Body Ritual Among Nacirema, Essay Example

This is a Critical Social Science and Urban Bioethics class. Each week topics are chosen, which enlighten students concerning ethical principles relevant to social science in an urban context. The Nacirema article serves as important ethical data specifically showing how within cultures unethical practices could prevail for centuries becoming acceptable as a significant way of life. At a first glance the practices appear to be sacred and religious. However, as the author explores the medicine man’s rituals it is almost sadistic and cultish. Interestingly, people believe and honor these rituals. It would appear that it is a belief system or rather a system of belief, which they are convinced, sustains their lives. Sadly missing in the life story of people practicing Nacirema is someone with a different ideological approach to the medicine man’s perception of healing and health. More importantly, these medicine men seemed to be exploiting the poor or population at largesince they received some of the best gifts for services that caused deaths on many occasions. Essentially, while this culture appears inappropriate it was relevant to that society at the time. In concluding however, the author reflecting on the positive aspect explained that the practice formed a foundation for more ethical behavior in the modern civilized world. As such, the relevance to my class is exceptionally unique. People living in modern societies ought ot recognize that people live in another dimension of life they considered real and worthy. In the same way anthropologists studying our cultures may find it weird as well (Minor, 1956)

References

Minor, H. (1956).Body ritual amongNacirema. American Anthropologists: NewSeries,58(3); 503 -507