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}}</ref><ref name=POLLEX>{{cite web|last=Biggs|first=Bruce|title=Entries for TAPU <nowiki>[OC]</nowiki> Prohibited, under ritual restriction, taboo|url=http://pollex.org.nz/entry/tapu|work=Polynesian Lexicon Project Online|publisher=University of Auckland|accessdate=9 September 2012}}</ref> In its current use on [[Tonga]], the word ''tapu'' means "sacred" or "holy", often in the sense of being restricted or protected by custom or law. On the main island, the word is often appended to the end of "Tonga" as ''Tongatapu'', here meaning "Sacred South" rather than "Forbidden South".
}}</ref><ref name=POLLEX>{{cite web|last=Biggs|first=Bruce|title=Entries for TAPU <nowiki>[OC]</nowiki> Prohibited, under ritual restriction, taboo|url=http://pollex.org.nz/entry/tapu|work=Polynesian Lexicon Project Online|publisher=University of Auckland|accessdate=9 September 2012}}</ref> In its current use on [[Tonga]], the word ''tapu'' means "sacred" or "holy", often in the sense of being restricted or protected by custom or law. On the main island, the word is often appended to the end of "Tonga" as ''Tongatapu'', here meaning "Sacred South" rather than "Forbidden South".
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osi-3osi ba dest pax ctc 454545485
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==Examples==
==Examples==

Revision as of 03:49, 22 April 2013

This article is about the modern English term. For the specifically Polynesian religious concept, see Tapu (Polynesian culture). For other uses, see Taboo (disambiguation).
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A taboo (Error: {{IPA}}: unrecognized language tag: tə'buː, Error: {{IPA}}: unrecognized language tag: tæ'buː) is a vehement prohibition of an action based on the belief that such behavior is either too sacred or too accursed for ordinary individuals to undertake, under threat of supernatural punishment.[1][2] Such prohibitions are present in virtually all societies.[1] The word has been somewhat expanded in the social sciences to include strong prohibitions relating to any area of human activity or custom that is sacred or forbidden based on moral judgment and religious beliefs.[citation needed] "Breaking a taboo" is usually considered objectionable by society in general, not merely a subset of a culture.

Etymology

The term "taboo" comes from the Tongan tapu or Fijian tabu ("prohibited", "disallowed", "forbidden"),[3] related among others to the Maori tapu. Its English use dates to 1777 when the British explorer James Cook visited Tonga. Describing the cultural practices of 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.[4]

and

When any thing is forbidden to be eaten, or made use of, they say, that it is taboo.[5]

The term was translated to him as "consecrated, inviolable, forbidden, unclean or cursed".[6] Tabu itself has been derived from alleged Tongan morphemes ta ("mark") and bu ("especially"), but this may be a folk etymology (note that Tongan does not actually have a phoneme /b/), and tapu is usually treated as a unitary, non-compound word inherited from Proto-Polynesian *tapu, in turn inherited from Proto-Oceanic *tabu, with the reconstructed meaning "sacred, forbidden".[7][8][9] In its current use on Tonga, the word tapu means "sacred" or "holy", often in the sense of being restricted or protected by custom or law. On the main island, the word is often appended to the end of "Tonga" as Tongatapu, here meaning "Sacred South" rather than "Forbidden South". dob of chd-3san3.1chld/06dec12///////////////// dob of inft-3san1.1inft-4.1/06dec12//////////////// basinet-3san1.1bsct///////////// ffn-3san1.1fqtv ek/544454.......ffnba-5454545/p1///////////// arnk segment-siarnk......../2/0a///////// osi-3osi ba dest pax ctc 454545485 wchr-srbsct/p1........3san1.1wchr/pax is non meda//////////// meal req-srhnml/p1.......3san1.1hnml

Examples

Sigmund Freud posited that incest and patricide were the only two universal taboos and formed the basis of civilization.[10] However, although cannibalism, in-group murder, and incest are taboo in the majority of societies, modern research has found exceptions for each and no taboo is presently known to be universal.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

Common taboos involve restrictions or ritual regulation of killing and hunting; sex and sexual relationships (primarily incest, necrophilia, miscegenation, adultery, fornication, pedophilia, homosexuality, intermarriage, bestiality, and masturbation); reproduction (abortion, infanticide); the deceased and their graves; food and dining (primarily cannibalism and dietary laws such as vegetarianism, kashrut, and halal); and bodily functions (primarily menstrual cycles, but also defecation and urination).

