Question

Explain the role of magic in the daily lives of the Nacirema.

Answer 1

• Nacirema ("American" spelled backwards) is a term used in anthropology and sociology in relation to aspects of the behavior and society of citizens of the United States of America.
• The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease. Incarcerated in such a body, man's only hope is to avert these characteristics through the use of ritual and ceremony.
  
• A couple of examples include the use of charms and magic potions that are mostly prepared by mysterious practitioners called “medicine men”.
• The medicine men’s’ temple called the “latipso” in which sick people must attend and are obligated to pay a tribute in form of a gift to the “custodian”. While at the “latipso”, the Nacirema are subject to poor treatment and inaccuracies from their medicine men; yet maintain absolute faith in medicine men’s’ ability to cure them from sickness.
• This is a very apt description of the American hospital and health care system that can be cruelly expensive, inefficient, and misleading.
• Some magical potions do not work based on two main reasons. Firstly, these potions do not work because some illnesses an individual believe to have are based on the imaginary of having a typical disease.
• Secondly, regardless of a short-term usefulness, the long-term prevention of the illness is impossible although the application of potions on a regular basis. E.g. people keep going to see dentists although their teeth continue to decay.
• Aspects of daily social life in which magic plays an important role:-
• Brush teeth regularly using toothpaste. If not, teeth would fall out, gums would bleed, jaws shrink. Consequently, friends desert them. Their lovers reject them.
• Rich people tend to get admitted to hospital while poor people are not always admitted based on their ability to pay medicines/doctors fee. Social inequality occurs as a result of different resources possession. (Hospital = magic temple)
• Secrecy of individual is revealed (such as the act of excretion) in front of people such as family members, nurses, doctors etc.
• (Rites) Medical procedure is specifically designed to enlarge small breasts or vice versa. However, dissatisfaction occurs because of the breast shape, which is symbolized in the ideal form that is virtually outside the range of human variation.