[In-class Essay] The trick behind 'Nacirema'

121115 Hyunjin Jun

The article is about the body ritual of Nacirema, which spelled backward of American, explains the traditional habits of people of Nacirema. At first, when I read the article I thought that the Nacirema were merely a group of First Nations that lived in between Canada and America’s southern states. However, after knowing that it represents America, I realized that it was a trick that the author used for effective transmission of his message.

             When I read the text without the realization of American, I thought that the body ritual of Nacirema is something that we should learn and succeed. I reminded of primitive tribes in Southeast Asia while reading it, and it is considered that their traditions should be protected and respected.  Though the medicine men, the holy-mouth-men, latipso, or the listener follow the cruel ways to treat people, I believed that it is their own tradition and we might find some lessons that can be adopted in the modern society. For example, “listener” helps exorcise devils from the heads of those who have been bewitched by letting their patient talk of the difficulties he or she has faced. From this, readers could learn that just listening to others reduces their sufferings.

             Even though it depends on how readers understand and accept the article, the body ritual of Nacirma itself reflects the real modern American culture according to the author. To be specific, a family shrine is a bathroom where a chest with prescriptions and medicines is. “Laptiso” is a hospital. Although treatment can be uncomfortable and expensive, American adults still seek medical treatment which does not really guarantee a cure. A listener is a psychiatrist, and the Nacirema people’s tendency of opposing to their bodies reflects Americans who are not satisfied with their body shapes.

There are three words that appear very often in the article; “ritual”, “ceremony”, and “magical”.  For example, Miner describes the bathroom as a site for “ritual”, medical treatment in hospitals as “ceremony” and medicine as “magical” material. These words seem to suggest that there is a supernatural or religious element behind the practices. However, as I come from a similar culture, I understand these practices to be perfectly secular. To me, bathroom habits are practiced regularly in a certain way out of need and personal preference, not because it is “prescribed”.

             Lastly, I learned the importance of cultural relativity from this article. As I mentioned, Nacirema reminds me indigenous groups in the innermost depths of America whose cultures and practices come shocking to me. For example, they do not wear clothes, which is regarded as a crazy behavior in my culture. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of people in those groups, my culture would appear strange and unfamiliar. Most people tend to believe that all of their daily habits have the reasonable and scientific reasons for doing them. Thus, it must be unacceptable when they see different cultures. Instead of looking at the practices themselves, it may be more helpful to examine the beliefs behind them when looking at diversity across cultures.