A reaction to the paper Body Ritual Among the Nacierma by Horace Miner My first thought was that these were a very unusual people. We are told that they are very concerned with ritual activity focused around the body and that these ceremonies are private and secret. I wanted to read more in order to find out why this was. First I felt sorry for people caught up in such empty ritual. As I continued I quickly realised that this was a hoax or a satire based upon modern bathroom rituals such as tooth cleaning as well as the visiting of doctors, pharmacists, dentists etc. I t also laughs at the American health system which demands money up front and the practice of going to expensive hospitals even when it must be realised that death is not far away.
It is a serious comment on the way that America treats its poor. This was a humorous piece, yet it was making serious anthropological points i.e that all cultures have rituals and that these, seen by an outsider who does not understand their supposed purpose, may seem unusual and even totally illogical and yet have a solid scientific or culturally uniting basis. Medication is termed magic. One wonders how many practices deemed to be magical by anthropologists are in fact based upon really healing or alleviating practices. The doctors, especially the surgeons in this piece, are seen as capable of performing miracles, and so it may seem to those who dont understand what is going on, but most people realise that doctors work within universal physical, chemical and biological rules. The dissatisfaction of Americans in general with their bodies is discussed in detail as well as the reasons change is difficult e.g diets to loose weight counterbalanced by gorging. This was written in the 1950s.
The Term Paper on Alternative Medicine Body Medical Doctors
Millions of North Americans have come to trust the accomplishments of medical science to care for their fragile bodies. Why should they not Using the scientific method, doctors have made it possible to bypass your coronary arteries; to change your heart valves; and to repair or replace your heart, liver and kidneys and most of your joints. Cosmetic surgeons can leave you looking half your age. ...
Miner would be horrified now by the obesity seen everywhere one looks in American cities. As someone who doesnt remember that period I am surprised that it was such a dominant feature even then. I t reminds me somewhat of one of those science fiction films where an instrument of some kind is passed quickly over a patient and a diagnosis made. Is that so different to a modern body scan? Yet even as recently as when this piece was written this could have seemed almost magical to some. Electronic Source Miner, H. Body Ritual Among the Nacierma by Horace Miner from American Anthropologist 58:3, June 1956 http://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/miner.html retrieved 22nd September 2007.
