33Body Ritual amongthe NaciremaHorace Miner

Ritual involving repeated symbolic acts can be about many things-thegrowth 01' crops, the response to death, movement (rom one social identityto anotheJ~ community solidarity, and H1.uchn1-ore. It can also be about one'sbody, including how to care (or it, how to make it socially acceptable, and howto make it impressive to others. This classic article written in J 958 by HoraceMiner describes the extensive body ritual 01' a North American group, IheNacirema, whose houses contain special shrines in which body ritual takesplace. From the article, it is clear that the society's elaborate variety o(bodyrituals reveals important Nacirenla cultural values.

From Horace Millet: "Body Ritual among the Nacirema," The American Anthropologist, vol. 58,June (956. Used by permission of Blackwell Publishing.

334

C HAP T E R 3 3 • Body Ritual among the Nacirema 335

Theanthropo]ogist has become so familiar with the diversity of ways in whichdifferentpeoples behave In s irni lar sItuations that he is not apt to be sUI'prisedhyeventhe most exonc customs. In [act, IE all at the logically possible combi-nationsof behavior have not been found Somewhere In the world, he is apt 10

suspectthat they must be present In some yet undescribed tribe. This pointhas,in fact, been expressed with respect to clan orgal1lzatlon by Murdock, Inthislight, the magical beliefs and practice., of the Naclrema present suchual aspect that It seems deSirable to descr-ibe them as an example 01 theunus .

t emes to which human behavim- can go.exr Professor Linton first brought the ritual of the Nacirerna to the attentionf thropologists twenty veal'S ago, but the culture of this people is still vcrvo :Iyunderstood. They are a Nonh American group living in the tctrit orv:n,een the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Tarahurnare of Mexico. and the Car-ibandArawak of the Antilles, Li t t le is known of their ongm, although u-aditionlies that they came from the east. , ..sa . rna culture is char-acter-ized by a highly developed market ecnnomv

acire h of rl I'"hi h h olved in a rich natural habitat. While muc A' tne peop e s time ISIV C as evorvec m a L' f h I b " d : _d d 0 ornic pursuits a larze part of the rrurts o t ese a olsan."C()lleotedtoecon ,~ .. [I'"''id bl 'lion of the dav are spent in ritual activity The focus 0 uus acttv-SIera e por b d the~ppeacanceand health of which loom as a dominantllylsthehuman 0 y'f h I WI ile such a concern is certainly not unusual,concernin the ethos 0 t e pcop e. 11 .

d . . ted philosophy are um qtre.its ceremonial a peets an. f underlvina the whole system appears to be that theThe fundamental belief underl- ~ .. Iebi liry and disease

d h '- . t ra l tendency IS to ue ". 'humanbody .is ugly an t at Its ~d L1]c ho e is to avert these characteristicsIncarcerated In such a body, 111an s oruv fP't 1 nd ceremony. Every house-

h f I· fluences a II ua a -, , \'throughthe use of t e power u In .'. The more puwerfullnc 1_

holdhas one or more shrines devoted to this PllltPhoser'houses and, in fact, the. h -al s h rincs 10 el I .' ,Ividualsin the society ave seve I to • • f the nun1ber of sue 1 I [ILl~1

opulenceof a hou e is often I-e[en-ed to In tel' ~s addaub construction, but thchare of \\fatt e an [ 'I" . 11cenlersit possesses. Most ouses <: - I d 'tl stone. Poorer ami les III -

hi are \Val e WI 1shrinerooms of the moce wea tv, their shrine walls. . ' Itatethe rich by applying pottel-v plaques tO

hI -'ne the rituals aSSOCIated Wit,'

IVhileeach family has at least onesuc s 1dll ~ret. The rites ace nOl'lmil Y

. b -e pnvate an se . d I theyalcilarenot family ceremonies ut al d . a the peno W len ....d h n only unn~ I' I . l[,cJenlonlydiscus ed with children, an t e bl however, to estab IS1 su _' C I_

