culture. Making things seem abnormal than what we as Americans are accustomed to known as norms. No two cultures are exactly alike they all differ from one another, for example the “Nacirema present such an unusual aspect that it seems desirable to describe them as an example of the extremes to which human behavior can go.” (22.). As Miner uses the Nacirema’s unique culture to help inform others to realize that we cannot judge other cultures, but to try and understand them and practice cultural relativism.

The Olmec culture is one of the oldest cultures in Mesoamerica. The Olmecs were known as one of the oldest cultures, as well as, the mother culture of mesoamerican cultures and were estimated to be around from 1000 to 500 BC. The name Olmec comes from the Mexica cultures that came after. It was not the name that the people of this culture named themselves, the name they called themselves has been lost through history. The Olmec culture was the culture that produced rubber, and had great workmanship in which they were able to create jade masks, celts, ornaments and tools using different materials such as gold.

Culture is the overall moral belief, customs, language, and attitudes a person is brought and raised into. Daily, we are exposed to diverse and different cultures everyday which allow us to learn the different values and traditions each culture possess. The importance of observing and learning different customs is beneficial because it can help us better adapt and prevent misunderstandings when we communicate and interact with others. Hispanics and Americans are two huge cultures that have been sharing the same living space for years but are an example of two different civilizations. While both, Hispanics and Americans, share many similarities they both differ in recognition of religion, language,

In this week’s assignment, we will discuss Horace Miner’s analytical study of tribal behavior and Body Ritual among the Nacirema tribe by answering the following questions. First was I surprised when the true identity of the Nacirema tribe was revealed? Then how does Body Ritual among the Nacirema help us understand our own view of other cultures and how we are viewed by other cultures? Next why do some of the practices and rituals of other cultures seem odd or foreign to us? Finally, how do our own cultural norms affect our understanding and perception of other cultures?

Culture is very fascinating becasue it entails so many elements. Differences in food, talk, dress, religious beliefs and even schooling often determine what region you are from in the U.S. much less then world. The types of rituals that the Nacirema go through are harsh but they still exist as a society. It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist so long under the burdens with which they have imposed upon themselves. (Miner, p507). The fascinating thing about this society is that they have a seemingly possessed fixation with the mouth. It's both admired and despised simutaneously. To them it is the gateway to both lasting or doomed friendship as well as the riddence or existance of physical and mental illness.

Horace Miner writes that the Nacirema people can be described as magic-ridden people. They have very many burdens they have imposed unto themselves; for example, the excretory rituals. These are rituals that puts one ethnic group very distinct as compared to others, and by and large, it makes them consolidate their beliefs and activities. In the eyes of modern culture, the Nacirema culture presents a ‘?crazy scenario.’? However, the Nacirema people as explained in the article are not ready to abandon or put down the ‘?perceived burdens.’? They are ready to continue with them. In themselves, they value what they do as superior and something which cannot be interfered with by other cultures.

One of the contrasts in their culture is that they believe in everything should be the same, sameness(99). In my culture, we believe everyone should be unique, and have their own opinion. Another contrast is that they got rid of different weather, Climate Control, so that way sameness is all over(106). In my culture, there is no climate control, we have so many different types of weather conditions. Another difference between our cultures are that they don’t believe in different colors because of sameness(114). In my culture, there are all sorts of different colors because of the uniqueness. Another contrast is that they believe that not having a choice is safer than having a choice(124). The next contrast with difference in religion is that they believe that people aren’t allowed to own books because people would have different thoughts and opinions(128). In my culture books are allowed, and encouraged. The last contrast is that love isn’t allowed in The Giver’s community of sameness(157). In my culture love is allowed and most people fall in

I think the author is taking a cultural relativism point of view. First of all, in this article much information about rituals, ceremonies, and other background on the Nacirema has obtained by researcher’s actually living with the Nacirema people. I think the method, living with the subjects of research and observing them very closely, was to understand them from a sense they think and behave. Second, the author wrote that developed civilization we are enjoying ultimately stems from the phase of magical rituals and beliefs. That seems to give the credit to the Nacirema culture and value the culture as it is. The author’s style of writing was not that he thinks the technically developed civilization is superior to the Nacirema culture,

The author’s purpose in writing this article was not to show the “Nacirema” as an example of how extreme human behavior can become, but how an outside perspective can affect your perception of an alien culture. If one were to look at the “Nacirema’s” cultural behaviors regarding physical appearance and health without any insight or knowledge of the specific beliefs or values of that culture, they might seem bizarre and even incomprehensible. By showing behaviors and “rituals” performed by this unknown tribe, Miner allowed others to see that the way studies were representing distinctive cultures was narrowminded and defective. Without the proper comprehension of the basis of any society, huge cultural misunderstandings could occur. Of

Horace Miner writes about the Nacirema, a culture steeped in magic and superstition. Their ways of life are portrayed as uncivilized and barbaric. The Nacirema perform rituals and rites that are strange to us here in the civilized world. The description and portrayal of this tribe make it very hard for the reader to connect or even begin to understand such a strange people. Miner starts of the article creating an atmosphere of wonderment; “if all of the logically possible combinations of behavior have not been found somewhere in the world, he(anthropologist) is apt to suspect that they must be present in some yet undescribed tribe”(Miner:1956:503). And that tribe is the Nacirema, a foreign and strange people to whom we in the western

This is about a culture called Nacirema that is practiced in many different place and was brought to the attention of the Anthropologist attention by Professor Linton to talk about this culture that was poorly understood. The Nacirema is a type of culture that is summed up as that these people that believe in this culture that the human body is ugly and that the natural tendencies are meant to debilitate and cause disease. They are also big believes in rituals and ceremonies in the household to preform these ceremonies either as a family but in most cases it was privately. Where they would receive charms and other items form the medicine man of the community that would help with a certain problem. They would use these magic items to help with

Over those years, I believe that their culture has undergone social changes or even degreased it member. For one reason could be that outsider would want to stop their extreme ways compared to their culture. In other factor that might have been exposures to our culture and the technical advances from recent years. Culture is dynamic meaning it can have adopted to new changes, but it can also loose traditional knowledge in the process (Blanco). I believe this has been the case for the Nacirema, but I also believe that our culture is not that different from theirs. One example as mention earlier is that we both trust a “medicine men” or a doctor that prescribes us medicine or “magical potion” that is suppose to heal us. Another example how are society protrude our body. “… pervasive aversion to the natural body and its function. There are ritual fasts to make fat people thin and ceremonial feast to make thin people fat (Miner). Similarity, we set unrealistic standard for people which makes people want to go on diets or seek breast surgery to achieve that ideal body image imposed my society. It may not be as extreme as their culture, but many cultures aspect do overlap one other. We are not as different or as righteous as we envision our culture to

Subcultures are around us everywhere. It’s a group within a larger culture, who have something in common. An example of this would be in ‘Body Ritual among the Nacirema’ which is a story filled with weird perspectives and traditions. Including the charm-box of the household shrine and the medicine men that have an imposing temple, or latispo. Culture is such a strong aspect in people as it determines how a person behaves and does things, which is shown in this book. The Nacirema people are not so far off from us modern day Americans.