Taboos often extend to cover discussion of taboo topics, resulting in euphemisms and replacement of taboo words.[citation needed]

The word "taboo" gained popularity at times, with some scholars looking for ways to apply it where other English words had previously been applied. For example, J. M. Powis Smith, in his "The American Bible" (editor's preface 1927), used "taboo" occasionally in relation to Israel's Tabernacle and ceremonial laws, Exodus 30:36, 29:37; Numbers 16:37,38; Deuteronomy 22:9.

Function

Communist and materialist theorists have argued that taboos can be used to reveal the histories of societies when other records are lacking.[19] Marvin Harris particularly endeavored to explain taboos as a consequence of ecologic and economic conditions.[specify][citation needed]

Modernity

The rise of rationalism and science has reduced the potency of many former taboos in modern cultures.[citation needed] In the United States and Europe, people openly discuss and explore previously taboo subjects such as sexuality and abortion. Increasing understanding has led medical disorders such as epilepsy, birth defects, and sexually transmitted diseases to be treated more analytically and less judgmentally than in the past.[citation needed]

However, changing social customs and standards also create new taboos, such as bans on slavery; conflation of ephebophilia with pedophilia;[20] prohibitions on alcohol, tobacco, or psychopharmaceutical consumption (particularly among pregnant women); and the employment of politically correct euphemisms – at times quite unsuccessfully – to mitigate various forms of discrimination.

Incest itself has been pulled both ways, with some seeking to normalize consensual adult relationships regardless of the degree of kinship[21] (notably in Europe[22][23]) and others expanding the degrees of prohibited contact (notably in the United States[24]).

Contemporary multicultural societies have established a number of taboos rooted in the perceived injustice and deleterious effects of modern history, particularly neocolonialism. Tribalisms (for example, ethnocentrism and nationalism) and prejudices (racism, sexism, religious extremism) are opposed at times reflexively despite the potentially high cost of diverse societies in terms of trust and solidarity.[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Encyclopædia Britannica Online. "Taboo." Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Accessed 21 Mar. 2012
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, 11th Edition. "Taboo."
  3. ^ Dixon, Robert M. W. (1988). A Grammar of Boumaa Fijian. p. 368. ISBN 978-0-226-15429-9.
  4. ^ Cook & King 1821, p. 348
  5. ^ Cook & King 1821, p. 462
  6. ^ (Cook & King 1821)
  7. ^ Online Etymology Dictionary. "Taboo."
  8. ^ "Online dictionary". Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
  9. ^ Biggs, Bruce. "Entries for TAPU [OC] Prohibited, under ritual restriction, taboo". Polynesian Lexicon Project Online. University of Auckland. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  10. ^ Freud, Sigmund. Totem and Taboo.
  11. ^ Jones, Ashley. "Incest in Ancient Egypt" (PDF).
  12. ^ Strong, Anise (2006). "Incest Laws and Absent Taboos in Roman Egypt". Ancient History Bulletin.
  13. ^ Lewis, N. (1983). Life in Egypt under Roman Rule. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-814848-8.
  14. ^ Frier, Bruce W.; Bagnall, Roger S. (1994). The Demography of Roman Egypt. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-46123-5.
  15. ^ Shaw, B. D. (1992). "Explaining Incest: Brother-Sister Marriage in Graeco-Roman Egypt". Man, New Series. 27 (2): 267–299. JSTOR 2804054.
  16. ^ Hopkins, Keith (1980). "Brother-Sister Marriage in Roman Egypt". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 22 (3): 303–354. doi:10.1017/S0010417500009385.
  17. ^ remijsen, sofie. "Incest or Adoption? Brother-Sister Marriage in Roman Egypt Revisited" (PDF).
  18. ^ Scheidel, W. "Brother-sister marriage in roman Egypt" (PDF).
  19. ^ Marta Dyczok; Oxana Gaman-Golutvina (2009). Media, Democracy and Freedom: The Post-Communist Experience. Peter Lang. p. 209. ISBN 978-3-0343-0311-8.
  20. ^ S. Berlin, Frederick. "Interview with Frederick S. Berlin, M.D., Ph.D." Office of Media Relations. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  21. ^ Johann Hari (2002-01-09). "Forbidden love". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-04-11. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ Hipp, Dietmar (2008-03-11). "German High Court Takes a Look at Incest". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2008-04-12. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ DONALDSON JAMES, SUSAN. "Professor Accused of Incest With Daughter". ABC Nightline. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  24. ^ Joanna Grossman, Should the law be kinder to kissin' cousins?
  25. ^ Putnam, Robert D. "E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty-first Century -- The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize". Scandinavian Political Studies. 30 (2), June 2007.
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