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Taboo

A taboo is any ritual prohibition of an action, including contact or associations with objects that are part of material culture. In its widest sense, taboo involves any action or thing considered culturally prohibited based on widespread norms. Some scholars believe that the term has lost its usefulness, but current research on taboo words in the social sciences and in neuroscience reflects its ongoing benefits.

History of Taboo

The concept of taboo emerged in the Western world after a British vessel commanded by Captain James Cook visited the Polynesian Islands in the late 1700s. In written reports, Cook noted that certain objects and actions in Polynesian culture were “tafoo,” which he would later pronounce “taboo.” This included anything natives considered forbidden or dangerous. Cook's party discovered that cultural standards disallowed women from eating certain forms of meat. Taboos kept women away from males while menstruating. If crops were unfit for consumption, priests would taboo them with magic wands. Interestingly, Cook created a constructionist analysis of deviance with his writings. The things he reported on were not taboo in and of themselves. As with the previous example, priests had the ability to decide which objects and actions were taboo, which gave them considerable political power. Historical accounts of Polynesian culture imply that revolts would take place when priests tabooed too many things. These revolts triggered legitimation deficits for religious leaders. Tribes would sometimes remove priests from leadership positions when they abused tabooing powers.

Cook also believed that taboo included the idea of something being sacred. In one of his reports, he discusses a human sacrifice and references the person as “taboo” and “consecrated.” Scholars are skeptical of Cook's interpretation because of its inconsistencies. For example, Christians using the same word to describe the holy cross and something detestable such as human excrement does not make sense. However, there are modern words, such as “bad” that carry multiple interpretations expressing opposite meanings. In some subcultures, something considered bad means that it is good.

By the late 1800s, the word taboo had become adopted as part of the English language. In the early to mid-20th century, scholars such as Sigmund Freud and Claude Lévi-Strauss used the term to identify anything strongly prohibited within a culture. They avoided Cook's premise of interchangeable meaning. At that time, popular topics relating to academic work on taboos involved sexual relations, specifically incest.

The Incest Taboo

Many scholars believe that incest is a universal taboo. There appears to be a common prohibition across cultural lines where norms disallow members of a nuclear family to engage in intercourse. Sibling sexual relations are the most common form of this taboo. The key term is nuclear family; there are cultures that do freely permit sexual relations between uncles and nieces, aunts and nephews, and first cousins. Moreover, limited knowledge of biological ties often supersedes the stigmatization of incestuous relationships involving distant relatives. Often taboo, however, are certain sexual relations not involving biological ties, such as stepfather and stepdaughter relationships.

Theoretical explanations for the incest taboo give insight into how taboos form. One theory is that incestuous relationships are known sometimes to produce offspring with genetic defects, so humans have a natural aversion to accepting them. Another theory proposes that women are sacred symbols of families, especially considering spiritual concepts related to fertility and the symbolism of blood that accompanies menstruation. Therefore, engaging in sexual contact with women within the family, especially during menstruation, came to carry a forbidden tone. Extending this concept, one theory argues encouraging marriage and sexual relations outside of the family ensures social bonds and cooperation needed for social order. Consider the case of arranged marriages facilitating political alliances.

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