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A 'taboo' is a strong
social prohibition (or
ban) against words, objects, actions, discussions, or people that are considered undesirable or offensive by a group, culture, or society. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent. Some taboo activities or customs are prohibited under
law and transgressions may lead to severe
penalties. Other taboos result in
embarrassment,
shame and
rudeness.
Etymology
Common etymology traces the word back to the
Tongan 'tabu' (or '
tapu')
[1][ Online dictionary ] meaning "under prohibition" or 'not allowed'. In its modern use in Tonga, the word 'tapu' actually also means 'sacred' or 'holy', although often in the restricted or protected sense either by custom or by law. For example, the main island in the Kingdom of Tonga, where the capital Nuku'alofa is situated and most of the population resides, is called 'Tongatapu'. In this context it means 'Sacred South', rather than 'forbidden south'.
The use of the word 'taboo' drawn from 'tapu' meaning 'not allowed' traces back to the year
1777 and an
English explorer,
Captain James Cook, visiting a place he named "the Friendly Islands" (now
Tonga). Describing the
Tongans, he wrote:
:''"Not one of them would sit down, or eat a bit of any thing.... On expressing my surprise at this, they were all taboo, as they said; which word has a very comprehensive meaning; but, in general, signifies that a thing is forbidden.... When any thing is forbidden to be eat, or made use of, they say, that it is taboo."
Other sources indicate the word can also be derived from the
Fijian word 'tabu'.
Some Solomon Islanders say that their languages have a word tabu (pronounced tam-boo) that means holy. It refers to places in the bush where holy spirits reside (usually marked with an object, such as a giant clam shell or stone carving). Those areas should not be disturbed unless a ceremony is taking place, therefore they are places that should not be touched.
Examples
Taboos can include dietary restrictions (halal and kosher diets, religious vegetarianism, and the prohibition of cannibalism), restrictions on sexual activities, gender roles and relationships (sex outside of marriage, adultery, intermarriage, miscegenation, homosexuality, incest, animal-human sex, pedophilia, necrophilia and paraphilias), restrictions of bodily functions (burping, flatulence, defecation, urination, masturbation, nosepicking, and spitting), restrictions on state of genitalia (circumcision or sex reassignment, exposure of body parts, pornography and nudity esp. in the US), illicit drugs, substance abuse, alcoholism, bodily pain, medical surgery, satanism or devil worship, restrictions on the use of offensive language also known as obscenity and vulgarity, and other topics/subjects that provoke emotional angst or may disturb people to discomfort. Some taboos originated by acts of authority, be it legal, social or religious, over a period of time.
"Common courtesy" taboos have more to do with etiquette and respect, including topics on sexuality, religion, death, disease, natural disasters, divorce, politics, crime, justice, money issues, gender, race/ethnicity, human rights, oppression, animal abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, abortion, miscarriage, pregnancy, childbirth, age, income, height, weight, appearance, and a variety of religious sins. Environmentalism, other ecology-related issues and scientific controversies (human evolution, eugenics, in-vitro fertilization, human cloning and stem cell research) are often treated like a taboo by their controversial and divisive nature in the realm of politics, morality and religious belief. When not in "polite society", discussions on taboos are allowed in humorous expression, such as comedy and satire.
Origin
There are varying explanations for the origin of taboos. While some explanations are anthropological and explain taboos using history and cultural experiences, other explanations are psychoanalytical and explain taboos as an unconscious phenomenon passing through generations.
Sigmund Freud
German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt explains that taboos were originally nothing other than an objectified fear of a "demonic" power which was believed to lie hidden in a tabooed object.[2] Sigmund Freud believes this to be a superficial explanation having nothing to do with the true origins of taboos. He claims that many similarities between taboo-holders and obsessive neurotics point to "a psychological condition that prevails in the unconscious".[2] Freud believes this "unconsciousness" is central to understanding the history of taboos. He then reconstructs the history of taboo based on the model of obsessional prohibitions as follows:
:"''Taboos, we must suppose, are prohibitions of primæval antiquity which were at some time externally imposed upon a generation of primitive men; they must, that is to say, no doubt have been impressed on them violently by the previous generation. These prohibitions must have concerned activities towards which there was a strong inclination. They must then have persisted from generation to generation, perhaps merely as a result of tradition transmitted through parental and social authority.''"[2]
And so, "''Anyone who has violated a taboo becomes taboo himself because he possesses the dangerous quality of tempting others to follow his example.''"[5]
The taboo on the dead
Main articles: Taboo on the dead
The ''taboo'' on the dead includes the taboo against touching of a corpse and those who are caring for it; the taboo against mourners of the dead; and the taboo against anything associated with the dead (e.g., the dead person's name).
