Taboo
A
taboo is a strong
social prohibition (or
ban) relating to any area of human activity or
social custom declared as
sacred and forbidden; breaking of the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society. The
term was borrowed from the
Tongan language and appears in many
Polynesian cultures. In those cultures, a
tabu (or
tapu or
kapu) often has specific
religious associations. It was a word brought back by Captain
James Cook in
1777 after a long sea voyage to the South Seas and introduced into the English language.
When an activity or custom is classified as taboo it is forbidden and interdictions are implemented concerning it, such as the ground set apart as a
sanctuary for
criminals. Some taboo activities or customs are prohibited under
law and transgressions may lead to severe
penalties. Other taboos result in
embarrassment,
shame, and
rudeness.
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,
sex between people of the same sex,
incest,
animal-human sex,
adult-child sex,
sex with the dead), 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, women's faces in
Saudi Arabia and
Afghanistan,
nudity in the
US), and restrictions on the use of
offensive language.
No taboo is known to be
universal, but some (such as the cannibalism and
incest taboos) occur in the majority of
societies. Taboos may serve many functions, and often remain in effect after the original reason behind them has expired. Some have argued that taboos therefore reveal the history of societies when other records are lacking.
Taboos often extend to cover discussion of taboo topics. This can result in taboo deformation (
euphemism) or replacement of
taboo words.
Marvin Harris, a leading figure in
cultural materialism, endeavoured to explain taboos as a consequence of the
ecologic and
economic conditions of their societies.
Also,
Sigmund Freud provided an analysis of taboo behaviours, highlighting strong unconscious motivations driving such prohibitions. In this system, described in his collections 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.
Many contemporary artists deal with taboo images and ideas including:
*
Matthew Barney*
Maurizio Cattelan*
Damien Hirst*
Lennie Lee*
Joel-Peter Witkin*
Bill Viola*
Pedro Almodóvar*
Luis Buñuel*
Derek Jarman*
Tom Green*
George Carlin*
Herschell Gordon Lewis*
Richard Kern*
Lou Reed*
Abomination*
Asemic writing*
Bias *
Censorship *
Faux pas*
Halal and
Kosher*
Menstrual taboo*
Mother-in-law languages*
Natural law *
Naming taboo in imperial
China*
Prejudice *
Prohibition *
Sacred *
Scottish pork taboo*
Social stigma*
Taboo issues in Nip/Tuck*
Taboo food and drink*
Stigma, discrimination and attitudes to HIV*
Review of taboos around the world and their history
