What is the purpose of the article Body Ritual among the Nacirema?
"Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" is important because it demonstrates the problem of representation in ethnography. The purpose of article is to raise the question of how can we study a different culture from the outside and how can we understand our own culture from within.
What is the Nacirema article about?
In the paper, Miner describes the Nacirema, a little-known tribe living in North America. The way in which he writes about the curious practices that this group performs distances readers from the fact that the North American group described actually corresponds to modern-day Americans of the mid-1950s.
What did you find strange about the body ritual of the nacirema article?
Without the visits to the holy-mouth-men, the Nacirema believe that their gums will bleed and teeth will rot, causing them to become social outcasts of their communities. Their expectations of beauty are so extravagant that the hygiene of their gums determine beauty.
Why did Horace Miner wrote the Nacirema article?
Miner's account of the Nacirema—American spelled backwards—was instead a pointed criticism of anthropologists' tendency to hype up the perceived weirdness of other cultures. His aim, as i09 puts it, was to show that "everything that's normal to us seems weird to someone else."
What is your overall impression of the culture of the Nacirema After reading the article?
The Nacirema culture consists of extreme dissatisfaction of imperfection and an unnecessary fear of natural functions. Overall they seem ridiculously obsessed with correcting minute imperfections, even if the risks are much worse.
What is the basic focus of Nacirema society?
the human bodyNacirema culture is devoted to economic pursuits and ritual activity. The focus of this activity is the human body, the appearance and health of which are major concerns for the people. Many of the Nacirema's traditions are based on preserving bodily health and youth.
What was Horace Miner attempting to illustrate with this article How does this article relate to conducting research on other cultures?
Through this exaggerated and distorted point-of-view , Miner is trying to argue that if you look at any culture, religion, or society from an outside perspective it will seem strange. By writing this he is trying to challenge our ethnocentrism.
Who are the Nacirema How would you briefly describe their cultural views about the human body?
The Nacirema are a peculiar culture in North America. According to Horace Miner's account of them in his 1956 article "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema", one of their main characteristics is a highly negative sentiment towards the human body which is considered by them to be ugly and sick.
How does Body Ritual Among the Nacirema demonstrate ethnocentrism?
The Nacirema believe that by not performing the rituals of the mouth, their jaws would shrink, their gums bleed and everyone they love would leave them. Supposedly, the Nacirema people use odd and mechanical gestures to move around a stick with hog hair on it throughout their mouth.
What was Miner talking about when he discussed the shrine that the Nacirema use to perform their rituals?
In Horace Miner's article, “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema”, he talks about a tribe and describes their odd behavior. He tells about how the tribe performs these strange daily rituals and how their peculiarity is extreme, but in fact he is actually speaking of Americans as a whole (Miner).
What does Nacirema mean this is tricky so think about it carefully it is one word?
1. What does Nacirema mean? This is tricky, so think about it carefully. It is oneword. Nacierma means American spelled back words.