SA 200
Body Rituals of the Nacirema
After going back through and re-reading Body Rituals Among the Nacirema by Horace Miner, there were some obvious points that made it clear to me that the author was talking about Americans. First of all, it was said that they resided in North America between Canada and Mexico and that they came from the east. This could not have been Native Americans because the Natives were not known for coming from the east. The author also said that they got their rituals from Notgnihsaw, which is Washington spelled backwards. The shrines that are talked about to change the human body are bathrooms, and the more powerful individuals that had more than one shrine are richer people with bigger houses. The focal point of the shrine is the shower or bathtub. The author also talks about the rituals that are performed in the shrine to the mouth. It was said that the Nacirema believed that if these rituals were not performed then, “the teeth would fall out, the gums would bleed, their jaws shrink, their friends desert them, and their lovers reject them.” These rituals that are talked about are the brushing of the teeth. If someone does not brush their teeth, most of the fears stated above could actually happen. The holy-mouth-man that is visited once or twice a year is the dentist. The medicine men that have the temple, latipso is hospital spelled backwards without the H. These are just some examples that I have pulled out after re-reading the story. There