Carried on Traditions

The Nacirema were a tribe living in North America. Little is known about these people, but one thing that is known is their fascination with the mouth. They believed it has supernatural implications for the soul and relationships and thus did their best to keep it maintained by brushing and yearly or biyearly visits to the “mouth medicine man”. American (Nacirema spelled backward) people also seem to have carried on this tradition.

The Nacirema’s daily mouth rite involved inserting a bundle of hog hairs and powders into their mouth and stirring them around in an organized series of movements.

Americans use nylon hairs attached to a stick to mix a paste into a froth, using the smooth faces of the teeth as a makeshift stirring surface.

Nacirema also visited a special medicine man who dealt with teeth, specifically. This man would poke at their gums with needles and use special probes to clense the mouth of evil. This often involved tortuous pain for the client.

Americans also visit a “mouth man” known as a “dentist” to some and “Satan” to others. This man also uses various tools for probing, poking, and provoking pain to rid the mouth of an evil spirit known as “Halitosis”.  

It seems some mythological traditions never die.