BODY RITUAL health of which loom as a for their clients, but decide what AMONG THE dominant concern in the ethos of the ingredients should be and NACIREMA Horace the people. While such a concern then write them down in an Miner is certainly not unusual, its ancient and secret language. This From Horace Miner, "Body ceremonial aspects and writing is understood only by the Ritual among the Nacirema." associated philosophy are medicine men and by the Reproduced by permission of the unique. herbalists who, for another gift, American Anthropological provide the required charm. Association from The American Anthropologist, vol. 58 (1956), The fundamental belief pp. 503-507. underlying the whole system The charm is not disposed of The anthropologist has become appears to be that the human after it has served its purpose, so familiar with the diversity of body is ugly and that its natural but is placed in the charmbox of ways in which different peoples tendency is to debility and the household shrine. As these behave in similar situations that disease. Incarcerated in such a magical materials are specific for he is not apt to be surprised by body, man's only hope is to avert certain ills, and the real or even the most exotic customs. In these characteristics through the imagined maladies of the people fact, if all of the logically use of the powerful influences of are many, the charm-box is possible combinations of ritual and ceremony. Every usually full to overflowing. The behavior have not been found household has one or more magical packets are so numerous somewhere in the world, he is shrines devoted to this purpose. that people forget what their apt to suspect that they must be The more powerful individuals purposes were and fear to use present in some yet undescribed in the society have several them again. While the natives tribe. This point has, in fact, shrines in their houses and, in are very vague on this point, we been expressed with respect to fact, the opulence of a house is can only assume that the idea in clan organization by Murdock. often referred to in terms of the retaining all the old magical In this light, the magical beliefs number of such ritual centers it materials is that their presence in and practices of the Nacirema possesses. Most houses are of the charm-box, before which the present such unusual aspects that wattle and daub construction, but body rituals are conducted, will it seems desirable to describe the shrine rooms of the more in some way protect the them as an example of the wealthy are walled with stone. worshipper. extremes to which human Poorer families imitate the rich behavior can go. by applying pottery plaques to their shrine walls. While each Beneath the charm-box is a family has at least one such small font. Each day every Professor Linton first brought shrine, the rituals associated with member of the family, in the ritual of the Nacirema to the it are not family ceremonies but succession, enters the shrine attention of anthropologists are private and secret. The rites room, bows his head before the twenty years ago, but the culture are normally only discussed with charm-box, mingles different of this people is still very poorly children, and then only during sorts of holy water in the font, understood. They are a North the period when they are being and proceeds with a brief rite of American group living in the initiated into these mysteries. I ablution. The holy waters are territory between the Canadian was able, however, to establish secured from the Water Temple Creel the Yaqui and Tarahumare sufficient rapport with the of the community, where the of Mexico, and the Carib and natives to examine these shrines priests conduct elaborate Arawak of the Antilles. Little is and to have the rituals described ceremonies to make the liquid known of their origin, although to me. ritually pure. tradition states that they came from the east.... The focal point of the shrine In the hierarchy of magical is a box or chest which is built practitioners, and below the Nacirema culture is into the wall. In this chest are medicine men in prestige, are characterized by a highly kept the many charms and specialists whose designation is developed market economy magical potions without which best translated "holy-mouth- which as evolved in a rich no native believes he could live. men." The Nacirema have an natural habitat. While much of These preparations are secured almost pathological horror of the people's time is devoted to from a variety of specialized and fascination with the mouth, economic pursuits, a large part practitioners. The most powerful the condition of which is of the fruits of these labors and a of these are the medicine men, believed to have a supernatural considerable portion of the day whose assistance must be influence on all social are spent in ritual activity. The rewarded with substantial gifts. relationships. Were it not for the focus of this activity is the However, the medicine men do rituals of the mouth, they human body, the appearance and not provide the curative potions believe that their teeth would fall out, their gums bleed, their jaws It is to be hoped that, when this fact, sick adults are not only shrink, their friends desert them, a thorough study of the willing but eager to undergo the and their lovers reject them. Nacirema is made, there will be protracted ritual purification, if They also believe that a strong careful inquiry into the they can afford to do so. No relationship exists between oral personality structure of these matter how ill the supplicant or and moral characteristics. For people. One has but to watch the how grave the emergency, example, there is a ritual gleam in the eye of a the guardians of many temples ablution of the mouth for holy- mouth-man, as he jabs an will not admit a client if he children which is supposed to awl into an exposed nerve, to cannot give a rich gift to the improve their moral fiber. suspect that a certain amount of custodian. Even after one has sadism is involved. If this can gained admission and survived be established, a very interesting the ceremonies, the guardians The daily body ritual pattern emerges, for most of the will not permit the neophyte to performed by everyone includes population shows definite leave until he makes still another a mouth-rite. Despite the fact masochistic tendencies. It was gift. that these people are so to these that Professor Linton punctilious about care of the referred in discussing a mouth, this rite involves a The supplicant entering the distinctive part of the daily body practice which strikes the temple is first stripped of all his ritual which is performed only uninitiated stranger as revolting. or her clothes. In everyday