Body rituals among the Nacirema Essay Sample
Professor Emma Linton of the Martian Institute of Interplanetary Cultural Anthropology might hold come up with her unexpected decisions sing to the organic structure rites of the Nacirema people. Linton’s study was wildly inaccurate written due to the facts that she does non hold any qualitative old cognition about the civilization and she like to pull a comparing between civilizations. She did non follow all the methodological procedure an anthropologist should follow. and a long term of analyzing of the civilization is required. She interprets what she sees by utilizing her cognition but non by deep analyzing on the civilization she relies excessively much on the interview.
Professor Emma Linton came up with the unexpected decision due to many incorrect factors. She is analyzing the civilization from the outsider’s ( etic ) position and does non hold an accurate position about the civilization because she is non a member of the civilization. She drags a comparing of her civilization with other civilizations. in the first paragraph she states. “… but spend most of their twenty-four hours in ritual activity. The chief point of the rite is the human organic structure … powerful influence of rites and ceremonials. ” We could clearly see that her civilization does non pay attending on taking bath because she calls bathing as “body rituals” and “rituals and ceremonies” . “body rituals” means to bath. which is an ordinary modus operandi to make every twenty-four hours.
It could non be considered as a ritual or ceremonials. but she described it as a ceremonial because she is deficiency of cognition in the Nacirema civilization. Another illustration could be found in paragraph 4. she states “The medical specialty adult females do non give out the potions though. but make up one’s mind what the ingredients should be…” As you can see. her state is non developed because we could clearly see that she compares her culture’s medicine adult females with the physicians in the Nacirema civilization. More illustrations could be found in Professor Emma’s authorship that could endorse up my statement. The Charm box represents the medical specialty box ( In paragraph 4-5 ) . and “the holy H2O from holy temple” are merely lavatories with H2O supplies. these are merely some of the illustrations that she associate her civilization with Nacirema civilization.
Another factor that causes her to hold an wrong decision is that she pays excessively much attending on the “real culture” . which means that she merely concentrate on the organic structure rites. If she observes the civilization loosely for a long period of clip. she would surely happen out the rites is merely brushing the dentition. taking a bath. and shaving your oral cavity hoards ( on paragraph 6 “The rites consists of infixing a little package of pig hair into the mouth…” ) . She merely studied a portion of the Nacirema civilization and did non concentrate the civilization as a whole. ideal civilization. expressed civilization. and the inexplicit civilization were non studied in her research.
Professor Emma Linton does non hold plenty cognition to reason with the right idea. She compares Toilets as the “shrine” . infirmaries as the “great temple or latipsoh” . medical specialty child as “the appeal box” . and etc. When she evaluate her civilization with the Nacirema civilization. it creates a certain grade of ethnocentrism. she believes that her civilization is more right and superior than the Nacirema civilization. she subsequently states that the Nacirema is “a charming -ridden culture” . Culture daze is generated in piece of composing when she observed the Nacirema civilization. she believes that the Nacirema civilization is a unusual civilization. She concludes her authorship by stating “It is difficult to understand how these people have exited so long under the loads of their beliefs” .
