Body Ritual Among the Nacirema and the Core Concepts of Sociology

832 Words4 Pages
“Body Ritual among the Nacirema” and the core concepts of sociology. The article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” relates to the core concepts of sociology in many ways. Horace Miner does a wonderful job of describing the American culture in a unique way. Although the article describes many aspects of American life, it is written to influence the reader into thinking that they are reading about an uncivilized tribe of people who either existed a long time ago, or still exist today. This article hides many of the core terms that relate to sociology including sociological imagination and ethnocentrism. Miner describes the tribe as a North American group living in the territory between the “Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexio, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles.” He goes on to say that their nation was founded by a cultural hero, Notgnihsaw, who is mainly known for two great feats of strength; the throwing of a piece of “wampum” across the river Pa-To-Mac and the chopping down of a cherry tree in which the “Spirit of Truth” resided. If you haven’t noticed, Nacirema is America spelled backwards, and Notgnihsaw is Washington spelled backwards; speaking about the great George Washington, who is considered one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. As said earlier, Miner tries to trick the readers into thinking that he is talking about a past Native American tribe, when he is really talking about our current everyday lives. It’s crazy to think how we, as Americans, could read something that so thoroughly describes our own daily lives and the society in which we are surrounded by and feel sorry for the culture that Miner so cleverly wrote about, without even realizing that it is our own. This tribe focuses mainly on their own image and goes through many rituals to keep their body as healthy, clean and perfect as possible. They

More about Body Ritual Among the Nacirema and the Core Concepts of Sociology

Open Document