The first time I ever heard about anthropology was when I watched the TV show Bones. The main character is a forensic anthropologist and despite her lack of feeling she has a very interesting outlook on life. The way she sees things is so different she sometimes needs a sidekick who shows more emotion to understand the human side of life. She is an example of a completely and solely scientific perspective. While I had no idea what this meant at the time, I did know I was nothing like her, but I wanted to understand her viewpoint. When I began this class I didn’t know what to expect; I didn’t know if I’d just be learning scientific facts about other cultures, or if I would read more about the ideas behind a culture. I found out when I read the first assigned article, “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner.
I’ve always been the type of person that believes anything she reads, well almost anything. So it isn’t surprising to learn that I thought the Nacirema really existed, and that I was confused and almost disturbed about what they did. As the article states, the Nacirema believe the body is ugly. They have shrines in their houses devoted to ceremonies that avert the bad characteristics of the body. Just after reading about these rituals I was appalled to think that people would hate themselves and try to change through these rituals. Of course I didn’t understand much about the actual ceremonies, but it didn’t sound fun or nice. While I continued to read I learned that the Nacirema also went to these spiteful “holy-mouth-doctors” just to endure more torture to their body. I remembered thinking, “What are these people thinking?! Why do they have to hurt themselves to become what they think is good? Who started these traditions anyhow?!” I was completely confused and frustrated with the Nacirema. It didn’t help when I read about the temple ceremonies that poke and prod these natives to supposedly heal them. The Nacirema keep coming back believing it will work, even when many have died. I was thoroughly disgusted with these people and their beliefs in magic and witch-craft. I couldn’t believe that these people really existed, and if they did I didn’t understand how they could ever be happy.When I posted my opinion of the article I quickly learned that I had been tricked. My reading skills had failed me once again. The Nacirema was really just American spelled backwards, and the whole article was someone’s perspective of me, and what I do regularly. I reread the article and each time I came to a part I had been previously disgusted with, I realized what the author was really describing, I laughed. The “shrines” seemed like bathroom sinks where we wash our faces to keep clean, and apply lotions and make-up to cover up our many flaws. The “holy-mouth-doctors” were really dentists who regularly check our teeth and mouth so that we stay healthy and don’t get sick, and yes we do go even if we know it will hurt. The “temple ceremonies” were actually just describing the hospital where we go to get better when we are really sick. Some people may die while they are there, but we know that the hospital saves more lives than it takes, and the doctors do try everything to keep us healthy. I even realized the article talked about privacy in the bathroom and psychiatrists. I was completely astonished at the reversal of my feelings towards the “nacirema.”
I learned a few things after reading this article and discovering its real content. I learned to my embarrassment, that I need to work on my reading comprehension. I know that the author was trying to tell us that we can’t take everything we read and place opinions on what we don’t quite understand. He wrote the article this way to get a reaction from the audience, to astound us, and show us how easily we believe the chapter without reading the book. I now realize that as an anthropologist you have to immerse yourself in a culture and understand it before you judge their actions and beliefs.
