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Present day native american tribes essay
Present day native american tribes essay
Native American tribes DBQ
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INTRODUCTION
The Nacirema’s roots originate from North America. They are depicted as a group of individuals whose rituals revolve around the human body. The tribe values substances and the help of practitioners in their community to help their bodies recover.
In Horace Miner’s Body Ritual Among the Nacirema, Miner demonstrates how the Nacirema’s culture and performed rituals are poorly understood. Miner’s harsh perception of the Nacirema’s rituals influences the reader’s perception. While the Nacirema’s rituals may seem to have exotic customs and sound taboo, the observer, Miner uses a technique that is inaudible to the conscious mind and makes the strange seem familiar by comparing the Nacirema’s rituals to those of modern-day Americans of
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Miner describes this practice to “strike the uninitiated stranger as revolting” (504). His opinion causes confusion and leads readers to think as the author’s intention. Miner’s choice of words demonstrates how language can shape people’s impression of a culture. Little do the readers know; Miner is describing American culture and how Americans brush their teeth to maintain a good hygiene. The hog hairs refer to a toothbrush and the magical powders refers to toothpaste.
When the Nacirema are ill, they go to latipso to meet the medicine men where they can potentially get cured. However, the medicine men expect a gift in return for their services (505). Many of them undergo practices that may not even improve their state and may even be the leading cause to kill them (506). Miner harshly describes the latipso as a place “you go to die” (505). This specific ritual is similar to the American health care system (latipso spelt backwards is hospital without the letter “h”). The medicine men refer to doctors who receive patients at a cost instead of a gift. Many Americans put their life in the hands of doctors hoping they will recover; however it is never promised they
Further, prayer and medicine interplay to paint a classical image of the Native’s creed, yet, for many obsolete or preposterous existences of the shaman. To re-install beliefs present in the world for thousands of years, but have been disappearing, writers such as Neidhardt introduce the element of the
“Body Ritual among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner was a very interesting read. It took me a while to actually, fully understand the meaning of the article. The first time that I read through the article I was dumbfounded on how strange the rituals described in the article were. I genuinely thought that the author was describing a very primitive culture found in a remote area of the Americas and did not have the slightest clue that the author was talking about the American culture found in the United States. Originally, the article made me wonder how, in such an advanced world, there could still be such a primitive culture as the one described in the article. The article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner opened my eyes to how another person may look at the American culture and how strange it may seem to them.
The novel Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko follows a young man, Tayo through his journey beginning when he returns home to the Laguna Pueblo Reservation, from World War Two; and is very ill. During the narrative Silko introduces us to Tayo's life before the war, which gives insight to reasons of why Tayo is ill. Through out his illness Tayo goes through many ceremonies both literally and metaphorically to try to cure his ailment. One of the ceremonies that is performed, is lead by Old Ku'oosh, the medicine man, where he performs a cleansing ceremony for someone who has killed someone in battle, even though Tayo doesn't recall killing anyone. However, he adds that this ceremony, which he has been performing for many of the returning war soldiers, has not worked for all of them. He then recommends another medicine man with the tools to cure and perform ceremonies, for the old ceremonies, since the white man had arrived, have not been able to cure the new diseases. Along with the medicine man ceremonies he also goes to American "white" doctors, which also acts as some what of a cleansing for him. In his case vomiting is can also be used as a ceremony for Tayo because he uses it to cleanse his body of the poisons and evil, both physical illness and mental illness. The ceremonies that Tayo goes through whether traditional through a medicine man or contemporary like visits to the psychiatrist and stays in the hospital, all add to his recovery, either through physical or mental cleansing.
The Nacierma culture was mentioned in this article because, according to anthropologists, they have a variety of human behavior practices which are considered as being highly unusual and extreme compared to other diverse cultures who also have unusual and bizarre forms of human behavior. The Nacierma practice these strange behaviors in order to keep their bodies clean, healthy, pure, and disease-free, where they go through intense measures in order to do so. This culture was also mentioned because, according to anthropologists, they are
Human needs are similar- health, physical appearance, human body and economic resources to meet these needs. Nacirema culture bears some semblance to more civilized culture. While reading this article it seems most of the practices are similar with modern culture. A major difference is the magic, ritual and the crude method of doing things. One of the cultural practices that stood out for me is the “holy-mouth-men” ritual, which seems like what a dentist will do. I also find interesting the diagnostic ability of the diviner.
