Nacirema Body Rituals

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Through the community of Nacirema body rituals are highly important and a form of ritual and ceremony. The Nacirema people believe in must repugnance regarding the human body. They find it to be ugly and that its natural tendency is to debilitate and give off disease. In order to revert the unrefined characteristics of the body they worship and use shrines. These shrines, often times, more than one are located in every home. Within these shrines lays a box that is the focal point and filled with powerful charms and potions chosen by the medicine men.
These medicine men or medical practitioners are not only in charge of certain secret languages, they are also in charge of completing surgical tasks for the tribe members. These practitioners are translated to being called the, “holy-mouth-men.” Within the Nacirema tribe, there are strong beliefs that the human mouth comes with a great deal of horror and fascination. They believe that if they do not complete the rituals of the mouth a series of events will take place. Such as, their teeth would fall out, their gums would …show more content…
This ritual consists of the insertion of hog hair and magical powder into ones mouth. The bundle is then removed after the individual partakes in a series of gestures. This practice seems odd, however, it is not nearly as revolting as when people of the Nacirema tribe seek out the holy-mouth-man. A client may visit the holy-mouth-man once or twice a year, and even then it seems excessive. Throughout a visit, the client will undergo torture as holes, which are preexisting are enlarged or created, to then be filled with supernatural substances. Like the holy-mouth-man, medicine men often hold faith for the Nacirema people as well. The practices of the medicine men are just as painful and torturous as the holy-mouth-man, yet the people still hold faith in the
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