Body Ritual among the Nacirema

The anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn has pointed out that man is distinguished from other living organisms by three characteristics of human activity: the systematic making of tools; the use of abstract language; and religion. Religion is a broad term, embodying not only belief in a supernatural power but also an elaborate web of myth, theology and ritual. Most people like religion in their hearts and in their houses of worship, and they are delighted that modern science has largely emancipated them from irrational ritual and ceremony in medical habits. It is both disturbing and instructive, therefore, to learn that right in the midst of Western civilization there is a tribe of natives that practices daily elaborate rituals filled with mysterious and magical elements designed to sustain the health and well-being of the body. Another distinguished anthropologist, Horace Miner, was able to gain the confidence of these natives, and he has reported on his scientific investigations in an illuminating essay entitled, "Body Ritual among the Nacirema."

See “Miner, “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” The American Anthropologist 1956

Miner’s essay was cited in Barbara Ehrenreich’s book, Natural Causes (2018)

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