The main ritual which has been a part of my life for almost twenty-three years surrounds my children. When they were babies I found myself unable to relax and sleep without first “checking in” on them to ensure all was right with their worlds. Each night I would very quietly tip toe into each of their rooms, adjust their blankets, and place their favorite stuffed animal within reach to ward off any nightmares. My final step would be to stroke their tiny head, lean down and place a gentle kiss on their foreheads, and whisper, “sweet dreams”. If for some reason I was not able to do this I would not sleep peacefully. I felt something was missing or I had forgotten something important. As time passed and my children grew, my nighttime ritual was modified. My oldest son no longer sleeps with his favorite bear, and is rarely asleep when I am ready for bed. With him I now ruffle his hair and kiss his forehead, tell him not to stay up too late, and to have sweet dreams. This ritual seems to suffice as I am able to relax and sleep. However, it was very impractical to try this with my youngest as he is in Bloomington and I am in Converse, so he and I came to an alternate arrangement. Each night, roughly around 10:00pm, I receive a text from him to let me know he is alright. I reply to his text with sweet dreams and try not to study too late. In this way I am still practicing my nightly ritual, albeit an amended one, and am able to sleep knowing all is right with their worlds. Many
Body Ritual Among the Nacirema What is the precise geographical location of this strange tribe, the Nacirema? The Nacirema is a North American group living in the territory between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles. Little is known of their origin, though tradition states that they came from the east.
In the essay “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema”, anthropologist Horace Miner depicts a group of people known as the “Nacirema”, but is referring to Americans, whose cultural beliefs are deeply rooted in the perspective that the human body is prune to sickness and disfiguration. Consequently, a substantial part of their lives is spent on unusual rituals and customs to improve conditions of the body that are filled with magical components. Moreover, Miner uses the Nacirema’s unusual culture to establish his view that we simply could not judge another culture that it is different from our own, as opposed to another anthropologist Malinowski’s point that we can judge another culture since we are
After reading Horace Miner’s Body Ritual Among the Nacirema I cannot say that I would want to be part of the tribe. A huge reason would be that I could never go from my own Christian faith to the religious practices of the Nacirema. My second reason for not wanting to be part of the tribe is that I could never be subjected to the horrific medical practices and “magical potions” used on every citizen in the tribe.
For this research study, the researcher and subject have agreed upon utilizing a fifteen-minute meditation sequence prior to bedtime, which is intended to calm the mind and regulate the body in preparation for sleep. This intervention will be implemented after the researcher collects seven days of baseline data. The intervention and follow up stages will also be recorded for
2. Like to keep liked objects like their toys near while sleeping and lights are kept on
“Twenty years ago we had very little direct experience. We've found that youngsters sleep very well in a variety of situations, as seen around the world. From a sleep perspective, we have little evidence for or against any of these arrangements. We like to know families have plans
Sleep disorders alter ones sleep pattern and often results in the inability to either sleep or sleep soundly. They often cause you to feel restless, tired, fatigued, and irritable. It is estimated that nearly 75 percent of adult Americans experience sleep disorder symptoms at least a few nights per week. At the same time, sleep disturbances in some form are seen in as many as 25 to 30 percent of infants and children (“Sleep Disorders” 2013). Clearly a huge conundrum in the world, sleep disorders affect an inordinate amount of people. Millions of people suffer or have suffered from a sleep disorder at one point in their lives and if mistreated can impact organ systems functioning negatively. Physical disturbances, medical issues,
In the article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” the author uses magical and humorous word choice, to make the reader jump to assumptions about the culture. Miner mainly uses magical word choice. In the article, a primary focus is a shrine in the home which holds a box that contains potions and charms. The keeper of these objects in the box believes that they cannot live without them. He used the magical words to describe the bathroom and the objects inside it, such as a medicine cabinet that contains medication and such things. Well, he does explain how we use the items, but he makes the items seem more magical and obscure with his word choice. Also in a Latipso (or hospital) a Miracle worker performs rituals with assistants in costumes who move about the temple. Making the "ritual" seem more magical than it already is when in reality Miner is describing a surgical procedure in a hospital. He calls surgical scrubs costumes and masks as funny headdresses. The gift that
“A rite of passage is a public ceremony that marks, recognizes, celebrates or is believed to actually cause a change in a person and her or his status, usually brought about or related to increasing age” (Peoples, Bailey). Almost every culture has rituals that signal a change in life. Marriage is one of the most common rites of passage in any culture. Weddings and marriage ceremonies are clear transitions from adolescence to adulthood. “Some form of marriage is known to have existed in all human societies. Its traditional function in most of these societies has been to stabilize sexual relations and to unite a man and a woman in order to provide care for the young. In addition, marriage has linked and allowed for economic exchanges between different kin groups and has served as the primary coming of age ritual for women” (Nelson).
For the first three years of my son’s life, I rarely slept through the night because he almost never did. Not only was this a very tiring time of my life, it was very confusing. I was reading a lot
The purpose of this research paper will be to examine how Judaism rituals have helped the religion remained amongst the most prominent in the world. The use of tradition and rituals has been at the very core of its existence. Birth, adolescent, marriage and death rituals will be used to highlight how the Judaism way of life is not dependent on the written word but rather the actions of those who follow this historic Hebrew religion. The paper will begin with a brief outline of Judaism and its relationship with God and then continue with how the written word of the Torah has laid the basis for the many traditions still practiced in Judaism.
Sleep disorders have always surrounded me through family and friends. though I never suffered with any sort of sleeping disorder, I was well aware of how unnerving it can be toothless who suffer from it. I did not know all of the different types there were, and was intrigued when reading chapter three of my psychology book. I had assumed that nigh terrors, which I used to think were the same as nightmares, were over exaggerations of a person’s scary dream. Sleepwalking also held interesting facts that I didn’t know prior. Having a best friend who occasionally sleepwalks, I was always interested in why she would seldom remember both walking and talking. I also appreciated learning about sleep apnea because my father used to struggle with it and would worry my mom about his breathing when he was asleep.
Finally, sleep is lost and never will be regained. During the first year of a baby’s life, parents, especially mothers, lose 700 or more hours of sleep. That is a lot. No wonder parents look like a walking zombie. When babies do sleep through the night, parents still wake up to check on them to make sure that they are comfortable and everything is all right. Unfortunately, babies aren’t the only cause for loss of sleep. Teenagers are to. They go out and stay
Recent research has proven that children just are not getting the sleep they need these days. Kids today seem to be doing poorer in school and have less attention spans. Most parents are not aware of a common problem effecting thousands of children in this country: sleep disorders. Parents often fail to follow there children's sleeping patterns which can result in some serious side effects if that child has a sleep disorder. A study done at Tulane University in New Orleans studied about 300 first graders that preformed poorly in school. They found that 18 per cent showed signs of a sleeping problem. The percentage of children with bad grades found to have sleeping problems
At night, you lock the house down, tuck the kids into bed, clean your home, and you might even finish some last minute work. I bet you never thought about the things that can happen at night. As we kiss our children goodnight, our favorite line is “Goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite”. You never thought about your son sleepwalking through the night or even your daughter screaming out her sleep. What about your twins, who are both, having nightmares! Let us think about one more thing, did you even know that this could happen to anyone at any age, even you. Many Americans around the world lack the knowledge of realizing how important sleep really is. The lack of sleep can cause short-term and long-term health problems.