Mizruchi, Susan L. "The Place of Ritual in Our Time." American Literary History 12, no. 3 (2000): 467-492. [secondary source]
In the article “Body Ritual Among the Nacerima” by Horace Miner wee see the framework for social construction of the Nacerima culture. The Nacerima fundamental belief is to avert their bodies debilitating characteristics with powerful
Duncombe, Stephen. "Introduction to The Cultural Resistance Reader." Critical Encounters with Texts: Finding a Place to Stand. By Margaret Himley and Anne Fitzsimmons. New York: Custom Pub., 2009. 117-23. Print.
In reading one, Body Rituals Among the Nacirema, since this is my second time reading this article this year I have a clear understanding of what the Nacirema tribe believes to be deviant and how they seek to get the deviance out of their daily lives. This community believes that their bodies are deviant, hence men and women would visit a godly like medicine man to perform what we would consider as deviant medical
History is rich with culture and tradition. Culture and traditions greatly influence people’s behaviors, the way they perceive others, and the way they are perceived by others. Environment also plays into the development of culture and the decisions people make. Although each person has an individualized idea of what culture is and practices their own unique traditions, the fact remains true that every human being is subject to the effects of culture and tradition. Three classic authors accurately portray culture through setting and tradition in order to affect the reader’s view toward the characters and the authors themselves in Zora Neale Hurston’s “The Gilded Six-Bits”, Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”, and John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt: A Parable.
The article equips the reader with the tools needed to better understand other cultures, in terms of their own beliefs and rituals. Miner’s original approach does create a certain level of confusion that forces the reader to critically evaluate his purpose. “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner ultimately brings people together, by illuminating the eccentricities present in all
Medicine men utilize the use of herbs, ceremony, song, stories and prayer to treat each person individually. Medicine men’s healing beliefs advocates a personalized treatment plan for each individual’s unique health problems. Consequently The medicine man is unswervingly devoted to his calling for his entire life, both publicly and privately. Frequently he fasted and his thoughts would reflect upon the supernatural. Publicly his duties were numerous and onerous; dedicated children to the Great Spirit, carried out the setting up of the chief, conferred military honors on the warrior, held leadership positions for war, enforced orders, appointed officers for the buffalo hunts, and when planting the maize he decided on the time to plant.
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). Miner uses this style of writing to more effectively prove his point: that Americans are ethnocentric.
Shrines that Nacirema use for their secret ceremonials are bathrooms. Group of vestal maidens work in temple to heal the sick were actually nurses or medical workers in hospital, and bundle of hog hairs are toothbrush. Miner depicts daily routine like brushing our teeth in uncanny way like using bundle of hog hairs into mouth as daily private mouth-rite ceremony. Breast augmentation was a unique ritual to make women’s breasts big in Miner’s article. Miner manipulates language by describe regular human behaviors into something odd, many things Nacirema act created allusions as Nacirema is from an exotic tribe from ancient time. Reader can get Minor’s sense of humor when he portrayed American as Nacirema, and when he referred a dentist as Holy-mouth-men. I saw the humor of Miner’s story. Miner’s use of ironic humor on regular daily routine, made reader to feel what those activities were something bad we did toward our body. His manipulation of language made regular activities of human beings seem uncivilized. His way of ironic humor made me know that sometimes what we do daily and considered as a natural things to do, might be rather odd for people from a different culture to
Finding out about antiques, relics, and customs through narrating has formed who I am. These three things have inhabited of all societies to realize who they are. Family customs demonstrate how individuals experience their lives and cooperate with others. They additionally indicate how individuals respond when a relative weds into a group of an alternate ethnic foundation. Relics are great cases of material things that can instruct about one 's family history. Antiquities show who individuals are. This is valid for every single ethnic foundation.