Examples
The taboo on corpses
★ Among the MÄori anyone who had handled a ''corpse'' or taken any part in its burial was in the highest degree unclean and was almost cut off from social intercourse with his fellow-men. He could not enter any house, or come into contact with any person or thing without infecting them. He might not even touch food with his hands, which, owing to their uncleanness, had become quite useless. "Food would be set for him on the ground, and he would then sit or kneel down, and, with his hands carefully held behind his back, would gnaw at it as best he could. In some cases he would be fed by another person, who with outstretched arm contrived to do it without touching the tabooed man." The mourners of the dead were also secluded from the public. When their period of mourning was near completion, "all the dishes he had used in his seclusion were diligently smashed, and all the garments he had worn were carefully thrown away."[6]
The taboo on mourners
★ Among the Shuswap of British Columbia widows and widowers in mourning are secluded and forbidden to touch their own head or body; the cups and cooking vessels which they use may be used by no one else. [...] No hunter would come near such mourners, for their presence is unlucky. If their shadow were to fall on anyone, he would be taken ill at once. They employ thorn-bushes for bed and pillow, in order to keep away the ghost of the deceased; and thorn bushes are also laid all around their beds.[7]
★ Among the Agutainos, who inhabit Palawan, one of the Philippine Islands, a widow may not leave her hut for seven or eight days after the death; and even then she may only go out at an hour when she is not likely to meet anybody, for whoever looks upon her dies a sudden death. To prevent this fatal catastrophe, the widow knocks with a wooden peg on the trees as she goes along, thus warning people of her dangerous proximity; and the very trees on which she knocks soon die."[7]
The taboo on naming the dead
Main articles: Taboo against naming the dead
The taboo on naming the dead prohibits any utterance of a dead man's name—any other words similar to it in sound. Some examples follow:
★ Among the Guaycurus of Paraguay, when a death had taken place, the chief used to change the name of every member of the tribe; and from that moment everybody remembered his new name just as if he had born it all his life.[5]
★ After a Yolngu man named Bitjingu died, the word ''bithiwul'' "no; nothing" was avoided.[10] In its place, a synonym or a loanword from another language would be used for a certain period, after which the original word could be used again; but in some cases the replacement word would continue to be used.
Origins and causes
Sigmund Freud traces back the origin of the dangerous character of widowers and widows to the danger of temptation. A man who has lost his wife must resist a desire to find a substitute for her; a widow must fight against the same wish and is moreover liable to arouse the desires of other men. Substitutive satisfactions of such a kind run counter to the sense of mourning and they would inevitably kindle the ghost's wrath.[5]
Freud explains that the fundamental reason for the existence of such taboos is the fear of the presence or of the return of the dead person's ghost. It is exactly this fear that leads to a great number of ceremonies aimed at keeping the ghost at a distance or driving him off.[5]
The Tuaregs of Sahara, for example, dread the return of the dead man's spirit so much that "[they] do all they can to avoid it by shifting their camp after a death, ceasing for ever to pronounce the name of the departed, and eschewing everything that might be regarded as an evocation or recall of his soul. Hence they do not, like the Arabs, designate individuals by adding to their personal names the names of their fathers. [...] they give to every man a name which will live and die with him."[5] In many cases the taboo remains intact until the body of the dead has completely decayed,[14] but until then the community must disguise itself so that the ghost shall not recognize them. For example, the Nicobar Islanders try to disguise themselves by shaving their heads.[5]
Psychologist Wilhelm Wundt associates the taboo to a fear that the dead man's soul has become a demon.[7] Moreover, many cases show a hostility toward the dead and their representation as malevolent figures.[5] Edward Westermarck notes that "Death is commonly regarded as the gravest of all misfortunes; hence the dead are believed to be exceedingly dissatisfied with their fate [...] such a death naturally tends to make the soul revengeful and ill-tempered. It is envious of the living and is longing for the company of its old friend."[7]
