In 1956, Horace Mitchell Miner visited the Nacirema folks to review their habits. He wrote a paper on what he noticed, “Physique Ritual among the many Nacirema,” which was printed within the June 1956 version of American Anthropologist.
Excerpt:
The day by day physique ritual carried out by everybody features a mouth-rite. Although these persons are so punctilious about care of the mouth, this ceremony entails a apply which strikes the uninitiated stranger as revolting. It was reported to me that the ritual consists of inserting a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, together with sure magical powders, after which transferring the bundle in a extremely formalized sequence of gestures.
Along with the non-public mouth-rite, the folks search out a holy-mouthman a couple of times a 12 months. These practitioners have a formidable set of paraphernalia, consisting of a wide range of augers, awls, probes, and prods. Using these objects within the exorcism of the evils of the mouth entails nearly unbelievable ritual torture of the consumer. The holy-mouth-man opens the consumer’s mouth and, utilizing the above talked about instruments, enlarges any holes which decay could have created within the tooth. Magical supplies are put into these holes. If there are not any naturally occurring holes within the tooth, massive sections of a number of tooth are gouged out in order that the supernatural substance could be utilized. Within the consumer’s view, the aim of those ministrations is to arrest decay and to attract buddies. The extraordinarily sacred and conventional character of the ceremony is clear in the truth that the natives return to the holy-mouth-men 12 months after 12 months, even though their tooth proceed to decay.
Beforehand:
• After eight years drilling and pulling tooth, dentist arrested for not truly being one
• Dentist who pulled affected person’s tooth whereas on a hoverboard sentenced to 12 years in jail
• MAGA Dentist jailed for sending 100 rape and homicide threats to folks for not loving Trump sufficient
• This tooth-covered hat belonged to a travelling tooth puller within the early nineteenth century
• Horse dentist requested to not costume as gorilla