. .... . "-' s I was a e, . _ h re the IltUd SbelOgmltmtedLIltO these mystelle: these shrines and to a\rapportwith the natives to cxamlne 'J ' t the wall.d 'bed 1 . h is bUi t In aescn to me. . . b or chest w l]C . _ _which noThe focal point of the shnne IS a _~~d magical potions wIthOL~ variety of

lnthischest are kept the many chaJ-n~.~L ara tion~ are secured [TOnldlci~e n~en,nativebelieve he could livc. These pI ep l-ful of these are the me 1_ the medi-

Th most powe 1 '[1' Hov.eve ,specializedpractitioners. e d 'th substantia gI s. b t decide whatwhose assistance must be reward~ Wl 'ODS for their chents, ~ t and secret' . h alive pot! . 'In anClenCInemen do not prOVIde t e cur, 'ite them down 10 <

theingredienls hould be and then WI

336PAR TEl G H T • Religion,Magic, and Worldview

. . . o' understood only by the medicine men and by thelanguage Th is wntlnb IS . d hI:erbalist~ who, for another gift, provide the require c ann. .

h . t disposed of after it has served Its purpose, but ISplacedThe c arm ISno I . al . I. h - b f th household shrine. As these magic matena s are spe-In the c ar 01- ox 0 . e . f h Iifi f . '11' nd the real or imagined maladIes 0" t e peop e are manv,CI1C 'or certaln 1 5, a . ~the charm-box is usually full to overflowing. The magical packets are so numer-

I t I fo -get what their purposes were and fear to use them again.GUS t 13 peap e IWhile the natives are very vague on this point, we can only assume that theidea in retaining all the old magical matenals IS that their presence In thecharm-box, before which the body rituals are conducted, will in some waypro-tect the worshipper

Beneath the charm-box is a small font. Each day every member of thefamily, in succession, enters the shrine room, bows his head before thecharm-box, mingles different sorts of holy water in the font, and proceeds witha brief rite of ablution. The holy waters are secured from the Water Templeofthe community, where the priests conduct elaborate ceremonies to make the liq-uid ritually pure.

In the hierarchy of Jllagical practitioners, and below the medicine men inprestige, are specialists whose designation is best translated "holy-mouth-men."The Nacirema have an almost pathological horror of and fascination with themouth, the condition of which is believed to have a supernatural influence onall social relationships. Were it not for the rituals of the mouth, they believethat their teeth would fall out, their gums bleed, their jaws shrink, their friendsdesert them, and their lovers reject them. They also believe that a strong rela-tionship exists between oral and moral characteristics. For example, there is aI-itual ablution of the mouth for children which is supposed to improve theirmoral fiber.

The daily body ritual perfonned by everyone includes a mouth-rite. Despitethe fact that these people are so punctilious about care of the mouth, this ritelI1volves a practice which strikes the uninitiated stranger as revolting. It wasreported to me that the ritual consists of inserting a small bundle of hog hairsmto the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bun"die m a hIghly formalIzed series of gestures.

In addition to the private mouth-rite, the people seek out a holy-mouth-manonce,oI. tWIce a ye~r.These practitioners have an inlpressive set of paraphernalia,con~lstmg of,a vanety of augers, awls, probes, and prods. The use of these objectsIn t efexhorcIsmof the evIls of the mouth involves almost unbelievable ritual tor-tLIIe 0 t e chent The hoI thb

.' y-mou -man opens the client's mouth and using thea ove mentIOned tools enla hI' 'teeth M . aJ . I' rges any 0 es wruch decay may have created in the

. aglc matena s are pt' t th h I. hI' h u In 0 ese 0 es. If there are no naturally oceW'-nng 0 es In t e teeth la - . fthe supernat 1 b' Ige sectIOns 0 one or more teeth are gouged out so thatministration~~: t~"~sta~~e can be applied. In the client's view, the purpose of theseditional character ;;~~ ecay and to draw frIends. The extremely sacred and tra-holy-mouth Ine e

fnte IS evident in the fact that the natives return to the

- nyeara teryea" d 't'h f ., espl e t e act that theIr teeth continue to decay.