life by men. This part of the rite It was reported to me that the the Nacirema avoids exposure involves scraping and lacerating ritual consists of inserting a of his body and its natural the surface of the face with a small bundle of hog hairs into functions. Bathing and sharp instrument. Special the mouth, along with certain excretory acts are women's rites are performed magical powders, and then performed only in the secrecy of only four times during each moving the bundle in a highly the household shrine, where lunar month, but what they lack formalized series of gestures. they are ritualized as part of the in frequency is made up in body-rites. Psychological shock barbarity. As part of this results from the fact that body ceremony, women bake their In addition to the private secrecy is suddenly lost upon heads in small ovens for about mouth-rite, the people seek out a entry into the latipso. A an hour. The theoretically holy-mouth-man once or twice a man, whose own wife has never interesting point is that what year. These practitioners have seen him in an excretory act, seems to be a preponderantly an impressive set of suddenly finds himself naked masochistic people have paraphernalia, consisting of a and assisted by a vestal maiden developed sadistic specialists. variety of augers, awls, probes, while he performs his natural and prods. The use of these functions into a sacred vessel. objects in the exorcism of the The medicine men have an This sort of ceremonial treatment evils of the mouth involves imposing temple, or latipso, in is necessitated by the fact that almost unbelievable ritual torture every community of any size. the excreta are used by a diviner of the client. The holy-mouth- The more elaborate ceremonies to ascertain the course and man open the clients mouth and, required to treat very sick nature of the client's sickness. using the above mentioned tools, patients can only be performed Female clients, on the other enlarges any holes which decay at this temple. These ceremonies hand, find their naked bodies may have created in the teeth. involve not only the are subjected to the scrutiny, Magical materials are put into thaumaturge but a permanent manipulation and prodding of these holes. If there age no group of vestal maidens who the medicine men. naturally occurring holes in the move sedately about the temple teeth, large sections of one or chambers in distinctive costume more teeth are gouged out so that Few supplicants in the and head- dress. the supernatural substance can temple are well enough to do be applied. In the client's view, anything but lie on their hard the purpose of these The latipso ceremonies are beds. The daily ceremonies, like ministrations is to arrest decay so harsh that it is phenomenal the rites of the holy-mouth-men, and to draw friends. The that a fair proportion of the involve discomfort and torture. extremely sacred and traditional really sick natives who enter the With ritual precision, the vestals character of the rite is evident in temple The concept of culture awaken their miserable charges the fact that the natives return to ever recover. Small children each dawn and roll them about the holy--mouth-men year after whose indoctrination is still on their beds of pain while year, despite the fact that their incomplete have been known to performing ablutions, in the teeth continue to decay. resist attempts to take them to formal movements of which the the temple because "that is maidens are highly trained. At where you go to die." Despite other times they insert magic wands in the supplicant's mouth hyper-mammary development or force him to eat substances are so idolized that they make a which are supposed to be handsome living by simply healing. From time to time the going from village to village and medicine men come to their permitting the natives to stare at clients and jab magically treated them for a fee. needles into their flesh. The fact that these temple ceremonies may not cure, and Reference has already been may even kill the neophyte, in made to the fact that excretory no way decreases the people's functions are ritualized, faith in the medicine men. routinized, and relegated to secrecy. Natural reproductive functions are similarly distorted. There remains one other Intercourse is taboo as a topic kind of practitioner, known as a and scheduled as an act. Efforts "listener." This witchdoctor has are made to avoid pregnancy by the power to exorcise the devils the use of magical materials or that lodge in the heads of people by limiting intercourse to certain who have been bewitched. The phases of the moon. Conception Nacirema believe that parents is actually very infrequent. bewitch their own children. When pregnant, women dress so Mothers are particularly as to hide their condition. suspected of putting a curse on Parturition takes place in secret, children while teaching them without friends or relatives to the secret body rituals. The assist, and the majority of counter-magic of the women do not nurse their witchdoctor is unusual in its lack infants. of ritual. The patient simply tells the "listener" all his troubles and fears, beginning with the earliest Our review of the ritual life difficulties he can remember. of the Nacirema has certainly The memory displayed by the shown them to be a magic- Nacirema in these exorcism ridden people. It is hard to un- sessions is truly remarkable. It derstand how they have managed is not uncommon for the patient to exist so long under the to bemoan the rejection he felt burdens which they have upon being weaned as a babe, imposed upon themselves. But and a few individuals even see even such exotic customs as their troubles going back to the these take on real meaning traumatic effects of their own when they are viewed with the birth. insight provided by Malinowski when he wrote:

In conclusion, mention must be made of certain "Looking from far and practices which have their base above, from our high places of in native esthetics but which safety in the developed depend upon the pervasive civilization, it is easy to see all aversion to the natural body and the crudity and irrelevance of its functions. There are ritual magic. But without its power and fasts to make fat people thin and guidance early man could not ceremonial feasts to make thin have mastered his practical people fat. Still other rites difficulties as he has done, nor are used to make women's could man have advanced to the breasts larger if they are small, higher stages of civilization." and smaller if they are large. General dissatisfaction with breast shape is symbolized in the fact that the ideal form is virtually outside the range of human variation. A few women afflicted with almost inhuman