Analytical Study Of Tribal Behavior And Body Ritual Among...

In this week’s assignment, we will discuss Horace Miner’s analytical study of tribal behavior and Body Ritual among the Nacirema tribe by answering the following questions. First was I surprised when the true identity of the Nacirema tribe was revealed? Then how does Body Ritual among the Nacirema help us understand our own view of other cultures and how we are viewed by other cultures? Next why do some of the practices and rituals of other cultures seem odd or foreign to us? Finally, how do our own cultural norms affect our understanding and perception of other cultures? The Identity of the Nacirema Tribe To start off we were assigned to read the research paper written by Horace Miner Nacirema tribe and the first question to answer is was I as the author of this paper surprised by the true identity of the tribe? The answer to that question is no I was not surprised by the tribe’s true identity. I do not consider myself a super smart person or really knowledgeable in the field of sociology but I believe I have a good knowledge of basic American history. With this background I was able to decipher the clues that Horace Miner put in his paper about the true identity of the Tribe. Some of these clues included the location of the tribe being in North America between Canada and Mexico (Miner, 1956). Another clue was the description of one of the tribe’s heroes that in his lifetime chopped down a cherry tree of truth and crossed a great river (Miner, 1956). For me both of these