CHAPTER 33. B do y Ritual among the N .aClrema 337It isto be hoped that, when a thorough st d f. .

fu] . .. h u yo the Naclre .\\~llbeeare mquiry toto t e personalitv st t ~ <: -ma ISmade, thereth gl . " rue UIe ofthese p I 0towatch e earn In the eye of a holy-mOllth eop e. ne has but

<rnan as he jabs I .exposednerve,to suspect that a certain amount f d . '. s an aw into an. h d' 0 sa ISm ISIn I I If' I .beestabhse I a very Interesting pattern ernerg f vo vee. t lIS cand fi . hi . eS,or most of the po I .shows e mte masoc IStlC tendencies. It was to thes 'h. . pu at Ion

referredincliscussinga distinctive pan of the dailv bodese t alt Professor Lin tun

Thi f h . . J Y ritua which ISpcrfo - . Ionlyby men. s part ort entell1volvesscrapinaaldl ,~.' .tlll

lC.ith h . . b 1 aceranng the sur-lace 01

thefacewl as arp instrument Special women's rites ~f' _ -.. duri hi- h b are pel ot-med onlv lourtunes unngeac unai mont, utwhattlIevlackinfrequel1cy' d .. I. f thi " IS rna e up III xu--banty.Aspart 0 ISceremony, women bake their heads in Sl1' II f b

h th. I" - ra ovens or a out

anhow'.T e eoreuca Iy mterestmg point is that what seeln t b. . . . _ s 0 e a prepon-derantlymasochistic people have developed sadistic specialists.

Theme~kine men have an imposing temple. or latipso, in evel~Ycornrnu-nityof any size. The more elaborate ceremonies required to treat verv sickpatientscan only be performed at this temple. These ceremonies involve not onlvthethaumaturge but a pernlanent group of vestal maidens who move sedate(\,aboutthe temple chambers in distinctive costume and headdress. .

The lalipso cerenlonies arc so harsh that it is pheno1l1enal that;) fair pro-portionof the really sick natives who enter the temple ever recovel-. Small childrenwhose indoctrination is still inconlplete have been known to resist atteJllpt~ to takethemtothe temple because "that is where you go to die." Despite this fact, sickadultsare not only willing but eager to undergo the protracted ritual pUI'ifiea-tion,iftheycan afford to do so. No matter IIow ill the supplicant or how gravetheemergency,the guardians of manv temples will not admit a client if he can-notgive a rich gift to the custodian. Even after one has gained admission all~1sUlvivedthe ceremonies, the guardians will not pennit the neophyte to leave unt Iihemakesstill another gift. ~Thesupplicant entering the temple is first stripped of all his or hel-cluthes.

Ineverydaylife the Naci.-ema avoids exposure of his body and Its natural Iunc-tions.Bathingand excretory acts are perfomled only in the secrecy of the house-h I . '. . d - f th b ely-rites psychologicalodshnne, where they are ntuallze as palt 0 eo·. .shockresults fTom the' fact that bodv seaecy is suddenly lost upon entry Intloh

. .' . h' 1 in an excretory act, sue ~t elallpso. Aman whose own wde has never seen 111 - . fl' ., 1 'd thile he per-arllls lISdenlynndshimself naked and assisted by a vesta mal en \\ . ". h' ~t f cerelTIonial treatment ISnatural functions into a sacred vessel. T .IS SOlO.. . t scel"t"in thed by a divinel 0 a. L'ne<:essitatedby the fact that the excreta are use . ts on the other ham!. findcoulOeandnature of the client's Sickness. Female chen 'I t' Ild proddina ofth' I " t' y manlpU a ,Ion a 1::7etrnakedbodies are subjected to t 1e SCiu In ,themedicinemen. . h t do anything but he on. Fewsupplicants in the temple are well e~oI";~es~f the holy_mouth-men,

thetrhardbeds. The daily ceremonIes, like th .' the vestals awaken theirmvolvediscomfort and torture. With ri tual preClsJOnh' . beds of pain while per-. II I "bout on t elr . I II1lIserablecharges each dawn and ro t len1 a h' h the Jllaidens are hlg 1 .vfanningablutions, in the fom1al movements of w IC

