Taboo
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A taboo, also spelled tabu, is a
Taboos are often meant to protect the individual, but there are other reasons for their development. An ecological or medical background is apparent in many, including some that are seen as religious or spiritual in origin. Taboos can help use a resource more efficiently, but when applied to only a subsection of the community they can also serve to suppress said subsection of the community. A taboo acknowledged by a particular group or tribe as part of their ways aids in the cohesion of the group, helps that particular group to stand out and maintain its identity in the face of others and therefore creates a feeling of "belonging".[3]
The meaning of the word taboo has been somewhat expanded in the
Etymology
The English term taboo comes from
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.[5]
The term was translated to him as "consecrated, inviolable, forbidden, unclean or cursed".[6] Tapu is usually treated as a unitary, non-compound word inherited from Proto-Polynesian *tapu.[7][8][9] It also exists in other Oceanic languages outside Polynesian, such as Fijian tabu,[10] or Hiw (Vanuatu) toq.[11]
Those words descend from an etymon *tabu in the ancestral Proto-Oceanic language, whose meaning was reconstructed as "forbidden, off limits; sacred, due to a sentiment of awe before spiritual forces".[11]
In its current use in Tongan, 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".
Examples
Common taboos involve restrictions or ritual regulation of killing and hunting; sex and sexual relationships; reproduction; the
, constantly change and are formed from new experiences. Each region, village or tribe may have its own fady.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 book The American Bible (editor's preface 1927), used taboo occasionally in relation to Israel's Tabernacle and ceremonial laws, including Exodus 30:36, Exodus 29:37; Numbers 16:37–38; Deuteronomy 22:9, Isaiah 65:5, Ezekiel 44:19 and Ezekiel 46:20.
Albert Schweitzer wrote a chapter about taboos of the people of Gabon. As an example, it was considered a misfortune for twins to be born, and they would be subject to many rules not incumbent on other people.[18]
In religion and mythology
According to Joseph Campbell, taboos are used in religion and mythology to test a person's ability to withhold from violating a prohibition given to them.[19][20] Should one fail the test and violate a taboo, they will be subsequently punished or face the consequences of their actions.[19] However, taboos are not societal prohibitions (such as incest); rather, the use of taboo in these stories relates to its original meaning of "prohibition": for example, a character could be prohibited from looking, eating, and speaking or uttering a certain word.
Greek mythology
An example of an eating taboo in Greek mythology could be found in the tale of the rape of Persephone. Hades, who had fallen in love with Persephone and wished to make her his queen, burst through a cleft in the earth and abducted Persephone as she was gathering flowers in a field.[21] When Demeter, Persephone's mother, finds out of her daughter's abduction, she forbids the earth to produce (or she neglects the earth) and, in the depth of her despair, causes nothing to grow. Zeus, pressed by the cries of the hungry people and by the other deities who also heard their anguish, forced Hades to return Persephone.[22] However, it was explained to Demeter that Persephone would be released, so long as she did not taste the food of the dead. Hades complies with the request to return Persephone to Demeter, but first, he tricks Persephone, forcing her to break the eating taboo by giving her some pomegranate seeds to eat.[23] In other interpretations, Persephone is seen eating the pomegranate seeds as a result of temptation or hunger. In the end, Hermes is sent to retrieve her but, because she had tasted the food of the underworld, she was obliged to spend a third of each year (the winter months) there, and the remaining part of the year with the gods above.[24] With the later writers Ovid and Hyginus, Persephone's time in the underworld becomes half the year.[25]
The most notable
A speaking taboo in Greek myth can be found in the story of Anchises, the father of the Trojan warrior Aeneas. Aphrodite had fallen in love with the mortal Anchises after Zeus persuaded Eros to shoot her with an arrow to cause these emergent feelings.[26] One interpretation recounts that Aphrodite pretended to be a Phrygian princess and seduced him, only to later reveal herself as a goddess and inform Anchises that she will bear him a son named Aeneas; however, Aphrodite warns Anchises not to tell anyone that he had lain with a goddess. Anchises does not heed this speaking taboo and later brags about his encounter with Aphrodite, and as a result, he is struck in the foot with a thunderbolt by Zeus. Thereafter, he is lame in that foot so that Aeneas has to carry him from the flames of Troy.[27]
Another, albeit lesser-known, speaking taboo in Greek myth can be found in the story of Actaeon. Actaeon, whilst on a hunting trip in the woods, mistakenly and haplessly happened upon the bathing Artemis.[28][29] When Artemis realized that Actaeon had seen her undressed, thus desecrating her chastity, she punished him for his luckless profanation of her virginity's mystery by forbidding him from speech.[30][31] Whether it be due to forgetfulness or outright resistance, Actaeon defied his speaking taboo and called for his hunting dogs.[30][31] Due to his failure in abiding by his speaking taboo, Artemis turned Actaeon into a stag and turned his dogs upon him. Actaeon was torn apart and ravaged by his loyal dogs who did not recognize their former master.