The taboo on rulers
Main articles: Taboo on rulers
Examples
★ The Nubas of East Africa believe that they would die if they entered the house of their priestly king; however they can evade the penalty of their intrusion by baring the left shoulder and getting the king to lay his hands on it.[7]
★ In West Africa, in the woods of Shark Point near Cape Padron, in Lower Guinea, a priestly king named Kukulu once lived alone. Forbidden from touching a woman or leaving his house, or even leaving his chair, in which he would sleep, the natives feared that if he lay down no wind would rise and navigation would be stopped.[7]
★ The ancient kings of Ireland were subject to a number of strange restrictions as listed in The Book of Rights. The king, for instance, may not stay in a certain town on a particular day of the week; he may not cross a river on a particular hour of the day; he may not encamp for nine days on a certain plain, and so on.[5]
The taboo on warriors
Examples
Restrictions placed on a victorious slayer are unusually frequent and as a rule severe.[5]
★ In Timor, the leader of the expedition is forbidden "to return at once to his own house. A special hut is prepared for him, in which he has to reside for two months, undergoing bodily and spiritual purification. During this time he may not go to his wife nor feed himself; the food must be put in his mouth by another person."[7]
★ In some Dyak tribes, men returning from a successful expedition are obliged to keep to themselves for several days and abstain from various kinds of food; they may not touch iron nor have any intercourse with women.[7]
★ In Logea, an island in the neighborhood of New Guinea, "men who have killed or assisted in killing enemies shut themselves up for about a week in their houses. They must avoid all intercourse with their wives and friends, and they may not touch food with their hands. They may eat vegetable food only which is brought to them cooked in special pots. The intention of these restrictions in to guard the men against the smell of the blood of the slain; for it is believed that if they smelt the blood they would fall ill and die.
★ In the Toaripi or Motumotu tribe of south-eastern New Guinea a man who has killed another may not go near his wife, and may not touch food with his fingers. He is fed by others, and only with certain kinds of food. These observances last till the new moon."[7]
Taboo in literature
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud provided an analysis of taboo behaviours, highlighting strong subconscious motivations driving such prohibitions. In this system, described in his collection of essays ''Totem and Taboo'', Freud postulates a link between forbidden behaviours and the sanctification of objects to certain kinship groups. Freud also states here that the only two "universal" taboos are that of incest and patricide, which formed the eventual basis of modern society.
Harry Potter
Throughout the series of books, speaking Tom Riddle's adopted name (Voldemort) is considered taboo. In the final installment of the series a spell is cast (called the "Taboo") which causes anyone who speaks his adopted name to immediately lose any protective magics they might have cast to conceal themselves.
See also
★ Abomination (Bible)
★ Avoidance speech
★ Censorship
★ Decency
★ Etiquette or manners
★ Faux pas
★ Judeo-Christian philosophy
★ Morality and ethics
★ Menstrual taboo
★ Incest taboo
★ Naming taboo in imperial China
★ Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - displays of repetitive behaviors considered taboo, also there is Tourette's Syndrome.
★ Paraphilia
★ Prejudice
★ Social stigma
★ Taboo food and drink
★ ''Taboo'' party game
★ ''Totem and taboo''
Notes
1. Online Etymology dictionary
2.
3.
4.
5. .
6. , quoting
7. , quoting .
8. , quoting .
9. .
10. .
11. .
12. .
13. .
14. Freud (1990, 372).
15. .
16. , quoting .
17. .
18. , quoting .
19. , quoting .
20. , quoting .
21. .
22. .
23. , quoting .
24. , quoting .
25. , quoting .
References
★
★ ''Globus'', '59': [181ff.]
★ [562ff.]
★
★
★
★ [1st ed., 1913.]
★
★ Kulick and Willson, ''Taboo: Sex, Identity, and Erotic Subjectivity in Anthropological Fieldwork'' 1995
★
★
★
External links
★ Review of taboos around the world and their history
★ Tolerance.org- December 2006 Controversial subjects in the classroom
★ Buddhists Against Reincarnation
★ Did Sean Salisbury said "Jew" or "chew"? Ethnic slurs and terms are notably taboo in today's society.
★ Cinematical blog: Censoring "G-D" on airline movies?
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