Horace Miner's "Body Ritual Among the Nacerima" reflection

           Anthropologists say that in the first three seconds of meeting somebody, people already create an impression of themselves to the person they are talking to. It seems that the same applies to writings as well. My first impression of Horace Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema,” was that it’s one sophisticated anthropology report that uses an awful lot of fancy words. Suppressing my urge to ignore such a writing that would give me a headache, I continued reading on and began to get a grasp of the material it dealt with. It seemed like Horace Miner was trying to emphasize how meaningless and gruesome the body rituals of the Nacirema, a tribe indigenous to North America, are. His interpretations of their rituals seemed to lack proper explanation and key elements in some parts and they seemed too extreme, but the first impression created by his style of writing persuaded that an indigenous group called the Nacerima does exist.

             However, few days later, we were told the truth behind Miner’s report. It turns out the essay is actually about the lifestyle of modern Americans and that “Nacerima” is “American” spelled in reverse. After a moment of awe and realization, I noticed how just a little difference in style of writing could make absolute nonsense seem like a documented anthropology article. It occurred to me that once something of the simplest matter is wrapped in words of professionalism, people would take it for granted as being carefully analyzed by experts of professional knowledge. Once that premise is set, people, including me, would believe even the most ludicrous rubbish ever told to them.

             The second point that occurred to me was the problem of perception. Beyond the fact that the essay deals with cultural relativism that befalls due to differences in morals and views, it seemed that these misrepresentations are also products of ignorance. “If people of different civilizations do have varying perceptions on the same issue, why can’t we try to understand such differences?” The problem with individuals of different civilizations is that they recognize this difference in spectacles, but they don’t give the effort and try changing their spectacles for once. They maintain a third person’s position and ignorantly do not engage. In my understanding, the narrator in Horace Miner’s essay seemed to observe the Nacerimas in a similar way. By extremely referring to everyday, simple activities of the Americans as spiritual and magical rituals, it didn’t seem like a simple matter of distinctness, but rather being effortless and unwilling to find the essence behind the activities. Such can be applied to other sciences as well. Taking biology as an example, we observe species in the perspective of a human being and focus on what harm or benefit they might do to our species. If they do harm, we try our best to exterminate them. If we can benefit, we unintentionally end up driving them to extinction. Although there exists a crucial difference in essence, we lack the effort to change perspectives.

Keeping these two points in mind, I tried writing my own biological report. The following is a document about the evolution of the Ipas Omohens species, habituating on the planet classified as PE-4.55B

            

             Over the course of time, biologists have continuously observed the Ipas Omohens species and their remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve. However, regardless of the wonders that the Ipas Omohens represent, many have considered them to bear potential damage to our civilization. Claiming that catastrophe is imminent, we have decided to expose the roots and development of this species to come to a conclusion with the decision of their destiny.

Ipas Omohens are the primates of the family Hominidae and are the only extant species of the genus Omoh. They inhabit the planet classified as PE-4.55B in the SS galaxy. It is estimated that about 7.084 billion of these species are currently in existence and their origin differs from a certain mystical creature that lives in the atmosphere to similar primates. In proportion to their body size, they have a large brain, which is characterized by a well-developed neocortex, prefrontal cortex, and temporal lobes.

At the beginning of their evolution, the Ipas Omohens formed the bottom of the hierarchy of food chains on the planet PE-4.55B. However, their oversized nervous system has facilitated their adaptation to different environments and the use of different tools found in nature. Consequently, the Ipas Omohens settled among the lines of prey and predator. However, the harsh conditions on planet PE-4.55B had driven the Ipas Omohens to further evolution. Throughout a long period of time, they developed new organs that are easily amputated from and reintegrated to the body as it has its own life source. This life source is sustained by organic compounds that are obtained through the fractional distillation of petroleum. What’s magnificent about these organs is that they have enabled the Ipas Omohens to possess significant features of most of the strongest predators that live on the planet PE-4.55B. Throughout centuries of evolution, they have finally reached the top of the food chain.

Due to nature’s natural course of preservation, the Ipas Omohens protect themselves in cubic shelters, which are made out of a hard substance named opus caementicium and are gathered together in large groups. The main purpose of these shelters, apart from serving as a habitat, is to protect their organs and the tools necessary for survival. With dominance over all of the species on the planet PE-4.55B and enough protective measures, the herds of Ipas Omohens had begun to grow and increase in number. Their dominance has led to the extinction and near extinction of many other species on the planet PE-4.55B.

In recent times, with a lack of a proper predator to fight off and a lack of resources to use as tools, the Ipas Omohens have started to wage territorial wars against each other. Each herd of Ipas Omohens has a separate group of male Ipas Omohens that serves this purpose. The territorial wars that these groups of males often fight are composed of throwing explosive fruits with metal casings that are shaped like the genitals of the male Ipas Omohens. Not only does this physically damage each other, but it’s an unnecessary display of the arrogant pride that many male Ipas Omohens possess.

Thus, scientists have come to the conclusion that the Ipas Omohens are violent species that are capable of destroying their home planet, themselves, and any object that they do not see fit. It is a mere matter of time until they seek the destruction of our civilization and therefore they shall be sentenced to extinction.