Abrahamic religions
Possibly the most famous eating taboo (if not taboo, in general) is in the story of Adam and Eve in the Abrahamic religions. In the Judeo-Christian telling, found in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve are placed in the Garden of Eden by God and are told not to eat from a tree lest they die,[32] but Eve is promptly tempted by a serpent (often identified as Satan in disguise) to eat from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil because they will surely not die,[33] rather, they might become "like God".[34] Eve violates the eating taboo and eats from the forbidden fruit of the tree, shortly giving some fruit to her companion, Adam.[35] After eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve are aware of their nakedness and cover themselves with fig leaves and hide from God.[36] God realizes that they are hiding and interrogates them about having eaten from the tree whereupon Adam assigns the blame to Eve and Eve assigns it to the serpent.[37] As a result, God condemns Eve with pain in childbirth and subordination to her husband, he condemns Adam to have to labor on the earth for his food and be reduced into the earth at death, and in the Christian tradition, he condemns all of humanity for this original sin.[38][39] God then expels Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden lest they eat from the Tree of Life and become immortal "like Him".[40]
In
˹Allah said,˺ “O Adam! Live with your wife in Paradise and eat from wherever you please, but do not approach this tree, or else you will be wrongdoers.”
Iblis, angered at his expulsion from Jannah for refusing to bow to Adam at his inception, decided to trick Adam and his wife into being shunned by Allah, just as he was; however, Allah had warned Adam and his wife about Iblis, telling them that he was a "clear enemy".[47][48] Iblis swore in the name of Allah that he was their sincere advisor, revealed unto Adam and his wife each other's nakedness, and convinced them to eat from the forbidden tree so that they may never taste death.[49][50] After eating from the tree (thus breaking the eating taboo), Allah removes Adam and his wife from their paradisal garden, telling them that mankind will be condemned with some being enemies with others on the earth wherein they will be provided habitation and provision, for a while,[51][52] and “There you will live, there you will die, and from there you will be resurrected.”[Quran 7:25]
However, in the Gnostic telling of this story, the taboo is a plot by the archons to keep Adam in a state of ignorance by preventing him from eating the fruit, which allows him to attain gnosis after the serpent, who is viewed as representative of the divine world, convinces him and Eve to eat it.[53]
A
Function
Modernity
Some argue that contemporary Western multicultural societies have taboos against tribalisms (for example, ethnocentrism and nationalism) and prejudices (racism, sexism, homophobia, extremism and religious fanaticism).[58]
Changing social customs and standards also create new taboos, such as bans on
Incest itself has been pulled both ways, with some seeking to normalize consensual adult relationships regardless of the degree of
In medicine, professionals who practice in ethical and moral grey areas, or fields subject to social stigma such as late termination of pregnancy, may refrain from public discussion of their practice. Among other reasons, this taboo may come from concern that comments may be taken out of the appropriate context and used to make ill-informed policy decisions that would lead to (otherwise preventable) maternal death.[65][66]
See also
- Anathema – A term for something or someone hated or banned
- Deviance – Action or behavior that violates social norms
- Desecration of graves – Act of vandalism to dishonour the dead
- Domestic violence – Abuse of members of the same household
- Etiquette – Customary code of polite behaviour
- Food taboo
- Geas – Mythological taboo or vow
- identity performance – social concept
- Morality – Differentiation between right and wrong
- Naming taboo – Cultural taboo in the Chinese cultural sphere
- Obscenity – Act or statement that offends the morality of the period
- Profanity – Socially offensive form of language
- Public morality – Differentiating wrong and right as applied to the people
- Sexual ethics – Study of ethical conduct in sexual behavior
- Social norms– Informal understanding of acceptable conduct
- Social stigma – Type of discrimination or disapproval
- Structural violence – Form of violence
- Taboo on rulers – Rules about monarchs causing bad luck
- Taboo on the dead – Cultural practice regarding the dead
- Vulgarity – Quality of being common, coarse, or unrefined
- Word taboo – Taboo involving restrictions on language
References
- ^ a b Encyclopædia Britannica Online. "Taboo". Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Retrieved 21 Mar. 2012
- ^ "taboo". Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, 11th Edition.
