A prohibited form of conduct; from a Polynesian word, tapu. A wide variety of actions may be tapu: a chief's tapu may prevent him being allowed to carry burdens; children may be prohibited from touching sea-going canoes, or men's weapons, or from eating certain foods. Breaching a tapu may result directly in sickness or death, or may provoke physical punishment. Captain Cook recorded the term during his voyages in the Pacific, and noted the right of the chiefs to declare places or objects tapu to commoners. The term became part of English usage during the early 19th-c, and is now used more generally, especially with reference to any subject-matter (eg death, politics) or language (eg swearing, obscenity) which people on occasion avoid.
A taboo is a strong social prohibition (or ban) against words, objects, actions, or people that are considered undesirable 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.
It is generally supposed that taboo is older than gods and dates back to a period before any kind of religion existed.
Etymology
The etymology of "taboo" is usually traced back to the Tongan language or other related Polynesian languages such as Rapa Nui language.
Examples
Taboos can include dietary restrictions (halal and kosher diets, religious vegetarianism, and the prohibition of cannibalism), restrictions on sexual activities and relationships (sex outside of marriage, adultery, intermarriage, miscegenation, homosexuality, incest, animal-human sex, pedophilia, necrophilia), restrictions of bodily functions (burping, flatulence, restrictions on the use of psychoactive drugs, restrictions on state of genitalia such as circumcision or sex reassignment), exposure of body parts (ankles in the Victorian British Empire, nudity in the US), and restrictions on the use of offensive language.
Origins
There are varying explanations for the origins 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.
James Frazer
James George Frazer believed that the origin of the taboo pre-dated religion. For Frazer, taboo was a negative application of homeopathic magic. His belief in the efficacy of his remedies and
the supernatural qualities of all objects and beings give taboo its deep psychological weight.
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. Sigmund Freud believes this to be a superficial explanation having nothing to do with the true origins of taboos. 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 musht then have persisted from generation to generation, perhaps merely as a result of tradition transmitted through parental and social authority."And so, obviously, "Anyone who has violated a taboo becomes taboo himself because he possesses the dangerous quality of tempting others to follow his example."
Marvin Hariss
Marvin Harris, a leading figure in cultural materialism, endeavoured to explain taboos as a consequence of the ecologic and economic conditions of their societies.
In literature
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud provided an analysis of taboo behaviours, highlighting strong unconscious motivations driving such prohibitions. Freud also states here that the only two "universal" taboos are that of incest and patricide, which formed the eventual basis of modern society.
Fady Bahig on sex
A good example of Sex regarded as a taboo can be seen in Fady Bahig's novel The Journey of The Fool, presented on the mouth of Gerald Grotesque to scare the protagonist:
“Do you know why parents make sure that their young children would never know about [sex]? Only after it gets a cupful of your nerves, and gives you a spoonful of its forbidden bitter sweetness,” he leant towards me, his face looking at the bed, then he slowly raised his head slightly, his ophthalmic blue eyes appearing directly under his devilish white eyebrows, “It bursts in blood.”
Taboo and art
Many contemporary artists deal with taboo images and ideas including:
Pedro Almodóvar Matthew Barney Lenny Bruce Luis Buñuel Maurizio Cattelan George Carlin Andrew Dice Clay Billy Connolly Dave Chappelle Tom Green Damien Hirst Derek Jarman Derek and Clive Lennie Lee Herschell Gordon Lewis Madonna Marilyn Manson Carlos Mencia Richard Pryor Lou Reed Howard Stern Bill Viola Joel-Peter Witkin
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