Body Ritual of the Nacirema

In Body Ritual Among the Nacirema, Horace Miner uses satire to examine the American culture. He does this by writing familiar actions that each of us does, in an unfamiliar way. For example, a "charm-box" is actually a medicine cabinet and a "holy-mouth-man" is just a dentist. Miner uses these weird names to show the audience of anthropologists that if we describe other culture's routines as peculiar, then they will appear peculiar to us. Even if the routines are as normal for them as going to the dentist is for us, we might see them as odd. The point of writing this piece is to show anthropologists that by looking at cultures from an outsider's perspective, the reason behind the custom is lost. This raises the question of how to study other cultures from the outside and truly understand the reasons behind the custom.

The essay can also be seen to satirize American citizens. The essay portrays the rituals as a long, tedious process. It also states that the "appearance and health" of the human body are a "dominant concern in the ethos of the people". The essay then examines the use of medicine. Miner says that the medicine stays in the medicine cabinet long after it has served its purpose. He also outlines the extensive process people must go through to obtain the medicine. They first must go to the "medicine man" for "ingredients" then they must go to a "herbalist [who] provide the required charm". By describing the amount of time and energy that Americans spend on their rituals, Miner shows American's obsessiveness over their looks and health.