BODY RITUALS AMONG NACIREMA.

Cultural practices are the arts, customs and habits that characterize a
particular society or nation. Seeking to understand these practices from
them that take part in it, is always burdensome since there is a tendency to
favor your own culture viewing it as superior to others. Over the course of
this paper, I will examine the custom of Narcirema. Specifically, I will pore
over the body rituals and discuss the hierarchy of practitioners as well as
their responsibility to the Nacirema natives to show how much Natives are
attached to their cultural practices despite some of them being oppressive
and crude. It is also to show how they have negated the existence of
developed civilization hence putting their lives in the unsafely of crude
magical practices. More often cultural practices are treated as a norm and
always go unquestioned.
Nacirema is a group from North American that lives in territory between
Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Trahumare of Mexico. They have highly
developed economy but will more often spend the better part of their days in
ritual activity. In this section I will under see specifically the body rituals
amongst the Nacirema .In Horace Miner, Body Rituals Among Nacirema
cultural practices seem unusual to outsiders just like many other cultural
practices. A pore over on Nacirema cultural practice is important since it is
not only instructive but also informing. The importance of these body rituals
is to ensure that the body is resistant to diseases and delibility. In Nacorema,
the opulence of the house is measured by the number of shrines that a
family has. It is a way of determining the rich from the poor.
In Nacirema, every native got shrines full of charms and magical portion
without which no native believes could live. Their believe in medicine men is
overwhelming such that even if he does not provide curative portions and
scribbles some writing, they believe its ancient language written in secrecy
and can only be understood by herbalist who will later on give the medicine.
That notwithstanding, each day all family members in succession visit the
shrine to mingle different types of water and often proceed with brief of
ablution.
In the hierarchy of magic practitioners and just below medicine men in
prestige are specialist whose designation is termed as holy mouth men.
The Nacirema have almost a pathological horror or rather a fascinating
believes about the mouth. They believe in supernatural influence it poses on
social relationships. Were it not for the mouth, they believe that the teeth

would fall out, gums bleed, their jaws shrink, friends desert them and their
loved ones reject them. Daily rituals of the mouth involved inserting small
bundles of hog hairs into the mouth along with magical powers to exorcise
the evil spirits. The holy mouth man opens the clients mouth, enlarges
decay holes in the teeth or if there is none he gouges one out to create a
space for the spiritual obstacle. These practices are extremely sacred and
traditional character is evident in that natives visit the Holy mouth man
every year. The special women rites where they bake their heads in ovens for
an hour are performed only four times during the lunar month although they
lacked frequency and are barbaric.
On the other hand the medicine men have an imposing temple or Latipso in
every community. The ceremonies held there involve not only thaumaturgies
but also a permanent group of vestal maidens who move sedately about the
temple chambers. Latipso ceremonies are harsh even to the sick clients such
that children whose indoctrination is still incomplete are known to resist
going to the Latipso because that is where you go to die A Nacirema avoids
exposure of his body and natural functions but once in Latipso, a man whose
his own wife has never seen him in an excretory act suddenly finds himself
naked and being assisted by maidens while performing his natural functions.
Psychological shock results when body secrecy end when you enter Latipso.
Other practitioner is the listener This witchdoctor has the power to exorcise
the devils that lodge in the heads of the people who are bewitched. Mostly,
mothers are suspected of putting a curse on children while teaching them
the secret body rituals. With ritual precision the vestals awaken the
supplicant miserable charges at dawn and roll them on their bed of pain
while performing ablution, which they are highly trained. Patients often visit
The listener and explain all their troubles depending with how much they can
remember so as to get healed.
Critically reviewing the ritual life of Nacirema has certainly shown that they
are magic ridden people. It is surprising how they have managed to exist so
long under the burdens of magic which they have imposed on themselves.
Looking from far and above, from the high places of safety in the developed
civilization we clearly the crudity and irrelevance of magic