- ^ PMID 19563636. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC by 2.0)license.
- ^ Cook & King 1821, p. 462
- ^ Cook & King 1821, p. 348
- ^ Cook & King 1821.
- ^ "taboo". Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ "Online dictionary". Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
- ^ Biggs, Bruce. "Entries for TAPU [OC] Prohibited, under ritual restriction, taboo". Polynesian Lexicon Project Online. University of Auckland. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-226-15429-9.
- ^ S2CID 240387414. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
- ^ Freud, Sigmund. Totem and Taboo.
- ^
- Strong, Anise (2006). "Incest Laws and Absent Taboos in Roman Egypt". Ancient History Bulletin. 20.
- Lewis, N. (1983). Life in Egypt under Roman Rule. ISBN 978-0-19-814848-7.
- Frier, Bruce W.; ISBN 978-0-521-46123-8.
- JSTOR 2804054.
- S2CID 143698328. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
- remijsen, sofie. "Incest or Adoption? Brother-Sister Marriage in Roman Egypt Revisited" (PDF).
- Scheidel, W (1997). "Brother-sister marriage in Roman Egypt" (PDF). S2CID 23732024. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
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- ^ Schweitzer, Albert. African Notebook 1958. Indiana University Press
- ^ JSTOR 4333071.
- ISBN 3110934191.
- ^ Homeric Hymn to Demeter, 4–20, 414–434.
- ^ "Theoi Project – Persephone". Theoi.com. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- ^ The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, 411–412, has Persephone tell Demeter: "he secretly put in my mouth sweet food, a pomegranate seed, and forced me to taste against my will." Gantz, p. 65 describes this as a "trick".
- ^ Gantz, p. 65.
- ^ Gantz, p. 67.
- ^ Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology., p. 59, at Google Books
- )
- ^ Callimachus, Hymn v.
- Bacchae 1290–92, a spring sanctuary near Plataeais specified elsewhere.
- ^ ISBN 978-0786497928.
- ^ ISBN 978-1440502408.
- ^ 3:3
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- ^ 3:6
- ^ 3:7–8
- ^ 3:9–13
- ^ 3:16–19
- ^ Collins 2014, p. unpaginated.
- ^ 3:22
- YouTube
- ^ Quran 2:30
- ^ Quran 2:35
- ^ Quran 20:118
- ^ Quran 20:119
- ^ Quran 20:115
- ^ Quran 2:208 -Sahih International
- ^ Quran 20:117
- ^ Quran 7:20–21
- ^ Quran 20:120
- ^ Quran 7:22–24
- ^ Quran 20:123
- ISBN 9781474472180.
- ^ ISBN 9780195358704.
- ^ 19:26
- ISBN 978-3-0343-0311-8.
- ^ Marvin Harris, India's Sacred Cow (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-10, retrieved 2015-07-20
- .
- ^ S. Berlin, Frederick. "Interview with Frederick S. Berlin, M.D., Ph.D." Office of Media Relations. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
- ^ Johann Hari (2002-01-09). "Forbidden love". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
- ^ Hipp, Dietmar (2008-03-11). "German High Court Takes a Look at Incest". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- ^ Donaldson James, Susan. "Professor Accused of Incest With Daughter". ABC Nightline. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
- ^ Joanna Grossman, Should the law be kinder to kissin' cousins?
- ^ Ladygina-Kots, Nadezhda Nikolaevna. "Infant Ape and Human Child: (Instincts, Emotions, Play, Habits)." Journal of Russian & East European Psychology 38.1 (2000): 5–78.
- S2CID 24915723. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- PMID 21940082.
Bibliography
- Collins, C. John (2014). "Adam and Eve in the Old Testament". In Reeves, Michael R. E.; Madueme, Hans (eds.). Adam, the Fall, and Original Sin: Theological, Biblical, and Scientific Perspectives. Baker Academic. ISBN 9781441246417.
- Cook, James; King, James (1821). A voyage to the Pacific Ocean: undertaken by command of His Majesty, for making discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere : performed under the direction of Captains Cook, Clerke, and Gore : in the years 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780 : being a copious, comprehensive, and satisfactory abridgement of the voyage. Printed for Champante and Whitrow ... and M. Watson; 1793.
- Cook, James (1728–1779). The Three Voyages of Captain James Cook Round the World. Vol. 5. London: A&E Spottiswoode.
External links
- Thomas, Northcote Whitridge (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). pp. 337–341.