338T R I·man Magic and Worldview

PAR TEl G H • e Ib~' '

. hev i -t magic wands in the supplicant's mouthOrtrained. At other nrnes t ey :;S~I e supposed to be healing. From time totimeforce him to eat substances wh IC .lients and jab magically treated needles into

di . come to t elf C1the me rcme men h t pie ceremonies may not cure, and mayeventheir flesh. The fact that t e~e eC:ses the people's faith in the medicine men.kill the neophyte. 1D no waYh e~e d of practitioner, known as a "listener."This

There remams one ot er n '. d . h h d ft xorcise the devi ls that 10 ge In t e ea so peo-witchdoctor has thebPowtehr°deThe Nacirema believe that parents bewitch theirIe who have been eWI c e . . hildrP hild Mothers are particularly suspected of puttmg a curse on c enown c 1 ren. h' f th 't h. hi h th secret body rituals. T e counter-magIc 0 e WIC -while teac rng t em e . 1 II th "I' " U. I' it I ck of ritual. The patient simp y te s e istener adoctor IS unusua m I 5 a . .. I' h b. bl d f beginning with the earhest difficu ties e can remem er.hIS trou es an ears, . ."

di 1 d by the Nacirema III these exorcism sessions IS trulyThe memory ISP aye . .k bl It' t uncommon for the patient to bemoan the rejection hefeltremar a e. IS no . .b . d as a babe and a few individuals even see their troubles gomgupon eing weane c:,

back to the traumatic effects of their own birth. . . .In conclusion mention must be made of certain practices which have

their base in nativeesthetics but which depend upon the pervasive aversiontothe natural body and its functions. There are ritual fasts to make fat peoplethin and ceremonial feasts to make thin people fat. Still other rites are usedtomake women's breasts larger if they are small, and smaller if they are large.General dissatisfaction with breast shape is symbolized in the fact that theidealform is virtually outside the range of human variation. A few women afflictedwith almost inhuman hyper-mammary development are so idolized that theymake a handsome living by simply going from village to village and permittingthe natives to stare at them for a fee.

Reference has already been made to the fact that excretory functions arerit-ualized, routinized, and relegated to secrecy. Natural reproductive functionsaresimilarly distorted. Intercourse is taboo as a topic and scheduled as an act. Effortsare made to avoid pregnancy by the use of magical materials or by limitinginter-course to certain phases of the moon. Conception is actually very infrequent.Whenpregnant, women dress so as to hide their condition. Parturition takes placeinsecret, without friends or relatives to assist, and the majority of women donotnurse their infants.

Our review of the ritual life of the Nacirema has certainly shown themtobe a magic-ridden people. It is hard to understand how they have managedtoexist so long under the burdens which they have imposed upon themselves.Buteven such exotic customs as these take on real meaning when they are viewedWith the insight provided by Malinowski when he wrote:

"Looking from .far and above, from our high places of safety in the devel-oped civilization, It IS easy to see all the crudity and irrelevance of magic.ButWIthout Its power and guidance early man could not have mastered his practi-cal dIfficultIes as he has done, nor could man have advanced to the higherstagesof civilization"

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CHAPTER 33. B da y Ritual among the N .acrrema 339

Review Questions

I. Whereare the Nacirema located?

2. Describethe main body tituals that OCCurin N . - hacuernan ousehold shrines.

3. What kinds of ritual specialists does Miner de' ib f - h . .. . I ) Wh d sen e 01 t e Nacirerna 111this artie e. at 0 they function to do for peo I )p e.4. What is the latipso, and for what is it used?

5. What do you think the psychological functions of Nacireman body ritualare, and how do these fit WIth Malinowski's theory about the [unctions ofreligion and magic described in the earlier article on baseball magic)